Bungee Jump and River Rafting in Rishikesh

[moonstar_paddy]

This is exactly what i was looking for, for my trip next month, please share your hotel details and costing too...
Waiting for more

Stayed at Aspen adventure resort and the cottages were very good. Contact Ankit on 9972511225 or email him on [email protected]. You can opt for tents incase you want to save a bit. The pricing is marginally higher compared to other options available but the hospitality of Ankit, Anuj and other members of the resort was superb. Ankit was personally engaging with all the guests and ensuring that no one has any complains, the staff was on the toes and prompt, food quality was good and always accommodating incase you want some extra favor. Below are some pics of the cottage and area around the resort. For any other specific information you can always call Ankit and he will be happy to help. You can say you were referred by me (Pratik). Not that I will get any cut/commission
Few things to note: It doesn't have TV in rooms, no room service or running hot water but they are very honest and will inform you this in advance. As a substitute, they have TV in dining area, shout out any staff member's name (they introduce you to the members as you enter the resort) from the door and someone will be promptly present to help and hot water bucket will be provided on demand. Location is about 6-9 KM from Rishikesh on the route to Jumping Heights (Bungee Jumping organizers) and about 15-20 mins drive to Shivpuri where you usually start rafting. There is a river stream about 50 meters from the resort campus where you can go for a stroll and have fun.

Cottage

View from outside my room (on the backside of the cottage)

Front view of cottage

My cottage was 4th on the right side (hidden behind the tree)

 

[rameshtahlan]

beautiful

happy landings
RT

 

[moonstar_paddy]

Continuing from where I left last...
Alarm rings at 3:30 am and I am quickly up and get along with morning chores. Finish washroom activities by 4:10 and have a couple of missed calls from Rahul. I am glad he is up. I call him back and confirm that I'll reach airport around 4:45-5:00 am. I get all ready, do a final check on things to carry and leave. Call Rahul to update but he doesn't answer. I take a rickshaw and reach by 4:45.

Received call from Rahul confirming he is on the way. I got my boarding pass and was waiting for him. He & wifey reached at around 5:05 am. I guide them to the counter without line as our flight was next and about to begin boarding. Quickly collect the boarding pass, clear security check and board the flight. All 3 of us got separate seats.. while I had no problems, Rahul was with wifey and wanted seats together which he eventually managed after talking to fellow passenger. I got emergency exit seat and was happy with it.

We land before schedule and as soon as I came off airplane mode (I mean mobile) got a call from driver stating he is waiting for us out. We were to meet a colleague but we were pretty early and when tried calling, she didn't answer so we decided to skip the meet and move on to avoid Delhi traffic. We stop by for petrol refill and take a quick bite. One more stop for tax paying and we were soon away.

All the way till Meerut there was traffic.. no jam but slow moving. Post Meerut, there is a toll road for maybe 50-60km which was pretty empty and easy drive. There were superb landscape post Meerut and sugarcane fields were all along. Took a couple of stops for food and soon reached Haridwar.. had plans to visit Haridwar on Sunday morning so just passed through.

No sooner we crossed Haridwar, got a call from Mr. Anuj, manager of the resort where we were to stay asking about our whereabouts. I told him we are yet to have lunch so will have it at Rishikesh and then call him for directions. He suggested cafe Tattva at Tapovan for lunch and we reached there soon and it was an awesome place..ordered food and were talking to an old American lady who didn't like the technology growth and was missing the simple life she lived earlier. She must be in eighties and is in India for about 30+ years. While we were to finish lunch, got a call from Mr. Anuj and he was standing behind me.. Aha surprise!!! He was there for some work so thought of taking us along so we don't get lost. He waited till we finished and he was in his car with a pretty lady, I guess was his gf or wife.

We didn't want go to resort so soon so asked Anuj for direction and moved to Laxman Jhula . Went around Ganga beach cafe and then Freedom cafe. Spent good couple of hours there and Rahul's wife was tired.. she has some spinal cord problems.. it was getting dark.. we had not slept .. so we finally decided to head for the resort. Called Anuj and managed to pass the message that we are reaching resort as there is barely any network at the resort. As we followed the board and reached the resort, Anuj was there waiting for us.. he helped us get down the mountain (trekking downward) as for resort is besides the river stream and parking is on the mountain ( around 5 mins trek).

Was welcomed by the staff, was given basic instructions and a good news that we are upgraded to Cottage against the tent that we booked. We still saw the tent and cottage both and Mrs. Rahul Telure chose cottage. We quickly checked in and joined the bonfire that was ready with barbeque and soft drinks. Had a brief chat with Ankit and were enjoying the environment and suddenly started raining. Bonfire had to be extinguished and people moved in dining area. The was a guitar player in the group so we joined them and enjoyed the live singing. Temperature has dropped and we slept at around 12ish after having a lovely dinner.

Here are some pics of the day

At Tattva Cafe

At Laxman Jhula

Spot a monkey

Bonfire just before being extinguished

NEXT

 

[rameshtahlan]

looks like lot of fun

happy landings
RT

 

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[moonstar_paddy]

Trek to reach Main road/parking from Aspen Adventure Camp, Rishikesh, India

Social Gathering near Freedom Cafe, Laxman Jhula, Rishikesh, India
It was a lovely setup by the bank of River Ganga.

 

[moonstar_paddy]

This will be the BEST & MOST INTERESTING part of the log.
We wake up little late than scheduled. Spoke to Ankit and planned to finish Bungee Jumping first as they usually do not take people post 2-3 pm and have limited capacity. Ankit called someone at Jumping Heights, the Bungee Jump organisers and informed about us coming there. We finish breakfast at the resort and head towards Jumping Heights Camp Rock was about 15 mins drive from resort. We reach at the entrance and have to take entry ticket for Rs. 100/- per person. Executive at the ticket window asked if we have already booked and I said no. He simply DENIED entry stating they are already full. Then we inform that we are coming from Aspen Adventures and Ankit had called earlier. The guy smiled and said that it means are pre-booked and handed over the entry tickets. A big sigh of relief. We enter and are given the basic safety instructions via a common video playing on a TV. Then fill the declaration form and make payment.
Now he keeps coupons ready for me and Rahul and asks us to begin with flying fox. We start trekking up toward the Flying fox ramp just opposite the entry gate ( entry ticket counter) and there were a couple of guys and a girl before us in queue. They were quickly given all the safety gears and were about to be hooked on but she was not ready.. she wasn't convinced despite of lots of assurance from everyone around including us. She quit and the 2 guys continued. Looked very simple and we were next. Quickly were buckled up and off we went.. the first few seconds were good and enjoyed but eventually felt that it didn't meet our expectations. We were back on ramp in about 10 mins and little dissapointed.. quickly headed for the next and main activity.. yes.. bungee jump...
We have to walk about 200 meters to each the bungee jumping ramp and once we reached there we were maybe 10 & 11th in queue. There is a metal metal ramp of about 30-40 meters from the starting from mountain. At first we have to wait at the start of the ramp and we could see people jumping from that distance. There are 4 jumpers at a time at the jumping end. And about 4 instructors who take care of all safety measures and giving instructions.
The wait was increasing the anxiety and could nervousness. Finally our turn come and I said I will go first.
The walk from the starting end to the jumping end felt too long as with each step the speed of heartbeat was increasing. I just saw down and could though the metal ramp.. it was scarrrry.. started to sweat more while I was wearing the safety gears..mouth was getting drier by each passing breath.. I was made to sit chair kind of platform and the head instructor went through final checks on my safety gear.. by now I had started to loose my senses..I could no longer hear what he was saying and could only see the river flowing down.. it was too high from where I was... I could feel my legs starting to shiver... I was trying to console and convince myself but failed miserable.. there were too many things going on in my head at that time..I heard instructor asking if I am okay and I said no.... he tried to motivate me but again I was lost in my own thoughts.. I could literally feel I am going to die while I walked to the edge of the ramp. I have NEVER never never never been so scared.. he said something which I again didn't hear.. I thought to myself I am prepared to die if it means but I want to jump and challenge guts.. I just heard him say 1, 2 and Bungee . I didn't waste a single second and just jumped forward looking straight at the mountain.
As soon as my feel went off the ramp, it was a free fall.. for the first 2 seconds I couldn't breathe.. am sure skipped a heartbeat too.... was approaching the river at a tremendous speed. Saw the sky moving away from me at a blazing speed. ...and soon I could feel the stretch of bungee pulling on my ankles... came back to conscious and realised its pulling me back up and I realised I did it and that bought a smile on my face.. I stretched my hands as I was back up in air.. and wait.. I'm falling again.. another moment within few seconds where I had the same feeling that I had while I left the ramp.. but less intensive..and this time I managed to about out loud.. I could heat the instructors and others clapping and saying it was a very good jump.. felt so proud while I was still dangling on bungee..and I felt like I have lived my life and its okay if I die now.. but no I want to live do many more of such things.. while I was being lowered to the ground I was thinking about how will I express this feeling to others.. can I narrate it well enough for people to know what this experience was like.. I heard a voice from beneath asking if I was okay..I said yes and a couple of guys helped me get down...unbuckled me and gave me a batch that said "I've got guts". Was standing there with a huge smile in all glory.. I think that's what u mean by "khushi se fula Nai sama raha tha"
I saw up and Rahul was all ready so I was waiting for him.. he made an attempt but couldn't jump.. took him a lot longer to convince himself to jump and eventually managed it.. as he came down.. I could see the satisfaction on his face and I known what he was feeling right now..
Little painful task was to trek up that entire mountain about 83 meters and we did that quickly so we can get ready for the next jump..yes another one.. but this time Bungee swing.... details on that in next post...

From Jumping heights cafeteria

And below is the father is all videos..

( Flying fox and Bungee Jump images are screenshots from the video hence might not be very clear)

NEXT

 

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Great Volcano !
Great Heartbeats !

 

[moonstar_paddy]

We reach on top after about 15-20 mins of non-stop trek completely exhausted. Rahul’s wife was waiting for us and had seen us jumping on the TV at the café. We went to take our coupon for Bungee swing but were told that they will be taking lunch break and will have to wait for about 30 minutes. We decided to grab a bite ourselves. After about 30 minutes someone called out our names and handed over the coupons and we started walking towards the ramp again. As we reached there, we were already pretty much behind the queue as some people had reached before us. Fortunately they take one Bungee and one Swing and the people waiting there were for Bungee so we didn’t really have to wait. This time Rahul decided to go first and I followed.

Again the same feeling of fear and anxiety started to build up as I reaching towards the jumping end. This time Rahul didn’t take much time and jumped at ease and by the time I reached the edge to jump, I started getting cold. I sat there while the instructor checked all the safety gears and said “You are brave my friend. You can trick your mind for the jump once, but it is difficult to trick your mind twice in the same day.” I was wondering if he is motivating me, praising me or scaring me. He gave usual instructions and off I went without wait time as I knew that the longer I wait there, the more difficult it would.

The feeling was exactly same as with Bungee.. extremely scary and jittery…as soon as my feet left the ramp, my breath stopped and again missed the heartbeat… The deadly first 2 seconds of free fall where you feel you will just end up on the ground and shatter into pieces.. but soon you feel the bungee pull.. you feel little relieved..and start enjoying the swing..realise that swing is comparatively easier than bungee if not done on the same day.. specially if you are a first time.. nevertheless wanted to prove to self that I ain't scared and emma brave buoy….

Soon was released down and could see Rahul waiting for me..I could feel my legs were still shivering even before I landed on the ground. As usual, safety gear was taken off and was handed over another batch that says “You’ve got guts”. I & Rahul discuss our experience and how scared we were. Rahul admitted that he made a crying face (have a pic of this) and asked the instructor to push him. .. Again we went through the strenuous uphill climb and reached the café to meet Mrs. Rahul T. We quickly wind up and head towards resort as we were yet to do River rafting and it was past 3 pm.

As we reach the resort, Ankit tells me it is not possible to do river rafting now and will have to do it tomorrow morning. Really disappointed as have to return to Delhi and catch a flight tomorrow. Anyway, we had no choice. We decided to start at 9, reduce the rafting from 26 Km to 16 Km and skip lunch. We have another good evening session with music and sat with Ankit and his partner till late night before slipping in the bed.

Crying Rahul - check his expression

Me

Here is the video:

LAST PART

 

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