For a Bangalorean waiting for a weekend adventure trip, Hebri is that perfect ‘getaway’. Lined with dense, verdant forests, the Sitanadi which flows through Hebri provides food for adventure with its steep rapids for an unbelievable ‘white water rafting’ experience.
The best time of the year to visit Hebri on a river rafting trip is after the monsoons as soon as the water is released from the Neelavara dam. Conditions would be best during August and September when the Sitanadi is in its rip-roaring state.
Hebri is located 412 kilometre from Bangalore at the foot of the Western Ghats. If it is a road trip with a group of friends, the shortest route to Hebri is via Dharmasthala and Karkala. There is also an alternate route via Shimoga, through Theerthahalli and then Agumbe.
On leaving Bangalore early in the morning and with a few halts for leg-stretches, basic food and tea, one can reach Hebri late in the night. Accommodation facilities are available either in Hebri, or within the Sitanadi Forest Camp.
The rafting expedition may begin in the morning, depending on the batch that one desires. On reaching the riverside camp, boys with oriental features and accents eased us into our life jackets and made us carry our inflated boat on our heads and we joined the team waiting for us by the stream. We had to walk down a steep path from the camp to the river bank from where we were to get onto the rafts.
The instructors to accompany during the rafting give an informative overview of the Sitanadi and quick instructions on river behavior, and how our behavior ought to be.
There were several points along the trail where there were synchronization problems because of which the boat began to take an unexpected direction. This does not require great skills, as one progresses into three hour long trail, the coordination can only gets better! But the rapids might get harder to cross as the stream gets stronger.
The 15 kilometre float through the Sitanadi is picturesque. The rafting journey may take at least three hours which includes the three halts where one could take a swim in the river. Rowing through forests that lined the banks of the Sitanadi, one can watch kingfishers fly by and some exotic blooms in a few places and prod each other to row harder with the boat man’s voice taking you forward. Occasional showers during the rafting indubitably add to the adrenaline-rush.
At the end of the trip, it is a feeling of rejuvenation and victory that one gets overcome by, among slanting bars of monsoon sunlight streaming through dense clouds, and falling on the bright yellow oars.
Although swimming is not indispensable for white water rafting but knowing how to swim sure gives one an edge over others.
KSRTC buses are available from Bangalore to Udupi and Hebri.
Depending on the mode of transport, the entire trip of a day and two nights might cost between `2500 and `3000.