Adventure Sports near Kanakpura

So far, I have blogged about outings which I have planned and organized myself. This outing, which I’m writing about, was conceived by my cousin and it was definitely a day well spent! I didn’t have to bother myself with driving, or the number of people who were coming, or making sure they were on time! All I did was enjoy the drive in my cousin’s car, have lots of fun throughout the day, and come back home completely exhausted.

At 12.30 in the afternoon, none of us
felt like trekking all the way up!

We headed off to this privately owned adventure sports camp near Kanakpura on Sunday, 23^rd of October. This place is approximately 3 kilometers away from the Kanakpura city. The place is somewhat a flat land full of lush greenery and wilderness, and beyond this place is a hillock where guided treks are conducted.

We reached the place around 11 in the morning and immediately started with the trek. Our guide, Madhu, a lad in his late twenties, patiently guided us through the wilds and slippery rocks. Reaching the hill top required two and a half hours of trekking and at 12.30 in the afternoon, none of us were up to it. Hence, we decided to trek up for another half an hour and head back to the base camp to resume other activities.

Our guide trekked down ahead of us so that he could get the equipment ready for the next activity... Jumaring! I had never heard of jumaring before and I had no idea how it was done. Jumaring is a technique to ascend a rope vertically with the help of friction-clamps. The mechanical device used, is called an ascender. The word Jumar comes from the name of the Swiss factory which manufactures these ascenders hence device’s name leading to the term Jumaring. (Thank You Wikipedia! ;-))

Jumaring!

Meanwhile, Madhu had tied the ropes to a branch of a tree and had set up the equipment in no time. Madhu also gave us a detailed demonstration of how (“easily”) it is done. After Madhu’s effortless demonstration, my cousins and I took on this activity one by one and I was the third person to go. I realized the difficulty of this sport only when I started doing it myself. Jumaring is certainly a tiresome activity for those who are not physically fit. It revealed to me the sedentary life I’ve been living for the past few years now and how I needed to exercise badly! However, I finished ascending the full height within 5 minutes. :-D It was time for lunch by the time all of us were finished and we headed back to the base camp.

Rappelling!

Parceled lunch had been brought for us from a hotel in Kanakpura and the food was tasty. After having a three course meal, we proceeded towards the hillock for Rappelling. Rappelling is an activity where you descend the face of a rock with a rope. Rappelling was also a sport I’d never done before. We trekked up the hillock for half an hour and picked a huge rock from which we’d descend. Madhu gave us a detailed explanation of how it is done and kept urging us to just trust him. Despite the demonstration, I had several questions concerning my safety and therefore (much to the displeasure of my cousins ;-)) I took a few more minutes to clear all my doubts with Madhu. There’s one rope called the BELAY rope which is tied to your waist and our guide would release it bit by bit as I climbed down the rock. There’s another rope which goes all the way down till the ground where the descending ends. This rope passes through a hoop attached to my belt. Anyway, further technicalities are not required unless you’re actually going to do this sport.

We Rappled down the triangular
shaped rock at the centre of this picture!

You may have vertigo, acrophobia or any other phobia, but I strongly suggest that you not miss out on Rappelling. Rappelling is a very exciting sport and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Although I was very skeptical in the beginning, it turned out to be very invigorating. You might be told not to look down so that you don’t get scared of the height...but do make it a point to look in all directions to feel the thrill!

My Cousin and I making
a perfectly steered U-Turn!

Unfortunately, as we were short of time, we couldn’t go for a second round of rappelling and we had to proceed towards the pond for Kayaking. Kayaking was yet another first time experience and it was absolute fun. Row too slow and you might not be able to steer properly…row too hard and you might topple the boat (with your feet stuck inside the boat…and if that happens…you’re stuck underwater until you slither your feet out of the Kayak!
;-)).

It was already dark by the time we finished kayaking and we were served with hot tea and biscuits as we got out of the pond. By 7.30 in the evening, we were completely exhausted and it was time for us to leave.

I slept peacefully thorough the two hour journey back to Bangalore. I was home by 10pm.

More information:

You can trek up the hillock and camp there overnight!

You can also camp out in tents which can be pitched near the base camp with a bonfire… or perhaps stay in tree houses!

If you wish to contact the owner of this place…feel free to send me an email.