River rafting in Manali is an exhilarating adventure that attracts visitors year-round. Situated in the northern reaches of India, Manali stands as a beloved hill station destination for travelers of all kinds. Beyond its scenic beauty, Manali offers a plethora of attractions, including paragliding, snow surfing, snowboarding, skiing, and ice skating, making it a perennial favorite among adventure enthusiasts.
River Rafting in Manali
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Despite being lesser-known, Manali offers excellent opportunities for river rafting, often regarded as one of the best in the Indian mountains. River rafting in Manali stands out as a top adventure activity, promising unforgettable experiences under the guidance of trained and professional instructors.
Where is River Rafting done in Manali?
River rafting stands as one of the premier adventure activities in Himachal Pradesh. In Manali, this thrilling pursuit takes place in the Jhiri section, situated near Bajaura in the Kullu district. Additionally, another popular rafting route in Manali spans from Pirdi to Jhiri, covering a distance of 14 kilometers downstream towards Jhiri.
The water of Beas river is perfect for beginner and expert rafters. River rafting in Manali usually opens all day from 10 am to 5 pm, so I advise you to go in the first half so that you do not have to wait long. The river rafting duration is of around one and a half hour and also consists of rapid II and III grades. There is a number of private service providers here in Manali that offer the service of river rafting with experienced rafting trainers.
They provide you rafting gears on rent that include raft, helmet, oars and life jacket. The rafts that are given to tourists are properly tested and trained so you do not need to worry about your safety. They will give you a short briefing about the Manali rafting stretch and tell you about the equipment that you will be using in rafting.
After that, you have to board the raft and now you are set to raft on the Beas River. The rapids are thrilling and you have to do almost 2 hours of river rafting in Manali so do your best and enjoy. If you are new to river rafting then you can ask for assistance from them and the 2 to 3 locally trained professionals will accompany you and ensure your safety.
Best Service Providers for Manali River Rafting
The route from Bhuntar to Manali is full of adventure service providers on the roadsides. With an increasing number of tourists every year these service providers have made adventure activities more convenient in Manali.
There are some famous service providers or operators are Rafting in Manali, Adventure Manali and Visit Kullu Manali and they also provide you online service to book you slot. There is no shortfall of such service providers or operators in Manali.
River Rafting in Manali Online Booking
Why choose Manali for River Rafting?
In the state of Himachal Pradesh, there are 4 rivers and all rivers offer you the opportunity of rafting. These rivers are Chenab, Ravi, Satluj and Beas. River rafting is classified into 6 categories that are based on the difficulty level of river rafting. Beas is the ideal river to have the most waters for various forms of rafting.
Beas river has its emerging point in the Rohtang Pass and it blesses Kullu Valley on its way down, Beas River is fed by the melting glaciers and snow in the mountains and the river is clear and blue under the sunny sky of Himachal Pradesh.
Beas River has the perfect kind of stability over a stretch of 20 km in Manali, so the waters of Beas River are one of the perfect rating options in North India. River rafting in Manali is also suitable for you if you are a beginner and non-swimmers, if you are a beginner then you should go for easy to moderate grade rapids on river rafting stretches.
While rafting in Manali you will raft through a pristine river with pine trees and amazing views of mountains all around and during your rafting you do battle with some of the popular rapids that are S Bend Beta and Gamma.
Best time to visit Manali for River Rafting
The best time to visit Manali for river rafting is throughout the year except for a few months. River rafting in Manali is restricted only in extreme winter months that are from November to March and during the monsoon season from mid-June to mid-September.
Beas River has the most ideal currents setting so that river rafting can be done almost throughout the year in Manali. The monsoon season and extreme winter season do restrict river rafting and other adventure activities for a couple of months but it restarts by late October and continuous till early February.
Safety Measures for River Rafting
There are a number of rafting offices that are located in Kullu Valley. These rafting operators not only provide you all safety gear onsite but also provide you only trained and professional guides who have complete knowledge of handling emergency situations. They also give you proper instructions on what to do and how to overcome the problems in case you encounter any.
You just have to make sure that you are wearing comfortable clothes so that you can enjoy yourself better. You must not forget to wear the safety gear until you are off the boat.
We give you the list of some important guidelines for river rafting in Manali-
1. You should check out the operator’s reputation.
2. You must check that all guides must be certified and well trained in all river rafting activities. You have to go river rafting under the guidance of experts.
3. You must wear helmets properly.
4. You should listen to rafting guide instructions carefully.
5. You should keep in mind to do not to stand up in the boat and avoid drinking water from the river or doing any other silly things during rafting.
6. You must keep in mind that do not go for the rescue of others until the guide says.
7. In case you find yourself under the raft then you just use your arms to walk yourself out to the edge of the raft.
8. You should hold the side ropes of the raft until the guide pull’s you up.
9. You should participate in river rafting with a bunch of teammates, never go solo on this water trip.
10. Always do rafting during the daytime, you should not go for this water sport in the dark.
River Rafting Price in Manali
If you would like to start from Pirdi then there will be 2 types of river rafting packages available. The first one will be of 5 km and the second one of 12 km as long river rafting track. These packages start from Rs 900 for a short distance and Rs 1400 for long-distance.
If you want to save the rafting memories that you can watch later then you can shoot videos and click photographs of your water trip. For a short-distance river rafting point, Pirdi and the destination will be Bhuntar and for long-distance, river rafting the destination point is Jhidi. There is also another river rafting point in Manali that starts from Babeli [Baveli] and end at Bashing [Dev Dhamm]
What to Carry for Manali River Rafting?
If you are planning your river rafting in Manali then you do need to carry much. But you should apply sunscreen before you start and keep your valuable things behind. In case you are wearing sunglasses then you have to make sure that your sunglasses have a strap to keep them around your neck. You will be provided with all the required equipment and safety gear by river rafting operators for your water trip in Manali.
River Rafting in Manali; what to expect?
Usually, river rafting in Manali takes you along a run 5 to 14 km stretch and this will be great fun for a day adventure activity in Manali. You will start rafting in Pirdi, from this you will have to battle rapids ranging from Grade II to III for around one and a half and more hours.
Other adventure Activities in Manali
Manali is the best adventure travel destination in the country. This place attracts many adventurers from all over the globe throughout the year. Manali is a place that offers you a number of adventure activities that you can enjoy and experience while you are visiting this beautiful hill station. Here is the list of some top adventure activities that you can do in Manali
- Trekking in Manali
- Motorbiking in Manali
- Paragliding in Manali
How to reach Manali?
Manali is one of the famous hill stations of India and Manali is well connected to all the major cities of the country by air and road. If you want to come to Manali by air then you have to book your flight tickets to the Bhuntar Airport, Kullu that is located around 50 km from Manali. Bhuntar Airport, Kullu is well connected to Delhi and Chandigarh by daily flights and to other major cities of the country such as Bangalore, Mumbai, etc. by daily flights. After reaching Bhuntar Airport, Kullu you can take a bus or a cab to reach Manali.
Manali is the place that is connected to all major towns and cities of the country through a rich network of roads. It is your choice that you can either take a cab to reach Manali or take a state-owned or private bus service. All the roads that lead to Manali are thrilling and scenic so you can even drive yourself to enjoy the spectacular view at your own pace.
Manali is a hill station that is located at the foot of the Himalayas so there are not any railway stations in Manali. The nearest railway station is the Joginder Nagar Railway Station, Mandi that is located at a distance of around 130 km from Manali. This railway station s connected to several big towns or cities of the country by daily express trains. There are also the railway junctions that are located at Chandigarh and Ambala, from here you can either take a bus or book a can to reach Manali.