Why are we the Chosen Outfitter for many?

Aquaterra Adventures operates river and mountain trips throughout the Indian Himalayas – from the Zanskar and Indus rivers in Ladakh to the Brahmaputra and Lohit rivers in Arunachal Pradesh. This vast span of river repertoire is made possible by a “hands on” operation and a backbone of the country’s most experienced river and mountain guides and state of the art equipment. We have organised several trips for kayakers who want all logistics sorted out, sometimes even provided raft support on longer sections.

Safety & Equipment

Rafts and accessories used for river rafting are imported and are made of tear-resistant nylon based hypalon. Wearing helmets with chin straps fastened and life-jacket is mandatory which keep the person’s head above water in the not-so-common event of MOB (Man-Over-Board). Water-proof bags are kept aboard the raft for keeping cameras on the trip and on longer self-contained, multi-day expeditions, bigger water-proof bags are carried to keep all baggage on the raft completely dry. Every raft also carries rescue bags and flip lines to counter any emergency.

We use self-bailing `Hyside’ rafts and accessories from Northwest River Supplies (NRS), Idaho, U.S.A for our rafting trips. Every raft trip/expedition carries a repair kit and a first-aid kit in order to make the run completely self contained. A safety briefing is given to everyone before the river run commences which outlines everything from the nature of the river and what to expect, to paddling commands and safety procedures to remember while in white-water. If possible, an easy section is rafted on the first day to orient everyone with rafting.

The #Aquaterra Team

River guides on the trip are extensively trained and have many years of on-river experience, on each of the different rivers we operate on. They are also trained in first-aid and can handle any minor injury that might occur. On a river not rafted before, our guides make a thorough reconnaissance raft / kayak trip before running it commercially. All our regular river trips have had a number of descents by our river guides. Each raft has one river guide with 4-8 people in it, depending on the type of trip (day-trip / multi-day)

Outdoors Redefined

Safety First with #Aquaterra

Frequently Asked Questions

White water rafting trips come in a number of different guises, and which one you choose largely depends on your experience, fitness and levels of gung-ho. At one end of the scale are the rapid getaway 1-3 day long adrenaline trips, the supreme example of which are the Ganga and Tons rivers – a roller coaster ride which combines excellent whitewater with camping by the river, with campfire barbecues thrown in.

Then, there are multi-day trips, which combine thrills with access to territory you couldn’t visit in any other way. This is expedition, or wilderness rafting where you don’t see anybody for 3-6 days, with technical rafting of Grade 3 and 4 (on some rivers, the odd Grade 5). The Alaknanda, Bhagirathi, Kali/Sarda, Zanskar and Brahmaputra rivers are such trips.

Speak with our guides, before you go. We have the rating system below for you to go through, so you can choose the trip of your liking.

Rapids are graded from Class I to Class VI depending on the degree of difficulty they present in successfully manoeuvring a whitewater raft (raft/kayak/canoe/cataraft) through it.

  • Grade 1: Relax and chill out.
  • Grade 2: Keep an eye open for small waves.
  • Grade 3: This will be fun – tighten your life jackets and helmets.
  • Grade 4: Getting serious; paddle well or you could end up swimming.
  • Grade 5: Don’t mess up – this is the hardest stuff you can raft.
  • Grade 6: If you are told you are rafting grade 6, your guide is lying – this is suicide!!

Rafting does not require very high levels of fitness.Nearly anybody over 14 years of age can run nearly all rivers on offer. Of Course, heart patients,expecting mothers or any other serious ailments are an impediment.

Participants must be in good health and reasonable physical condition. It is vital that participants with medical problems make them known to us well before departure. If you suffer from severe muscular, chest, heart or bronchial disorders, or if you are a severe asthmatic, or have high blood pressure, you are strongly advised against participating. Expeditions generally take place in remote areas where there is little or no access to normal medical services or hospital facilities for serious problems. Where necessary, evacuation can be prolonged, difficult and expensive. Medical and evacuation expenses will be the responsibility of the participant.

Rafting is one of the safest adventure activities you can take part in. All our trips are guided by competent and experienced guides with at least five years of experience on all rivers that we run. In addition, all safety gear like lifejackets, helmets, foot braces etc. are provided for. River guides are trained in First Aid and C.P.R and can handle minor injuries.

All our guided trips are open for non-swimmers as well. A comprehensive safety briefing is given before each trip and moreover, the ability to swim is not a consideration when you go down a whitewater river.

Yes, all guided trips are open for first-timers as well. You can join a weekend trip or an expedition trip, as long as you are gung-ho about the activity.

You need only your shorts, T-shirts, a pair of strap-on sandals and your sense of humor on most of our trips. Spray jackets and spray pants, wetsuits are provided for colder rivers, by us. Sleeping bags for expedition-style trips are advisable.

On our camps and expedition trips,meals served are buffet style – wholesome and delicious at camps (you WILL be surprised!) and easy to prepare on expedition trips. Most adventure travel trips travel on their stomachs – we make sure they travel very, very well.

On all our trips, water used is spring water (preferably, the first-use kinds) which is boiled and then treated with tincture of iodine.

On our camps, we have bio-toilets in use because of closeness to river and Reserved Forest Regulations. You however, do not have to squat – there are proper seats (like the ones you have at home!).The only difference is that you cannot use the flush. On our multi-day trips, the toilets are the great outdoors – each person has to dig a small hole and burn their toilet paper (it does burn quite well).

On our Camp based trips, everything is catered for and you need to only enjoy the few days that you have taken off for the trip. On multi day trips, you can participate in as much as you’d like to – helping with the rafts, the tents, the campfire etc.

As for paddling, you can choose to set the pace of your own trip – each raft has one or two non-paddling positions which you can opt for incase you do not wish to paddle. Paddling however is half the fun and you can participate in paddling as much as you wish to.