Here is some good news for all those adventure freaks in the city. Pack your bags and get ready for that spine-tingling adventure you have waited for so long.
Varr Adventures an adventure sports company is all set to provide some real adventure for the city folks.
It is not just the usual trekking and rock climbing that is on the agenda, but novelties such as kayaking, river jumping and tree jummaring that could make the day of any adventurer are on offer.
The company will officially launch its activities on 22 September with a cycling race from Kallar to Ponmudi. “The race named ‘Race to the Golden Hills’ is a first-of-its-kind uphill cycling race which will have national-level participation. The event will also see the participation of Lakshmibhai National College of Physical Education (LNCPE) students from the city. We are also planning to make this a yearly event and conduct it on a much larger scale with participants from all over the world,” says a partner, Rency Thomas.
Some of the activities on offer in Thiruvananthapuram, Kallar-Ponmudi area, are:
Rock climbing, rappelling, river jumping, river crossing, tree jummaring, camping in tents with barbecue and campfire, river kayaking, zip line, waterfalls trekking, mottakunnu hill trek, corporate team building activities on different themes and so on.
All the activities will be taking place at the River County Resort at Kallar.
On the safety measures and other precautions Rency says: “All our guides are highly experienced and certified from the institutes such as National Institute of Water Sports, Himalayan Mountaineering Institute and Nehru Institute of Mountaineering. They are all national and international-level competitors and medal holders. And the equipment we use are of International standards and rated from the authorities such as UIAA, CE and US Coast Guard.”
All activities are monitored by highly trained professionals and guides and all trekking activities inside the forest are accompanied by forest guards.
“Also our motto is ‘Leave no trace’. We take special care and attention not to disturb the wild in any way with our activities. Our teams take care not to litter the environment and we only take a limited number of people inside the forest at a time.”
On the difficulties faced in starting such a venture Rency says: “People are ignorant on how such activities can promote tourism and how it can prove beneficial for us. Ignorance about the scope of the whole thing was one of the major hurdles that we faced.”
Apart from activities in the city the team is also planning to launch activities like backwater kayaking, sailing, sea cruising, lake side camping in tents with barbecue and campfire and angling in Kochi. Also a paragliding activity in Wagamon is also in the pipeline.
The first adventure activity in the city will happen on 29 September. The cycle race will be flagged off at 9 am at Kallar.