Team Peak UK kayaker Steve Brooks has been out in the Indian Himalayas looking for some sunshine, great whitewater and the madness of the worlds most populated country. Here is part one…. It was time to make a move, the winter was a bit of a disappointment and with the process of getting a visa to India becoming easier I decided to go kayaking in the Indian Himalayas for a month! Landing at New Delhi airport in the middle of the night does have its advantages. Ganesh had organised my taxi and we were charging through the deserted streets of central Delhi on the way to Rishikesh. A few detours and chai stops later I was in Rishikesh. Within a couple of days I was heading to the Yamuna Valley with Laxman. I had seen the Lower Yamuna on the drive up a few years back while kayak road tripping with Ute. It has a stunning location and from the road the deep gorge looked to be unspoilt.
Our camp was below a big portage and just as we finished off our dinner the rains started to fall. But this was just the start of things and by the middle of the night it was hammering it down. The next morning saw the river slightly higher. With the sun starting to come out everything was fresh, clean and very green. The Lower Yamuna is not a river with difficult rapids or monster portages but a great paddle through some fantastic scenery. With the road high up it gives you a great feel of isolation and the villages you pass have no road access so they are very traditional. By the time we were getting to the take-out the clouds had appeared and the rain started once again to fall. With the boats fixed to the jeep and a few hot, sweet chais taken to warm up we headed back up the valley to the River Tons.
The drive was by no means easy since a big cloud burst had happened just before the village of Nagoan and a landslide had taken some of the road away. Luckily there was already a digger at the location as they were trying to repair the last big landslide from the previous monsoon. A bus was stuck in the mud and the traffic was beginning to queue up in both directions. By the time we got through it was getting dark so we stayed the night in Purola - the Tons would have to wait until tomorrow...
For more photos of Steve’s trip check out his blog at:
www.comingdowngently.blogspot.com or his Kayak School website:
www.gokayaking.at
