- Weather | Horoscope | Stocks
expressindia web
HomeBlogsCricketAstrologyShoppingTendersClassifieds OpinionsTravel Jobs
| Make this your homepage | Archive
Expressindia » Story

Rafting changing dynamics of tourism in Kullu valley

Font Size

Sanjay Dutta

Posted: Jul 03, 2008 at 0044 hrs IST

Kullu, July 02 There were times when you needed to head abroad to enjoy rafting, but Kullu valley is rapidly changing the scenario with its countless rafting centres. White water rafting in Kullu valley is getting popular by the day as a commercial adventure sport activity.

Kumad Singh, District Tourism Development Officer, Kullu, says there is a sharp increase in commercial rafting activity every year in the valley. She adds that in 2005, only 12 agencies were registered for commercial rafting by the department and 44 rafts were passed for operation, whereas 35 river rafting agencies were registered and 66 rafts were passed for operation in 2007.

She attributed the increase to the fact that rivers in the upper Himalayas are among the best in the world for river rafting sports. “Kullu valley has special importance in the field because it has a wide range of river rafting regions, which suit both amateurs and professionals,” she says.

Iqbal Sharma, president of Himachal Adventure Sports Association, says, “In Kullu valley, rafting can be enjoyed downstream on Beas river on different stretches, depending upon grading of rapids from Grade I (easy) to Grade-IV ( very difficult), which makes it a favourite among adventure sports enthusiasts.”

Vikramjeet Singh, who runs Pinnacle Adventure, a company engaged in rafting for the past one decade, says the rafting season in Kullu starts from April to September barring monsoon. He says the 14-kilometre stretch from Pirdi to Jhidi with Grade III rapids is hugely popular. “Rafting suits everybody’s pocket, costing Rs 300 to Rs 650, depending upon the distance,” he adds.

Ads by Google
Discuss this story on expressindia forums
Post Comments
Name* Email ID*
Subject* Country*
Message*
Characters remaining
 
TERMS OF USE: The views represented here are not endorsed by www.expressindia.com. The person writing and submitting the comment is / are responsible for the content of comment. The comment should not have inflammatory, abusive, derogatory language or any language deemed unfit for publication. There will be time lag between the submission and publication of the comments. The website reserves the right to publish or reject any message.
I agree to the terms of use.

Latest News

Business

Showbiz

Sports

Tata's Nano set to get new home: Modi’s Gujarat

Assam conflict leaves 47 dead, 87k homeless

Police clueless about Mehrauli blast

'98% in XII, 19 lakh-job, went to US many times'

Bush to sign Indo-US nuclear deal on Wednesday

Indian origin Millionaire kills self, family over financial woes

Phonetic confusion lands French minister in trouble

More
© 2008 Indian Express Newspapers (Mumbai) Ltd. All rights reserved
The Indian Express Group | Advertise With Us | Privacy Policy | Feedback | Work With Us | Site Map