“Gonna take a little rafting trip and paddle down the New River Gorge”

The tendrils of an adventurous day could be felt in the air amidst the crowd in Koteshwor where twelve of us gathered to catch the bus, scheduled to leave at 7:30. We had a breakfast break at ‘Zero Kilo’ where we gorged on alu tarkari, roti, boiled eggs and lemon tea.

The splashing adventure began from the moment we saw our boats, paddles, life-jackets, shining helmets. The inflation of the plastic bags into rafting boats primed us for the exploration that was to begin. We fashioned ourselves pirates getting ready for the venture; dressed up in an armor of life-jacket, helmet and carried our sword paddles with pride. We were given safety briefings that gave us some chills; surely they could have done without them telling us we would not sue them if we died :). We carefully listened to the commands that were given in order to conquer the rapids. The quest began around 12 pm. The initial calmness of the river felt like staring into the eye of a storm. Everyone in the raft were alert to the commands of Forward, Backward, Right-Forward, Left-Backward and ready to enjoy every splash of water that was to be showered by Bhotekoshi. It needed all our might and the co-ordination of the team to succeed against the rapids. We stopped for a while for snacks to re-energize ourselves followed by second stop, where we dived off a cliff. The rapids kept us paddling for more than 3 hours. With the smell of the fresh river water in our soaked clothes and the tan on us, we reached the destination point at Sukute. Tired and hungry, we ate up the meal that was served and set off to get back home. The pleasure of swimming in the flowing water with the life-jacket on, the fearless attitude of jumping off the cliff, the rocks that treacherously slipped us up, the plunging of fellow friends into the mighty Bhotekoshi river, the efforts used in pulling some out of the river, the bright sun, sun baked skin, the drenched clothes will all remain with us throughout our lives.

Neeraj Sharma

The experience of rafting was amazing, even though I didn’t know how to swim. It was fun going up against the rapids of Bhotekoshi. I am very thankful to Rachana for taking the burden of organizing everything and giving me the life time opportunity of experiencing what rafting is all about. Thanks Captain Rachana Shrestha.

Rajkumar Maharjan

I was really excited about the rafting, but circumspect about how to act amongst the older members of the Deerwalk family as I had recently joined the company. However, their pleasant behavior made me feel free. When I jumped from nearly 20 feet high boulder at place called Jumping Point, I felt as if my heart would stop. It was very interesting to swim in the cold water of Bhotekoshi.

Sumit Shrestha

There was huge uncertainty regarding rafting, but finally it all happened when we reached the banks of Bhotekoshi. The 12 people group was more entertaining than the rapids. Rosina was ‘Jalpari’ who liked swimming over rafting, Jagir’s chatting even under rapids, Naresh mocking Sanket dai and finally the best entertainer was Rachana di’s swimming:D.

Manila Raut

My friends gave me the will to conquer the rapids of Bhotekoshi. It was a nice trip as it taught me the value of team work. Everyone was awesome. They helped me in my hard times, when I was nearly drowned by the crew from other boat. Thanks all for pulling me out and saving my life :). As terrifying as it was, I loved the experience
HATS OFF TO ALL THE TEAM .WE DID IT.

Rachana Shrestha

No risk, no gain. White water rafting refreshed me after several long weekends. It reminded me of the beauty our country possesses. Saying ‘hi5’ for team motivation before each rapid starts, eating ’coconut biscuit’ in middle of rafting, and striking the boat to huge rocks; I loved every one of these activities.
Hopefully, the next one will be just as much fun.