Canyoning at Pokhara is one of the most adventurous things to do at Pokhara. If you don’t know what canyoning is, here is the meaning of the activity that we are going to talk about in the article.
Canyoning- the sport of jumping into a fast-flowing mountain stream and allowing oneself to be carried downstream at high speed.
If you have been to Pokhara multiple times, then you might already feel that Pokhara is saturated and there are no new places to visit. It would be wrong to think so because there are a lot of unexplored places near Pokhara. Pokhara is a city of adventure. I look for a constant adventure, and I usually find one.
All our college friends were to attend our friend’s wedding, but our plan was more than that. We had a few extra days, and we wanted to explore the outskirts of Pokhara. I heard about the new waterfall at Pokhara, and the best part was that you can go canyoning from there. I was already excited, and all I had to do now was convince everyone to go there. I finally succeeded in doing that, and our journey begins.
Brief Summary Of Canyoning at Pokhara
Location: Lwang Ghale, Pokhara
Cost: Rs. 2500 per person
Food: Rs. 400 per person
Time: 1-hour drive from Phewa Lake Side, 3 to 4 hours for the entire activity and travel.
Google Map Location:
Canyoning at Pokhara is around an hour’s drive from Pokhara lakeside. All the road is well maintained except for around a 2-kilometer distance when we almost reach the destination. It was raining continuously when we were on our way, but the way was beautiful, and you could see a big waterfall on the way.
When we reached there, we were asked to wait as it was raining and it was risky to go canyoning during heavy rainfall. But we were lucky, and slowly the weather cleared and we were good to go. We wore the suit provided to us and got ready with all the gear. Each member was given safety instructions and a small trial.
All of the group was pumped up, and we started our walk toward the top of the waterfall. The higher I walked, the more scared I was. The way was difficult, but it was only around an 8 – 10 minute walk from the base of the waterfall. When I saw it from below, the waterfall looked small, and I was excited to be there. Now that I was above the waterfall, it felt like the waterfall from the movie Bahubali.
We lined up with the safety harness, and our instructor was giving us instructions on how to go down. I was losing my focus on safety instruction as I was scared of the waterfall below me. We were in the middle of the waterfall. There was a waterfall above us and below us, too.
Two of my friends initiated the fall and my heart started pumping more and more. I was regretting the decision to go there. It won’t be wrong to say that I was scared to death. And then the instructor called me to be on-line. There was no going back now.
I gathered all the courage that I had and then got ready for the fall. I grabbed the GoPro camera and said a few words. I don’t even remember what I said. And then I slowly started going down. In the middle of the waterfall, there was another instructor who was there to change the ropes, and staying there was pretty hard. He took a minute or more to change the rope, but I felt like it was more than 15 minutes.
After changing the ropes, I started descending slowly. Water was hitting my face; I couldn’t get a good grip either, but I was enjoying the ride. I remembered our instructor saying, “just think of it like you are walking on a regular surface”. That approach worked pretty well for me. I was walking like a regular day on the waterfall, and I was enjoying the ride below. My happiness was short-lived as I almost reached the base of the waterfall.
I was stopped and asked to spread my hands in the air. Now I was hanging on the waterfall, and below was a pool of water. I knew it was going to be a free fall, and I knew it was going to be scary. I was asked if I was ready, and I said yes even though I wasn’t ready at all for the freefall. And then I started falling, and it felt like I was bungee jumping again. I plunged into the water and came out of it, and then I finally took a long breath.
It was one of the most adventurous things that I have done in a long time. I had done a bungee jump a few days earlier, but I must say this was more thrilling than the bungee jump itself. It’s thrilling, but also riskier than the bungee itself. Bungee had a lot of safety protocols, while canyoning had few, and you had to rely on a single small rope and the instructor. If you are an adventure lover like me, you will definitely enjoy this ride.
