If you were planning a rafting trip to Rishikesh anytime soon, you’ll have to hit pause! Authorities have decided to temporarily stop river rafting on the Ganga because heavy rains have caused the river’s water level to rise dangerously close to the warning mark. There’s also a lot of silt piling up on the riverbed, which makes rescue operations a challenge if anything goes wrong.
The stop on rafting at Muni ki Reti, a popular starting point for these adventures, kicked in on June 24 and will stay in place until it’s safe again. Jaspal Chauhan, the tourism officer from Tehri district, said the Ganga was flowing at 338 metres earlier this week—just one metre away from the danger zone.
A quick geography tip: while Muni ki Reti sits right by Rishikesh (which is in the Dehradun district), it technically falls under the Tehri district.
Rishikesh is a huge hot spot for river rafting fans from all over India, and usually, the season runs for most of the year, except July and August, which is the peak monsoon time and always off-limits for rafting.
For now, safety comes first, so rafting will have to wait until conditions improve!