Soaking wet in pouring rain, I stood on the banks of a wild Mhadei River trying to soothe my frayed nerves. But, with every word John uttered, my knees shook more violently than before. John was giving instructions on what to do should we fall into the water or get swept away by the strong currents. Looking at the raging brown waters of the river though, I felt falling into the water is not going to end well no matter how “well-instructed” we were. John was our instructor and we were about to go rafting on a swollen muddy river surrounded by the mist-covered peaks of Western Ghats.

Here’s the kicker, I’ve never rafted before!

I’ve spent weeks around beaches, lakes, rivers and waterfalls but have rarely gotten into water. I’m a mountain person and I tend to get extremely nervous around water. Yet, the lure of an exclusive monsoon rafting adventure in my favorite Western Ghats wasn’t beyond me. With my knees shaking still and heart in my mouth, I sat on the edge of the raft and off we went into the brown waters.

When we hit the first of rapids, I braced myself for a violent jerk. Surprisingly and thankfully, it didn’t feel as rough as it looked. But my feet were still very firmly stuck under the straps inside the raft, so much that the rough edges were piercing into my skin. But I couldn’t care less as I was trying very hard not to fall into the water. After getting over the initial fear and anxiety, I began to relax and enjoy the pristine surroundings of Chorla Ghats. It helped that our guide was John Pollard, the person who pioneered the first commercial rafting operations in south India, by charting routes down the Kali, Kundalika and three other rivers down south.

Having trekked, camped, cycled and road tripped my way through the Ghats before, rafting through the heart of the forest brought forth a brand new perspective. Hiding behind a veil of mist, the lush forests of Mhadei National Park surrounded us in every direction, drenched in the spell of a monsoon-induced greenery. Where the river widened, it calmed down and so did I. Gentle drizzle and a warm breeze kept us company as we floated over the muddy Mhadei River, the milder waves lapping gently against the raft. Despite the sights that enthralled me, I would be lying if I said the fear of falling into the water disappeared entirely from my consciousness. It’s hard to let go of our fears, no matter how irrational they might be. But the thrill of overcoming such irrational fear is no less fun either. I waited with bated breath to celebrate my first rafting session until I reached the shore almost 90 minutes later. There’s nothing more awkward than celebrating victory before winning, now is it?

Driving back to Miramar from Valpoi where we had met John earlier that afternoon, I realized it was not the thrill of rafting that stayed with me but rather it was the uniqueness of the circumstances that entranced me more. The visible currents, the insanely fast flowing river, the muddy water and the lovely Ghats on a rainy day in a place as stereotyped as Goa, made my first rafting experience an unforgettable adventure. After all, we only came across three class 3 rapids, which is pretty mild come to think of it. However, to put this uniqueness into better perspective, do a quick Google search on rafting and tell me if you’ve seen any picture where the scenery is like this. Monsoon rafting on flooded rivers doesn’t sound very inviting to begin with but it’s half as scary and twice as exciting! I, for one, couldn’t have asked for a better way to start with rafting than with Goa Tourism on the flooded Mhadei river; it included three of my favorite things - Monsoons, Western Ghats and exquisite Outdoors!

Make it happen!

Monsoon rafting over Mhadei River is a monsoon exclusive and the rafting sessions operate only during a short window of 10-12 weeks between June to September depending on the flow of water. It costs Rs.1800 per person and takes about 3 and 1/2 hours starting from Valpoi in north Goa. Call up ahead and confirm if the rafting is in session for the day. For bookings, visit www.goarafting.com or email at info@goarafting.com or you can call at +91 7387238866 or +91 8805727230. More information here.
(And for more monsoon ideas, follow Goa Tourism's facebook page.)

Other essential “Monsoon in Goa” reading

The Legendary Monsoon Pilots of Goa!

And if rafting doesn’t lure you to experience Goa in Monsoons, perhaps these pictures might?

A quaint Church in the hinterlands of Goa

On the banks of Mondovi, a flooded river and a forest draped in a carpet of greenery

The stunning countryside of Goa during monsoons

In a drunken stupor he said. "Go ahead, few more kilometers and the pilots will take you along" 

At this point we were enjoying just being there, the moment was extremely funny and totally unexpected. We were supposed to be watching wildlife in Dandeli but here we were in Goa. We were supposed to reach Dudhsagar Waterfalls and this man here says the pilots will take us.  It only amused us because so far everyone has been saying it is not possible to reach Dudhsagar Falls, the streams will be swelling and no vehicle can go near it. If I forgot to mention, it was pouring cats and dogs every few hours. It was peak monsoon.

I knew it had to be true because during my Cycling Trip in Goa, I cycled along that 10km stretch to reach the base of the waterfall. It is a beautiful track passing through the dense forest of the Bhagwan Mahavir WLS and we crossed streams one too many times. It must be true. Those streams must be raging torrents now. Jeeps wouldn't go through. So when he said the pilots will take us, we had a good laugh and went towards Colem anyway. We had nothing else to do after all. We were randomly driving across the streets of Goa.

Once we reached Colem, I started explaining with great pride, how we crossed the river here and entered the sanctuary to cycle across the dirt track. Before I could finish the story, they appeared! It was actually true, they did exist, the monsoon pilots of Goa! The man was sure enough drunk in broad day light but he knew what he was saying. We had to give that to the old man. 

They called themselves pilots but what they actually mean is they will drive you to Dudhsagar falls on their motorbikes. Each person sits behind each one of these so called pilots on their bikes. They said they have another way to go to the falls, the jeep track is flooded but they can take us.

Momentary lapse of judgment is what I call, the thing which happens to you when you travel. You put your trust in complete strangers hoping everything will work out fine. The bikes didn’t even have proper brakes and the route was something that would do for a good action chase sequence. After all, who in their right mind would go drive on the gravel next to the railway tracks? When I say next to railway tracks all we had for the tire to tread is about 30cms of gravel in water. Next to it, the land sloped down. Needless to say the fall will be fatal. There was no road. We were offroading in the rain, sitting behind riders whom we knew nothing about and bikes which seemed like were from another century.

I chose an elderly person assuming he wouldn’t pull off any stunts. He didn’t. But he asked me to sit still and no sudden movements as we might fall into the valley next to us. Everytime we passed between the poles next to the track I froze in fear.  When I say between the poles I actually mean between the poles. You know how the poles are supported, the inverted Y kinds? We were riding through that gap. Seriously, I am not joking, the rain, the tracks, the valley next to us and the series of bikes whizzing past – it would’ve been a great thing to see on screen. But of course since I was experiencing it first hand, it all looked not so glamorous. But deep inside the adventure had me thrilled greatly.

I thought I had seen the best, but the best was yet to come. They stopped at one point and asked us to cross the tracks and wait on the other side. We did. Only to find them ride out of the tunnel below the track which had raging water flowing knee deep! Oh My God! When did I enter a movie sequence I wondered! I have seen some crazy rides but this one tops everything I have seen and been through! 

It was as scary and as exciting as you imagined and more. I am not showing you any images because some things are best left to imagination. (Truth to be told, I didn't and couldn't take any pictures. ;)) Later we walked up a small hill through the slush to witness the monsoon glory of the milky white legendary DudhSagar Falls.  While coming back on the same track later, the novelty had worn off and I was now smiling at the incredulous yet extremely entertaining journey we just took. 

Next time around if you are there, meet the pilots. All you can do is to say your prayers and hold on to your dear life as the pilots take you on a ride of lifetime. Actually you are putting your life in their hands. But hey, there isn't a thing called a safe adventure.