Shattering the silence of the desolate hills, our car gorged through the winding roads of Naubise, while the dusty, uneven roads of Kathmandu trailed behind us. By the end of the day, the sun gradually shifted to the west, revealing the moon in its entirety as we entered Dhading. What awaited us there was a rafting adventure at Trishuli River Side Resort (TRSR) only 65 km away from the capital city. As we approached our destination, a cacophony of laughter greeted us and we hopped out and scurried our way towards the source of the sound and merrymaking, soon forgetting the long drive.
The first thing I noticed downhill was the perpetual gushing of the Trishuli river. At the bar the owner himself, Uddav Kadel met us and escorted us for snacks. The platter consisted of fries that inherited the sweet taste of organic potatoes, a hand-full of fried bhatmas (soya beans) and chiura (beaten rice) along with a saucer of thick, gravy tomato pickle and a cool drink to end the meal with. Given the long drive, we were awfully hungry and devoured it quickly and the moved to lay back and look around. A few youths were swimming about under the lunar encampment in close proximity to the resort.
The resort boasts a variety of accommodation. They have cottages across the river and also provide comfortable beds along with tents for an authentic camping experience. Each of the settings, the cottage or beds can accommodate a maximum of 5 people and inside the tents are 2 sleeping bags. Since we wanted an outdoor experience; we slipped inside of our pitched tents and into sleeping bags while the river lulled us to sleep.
The next morning, we got up to the vista of the vast river flowing in its accord, the rolling hills, the clear blue sky and the sultry summer heat. We got out of our tents and followed the strong smell of hot coffee down below. On the buffet table were massive pots carrying bread with jams and honey for an alternative choice, boiled eggs and some baked potatoes. Considering the amount of stamina one requires rowing the boat, each one of us gobbled every last crust of bread.
Post breakfast, everyone queued behind the instructors and attired themselves in life jackets. After some instructions, we were handed our oars and began paddling, propelled by the waves of the water.
A fitting start to the rafting was cliff jumping. The idea behind the cliff jump was to make rafters familiar with the water torrents. Once we were done with the cliff jump, we got into our rafts and resumed paddling. We were told that our paddling should be in rhythm; precisely in unison with the water currents so that we don’t get toppled by it but rather propel forward over it. We heeded these words and continued further to ‘Twins Rock’, a prime rapid area where the waves resonated with my heartbeat and that’s how I knew I was alive-palpitating and struggling against the tides while revelling in the white waters. Trishuli’s potency was better understood as it came with full force, aberrated our balance and smacked us right in the face. The cool refreshing water was honestly a delight.
We halted after an hour-long rafting bout at a beach within the rafting premises. Straight ahead of the sandy beach, one could see the river stretch out up to vast infinity while being governed by two big hills on either side. A circle was made in the middle of the beach where the instructors explained to the congregation the rules of the ‘Paddle game’. It was an interesting game of hopping on either side to touch the paddle of our partners, not to forget very safe since nobody was to trespass the circle. The game proved to be an ice-breaker between the numerous rafting teams and the second rafting bout was all applauding of the gutsy team-members who spiralled around the nasty waves.
We started rafting from the Trishuli river and culminated at Jawan Khola (Jawan river), covering a total distance of 27 km in 3 hours. The rivers we rafted on are actually an amalgamation of 3 rivers- Trishuli, Budhi Gandaki and Jawan Khola.
Although the rapids were ample, the fun is directly proportional to the rapids; the more the rapids, the more fun it is. In a nutshell, rafting at Trishuli Resort is a must-try water sport where the staffs boast utmost safety and amiability.
Sandhya Ghimire is a Content Writer at Nepal Traveller.
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