Adventure Sports in India
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India provides a fascinating and unforgettable experience that
attracts lots of tourists throughout the year. In the recent
years, India has been changing its image from purely a cultural
destination to a composite destination for various outdoor
activities. India is rapidly emerging as the adventure tourism
destination of the world; and scuba diving and other water
sports have now become an integral part of it. There are various opportunities for any adventurous
sports person in India. A diverse varied terrain, snow covered mountains, green Alpine meadows, mountains,
lakes and rapids and beaches provides an exciting environment
for any sports man.
Some of the
adventurous sports are river rafting or river running, mountain climbing,
skiing, hang-gliding, ballooning, motor crossing, heli-skiing,
scuba diving and camel safari. |
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The Himalayas are
the major attraction for the adventure lovers in India.
Various different types of people and as well as saints have traveled
in India to discover various pilgrimage places
which are some of the most beautiful places on earth. Some of these
places are Kedarnath, Gangotri, Yamnotri,
Badrinath and Amarnath. Kishtwar is a popular mountaineering area in Ladakh,
which was explored by climbers and has various peaks. In 1883, mountaineering
was started as a sport
in the Himalayas when W.W. Graham, a European,
came to the Himalayas for the climbing.
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Later, in 1951, Gurdial Singh led the first full-fledged Indian mountaineering expedition to Trishul
and successfully climbed the peak. After this various Indian and
foreign mountaineers climb the Himalayas every year. Improved road communications,
reliable weather forecasting and well-organized facilities have made mountaineering and trekking a
safe sport.
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Skiing is a popular adventurous winter sport in India. Joshimath, and Auli are the famous skiing resorts in Garhwal which provide excellent skiing opportunities and facilities to the tourists. Besides this, Kashmir is also one of the well known and most developed skiing region in India. Gulmarg is also one of the India's famous winter skiing resort in Kashmir. Besides Kashmir, the state of Himachal Pradesh also offers various skiing facilities. Narkanda, Kufri and Manali are the well known places in Himachal which offers excellent trekking, skiing and hiking trails. Adventure-seeking travelers visit these places in winters to enjoy skiing along its snow-covered slopes. Various equipments and excellent instructors are also available for
skiing.
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Some of the leading river-running experts have said that
the India has the
potential to become the river-running capital of the world.
River-running is a very popular young sport in India, and the
challenges of the rivers in the upper Himalayas makes it
among the best regions in the world. The tremendous force of
the rivers and the navigational capability facilitates the river running. River-running expeditions in India are organized and managed
by professional Indian teams who have been trained in abroad in
some of the most difficult water stretches of the world.
Some of the best known whitewater
river running courses in India are the River Ganges in
Rishikesh, Beas
river in Manali, Indus river in Ladakh and
Zanskar river in Zanskar. |
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The River
Ganges is regarded as one of the most river running capital of India
as it harbours over 90% of white water
running in India.
Its mountainous terrain offers some of the most
amazing river-running in the country which is ideal
for the paddle rafting and car rafting. The best season to raft
in these rivers is in the months of August and
September. The Sikkim Valley
also offers an opportunity to the people in white water rafting.
River Teesta and
Rangit are the idle rivers in Sikkim for the river rafting
and kayaking. |
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Scuba Diving
is another
exciting new adventurous water sport in India. The joy of
floating inside the sea like a fish and discovering new
sight can be immense. Besides this, the sheer
thrill of watching the rich flora and fauna of the sea in
their natural habitat is beyond compare. Scuba Diving can be enjoyed
in India at
Andaman and Nicobar islands, Lakshadweep islands, and in Goa
at Devbagh and Karwar Beach. Most of the islands in Andaman
and Lakshadweep are inaccessible and foreign tourists
require special permits to enter these islands. Instructors
and experts are present at the diving places and reserve the
right to restrict any person from undertaking the
adventure. A person is also required to have a doctor's
certificate incase of a heart disease, respiratory or sinus
related problems. The minimum age for diving in India is 12
years.
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Now, India
also holds as one of the major place on the
international rally circuit. Here, various motor car rallies
are established as annual events that attracts people
from India and as well as from abroad. The
topographical distribution of India makes it ideal for
running motor rallies. Recently, the vintage
car rallies are also held in which some very rare cars not
only run in the rally but are also displayed. These
rallies are held
in some of the cities like Kolkata and Jaipur. The Federation
of Indian Rally Drivers Championship also organizes
championship rallies at national and international level.
Presently, there are four teams in India which are Team MRF, Team
JK, Team JCT and Team Paarel. The motor sport includes
various activities like autocross, motocross, drag racing, motor
gymkhana, etc. Some of the rallies are held from the month of August till December.
The Himalayan car rally is one of
the popular car rallies but now it has been discontinued.
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Deserts have
always had an appealing charm on the mind of the
humans and the best way to explore these is on a camel back.
A camel safari is one of the most adventurous sport but can
also be tiring sometimes.
Its increasing popularity reflects a new bond between man,
desert, and the beast. Camel safaris are generally held in Jaisalmer, Bikaner
and Jodhpur, popularly known as the
Desert Circuit. The duration can vary between one day and
two weeks. The Thar desert is dotted with endless sand and
sand dunes and covered with the patches of the xerophytic
shrubs. Route
navigation is an acquired art in the desert. The caravans must
be led by riders who know how to study the stars and as well
as can recognize the shifting sands of the terrain. |
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The Safari
organizers also try to recreate the atmosphere of old
caravan journeys. The folk musicians accompany the caravans,
and stop at the outside villages where the local people are
invited to enjoy campfire hospitality. The accommodation
during the safari consists of primitive thatched mud huts
and tents and the way of life is entirely ethnic. |
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Ballooning has
also become as a popular and fancy sport in India. The balloonists
in the balloon look like those dangerously hung on
baskets but standing in the basket is a delightful sensation. The
giant balloons
swell out their folds and rise in the sky in a colourful
parade. There are about two or three persons in a balloon. When alone, a balloonist can rise to the heights of
800 feet but groups are restricted only to the height of 200
to 500 feet. The ballooning facilities are available for amateurs and professionals
across the country. A Balloon mela festival is also
organized in Delhi every year. |
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The
Balloon Club of India is located at New Delhi’s
Safdarjung Airport and has three balloons and
50 members. The Ballooning Club in India
organizes various international balloon
festivals and demonstration flights annually.
The Indian International Balloon festival is
held every November and attracts participants
from all over the world. |
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Hang-Gliding
is a very new adventure sports in India. For the hang
gliding one requires a hang glider, a flexible wing aircraft that is
piloted by shifting one's weight. The flight depends on the
thermals, the rising columns of warm air.
While taking off one has to run on the moderate slopes till the
glider inflates. Some of the best hang gliding places
in India are Srinagar, Khilanmarg, Kangra, Dharamshala,
Solang Nala, Shimla and Kasauli. The hang-gliding clubs are
located at Pune, New Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Shimla, Bangalore and
Kalahati.
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Some of the most modern and reasonable
ski resorts have been developed in India, realizing the vast
scope of tourism. India is the first Asian country that offers heli-skiing
facilities. The snow covered mountains and their height are
tempting enough to
attract the adventurous spirits of the skier,
providing all sorts of joy and excitement.
The main difference between the normal skiing and heli-skiing is that the
heli-skiing includes a helicopter. Heli-skiing was
introduced in Kashmir in January 1988, in collaboration with
the Sylvan Saudan, the famous Swiss born ski-mountaineer. In
the heli-skiing the helicopter leaves one at the top of a snow
capped peak and from there one just has to criss-cross the
way downward. The skier can experience the thrill and danger of skiing
in Kashmir and the Indian Himalayan region. Some of the the
heli-skiing places in India are Hanuman Tibba, Deo Tibba and Rohtang Pass near
Manali.
Trained Indian instructors are also there to help the newcomers.
One must also check the snow conditions and weather
of that particular
region so that the conditions are safe for skiing.
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Ice climbing
on the magnificent Indian Himalayas is a very thrilling
adventurous winter sport in India that
takes one to the most challenging journey on the hard core
snow. Ice is also as hard and rough as any surface of a rock and
various methods of rock climbing can be used here to
cross any ice barrier. The holds are also not very
strong and firm as on rocks. The holds and anchors have to be made by the climber
themselves with pistons or screws. Ice that you are
climbing on, depict many states, so each of these conditions
requires a slightly different subtlety. Some of the most desired
peaks for Ice climbing are located in India in Garhwal, Jammu and
Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and Kumaon. Some
of the essential things which are required while ice climbing
are shoes or boots, ropes, ice tools, helmets, head lamp and bealy
device.
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