Just before the 2nd wave of Covid lockdown crashed into our lives, I had a great opportunity to visit Dandeli, one of the beautiful places you can visit in Karnataka with my friends. Also I did one of the activity which I have dreaded for long…woof…I will open the surprise later in the blog.
One of the fastest and quick decision…my friend Mr Nagaraj called me in the evening and asked me to get ready by 7 pm to start for Dandeli. What….I was surprised and astonished…so fast.
Anyway, I could not miss the opportunity after so long lockdown and events in life. I was quick to respond and was super excited about Dandeli.
We started around 8 PM from yeswanthpur circle on our journey towards Dandeli. The route is very scenic but we covered the most in the night. Early morning we were at Hubli Dharwad Toll. The route passes through Tumkur, Sira, Chitradurga, Davangere, Hubbli, Dharwad and finally Dandeli.
The following pic has been taken at hub Dharwad Toll gate early in the morning
Anyhow after Dharwad toll, it was very scenic route and finally around 7 AM we reached Dandeli. The visit was already booked in a resort which was in between a Jungle and we were assigned two tents for four people. We got freshened up and had a beautiful breakfast at resort. Then the staff of resort guided us to visit the water sports area which was around 20 Km from the resort.
A few things about Dandeli.
Dandeli is always referred as Adventure Capital of south India, peaceful and adventurous. It is located in the rocky trails of the Western Ghats and Kali river flows through it. Dandeli is made up of rocky trails and lots of green environment. Apart from the adventurous activities, there are several historical places like Ulavi Temple, caves to visit in Dandeli. Dandeli’s climate is subtropical, with a major influence of the Western Ghats on it. Temperatures can stay between 20 and 42 degrees Celsius. The closeness to the Arabian Sea affects the weather of this place. The post-monsoon season, October to January is the best time to travel to Dandeli. Dandeli is only 125 Kms from Goa.
Anyways after reaching the Dandeli river rafting area, my foot started shivering. The sheer visuals of water gushing through the rocks, sound made me feel nauseated. It was in mind end of life.
Anyway, keeping my mind aside (which was telling me to run away), I along with friends went to the water sports area in Kali River. The free packages included in package were Boating for 10 Mins, Jaccuzzi etc. which we completed first. Then came the time of
RAFTING…..
I was shivering…Blood gushing through the body…mind telling one thing, body other…..BUT I decided to go about it. If my friends Nagaraj and Nikhil would not have been there, I would never have done this.
The instructor initially gave us all the protective equipments and gave us instruction on how to handle the gush of water and about movement of the body when approaching the water falling down the slope.
The instructor was very professional, took my GoPro and put on his helmet (for which they charged Rs 1000 ) from the whole group.
It was terrifying but exciting, the initial fear went away after few minutes in water and then came the moment….our boat against the water current…Our boat was moving like matchbox in water current down the slope…finally over! As we thought but no….Our instructor again asked us to rotate the boat and go upstream against the water flow to the point where water is roaring at the highest level. On reaching the epitome, our boat just turned 180 degrees like hay in wind….most enjoyable moment…two mates behind the boat even fell down in water which we rescued (no danger). Again our instructor told us to repeat the same but this time it was very exciting.
This was the most adventurous thing I have ever done in my life. Please visit the below link in you tube to see for yourself what I went through.
After finishing two rounds against the water stream, we pulled to the river bank, carried the boat together to the starting point and that ends our adventure for the day.
Returned to the resort. Had lunch and after that Evening snacks were served. Relaxed in the most peaceful environment one could think of. I will surely thank my friends who took me there and helped me to enjoy the place.
Next day after breakfast started towards Bangalore and reached around 8 PM in the evening at Bangalore.
This trip was one of my best trips in life and suggest everyone to try it out.
You can see the videos of the trip on youtube using link below
Nice post and informative for the tourists planning for trip to Dandeli…
Nicely elaborated about beautiful revers rafting journey. Valuable information shared. liked your blog
Very informative blog.. u just took us there with you. Glad u guys had a good time. Wishing you many more such travel memories .
Very informative blog. valuable information shared. liked your blog. Nice post and informative for the tourists planning