The Wonders of Whitewater

It’s been fun trolling the Internet for information on Nepal’s rivers. Aqua-philes are strange beasts, if you can judge by their joyous metaphors about South Asia’s whitewater:

  • “Like being flushed down an open-air toilet.”
  • “Like reading an erotic novel.”
  • “Like a pinball machine and you’re the ball.”
  • “Orgasmic.”

Some people offer valuable advice, like “Try not to get hung up on the bone-cracking boulder placed nastily in the middle of this section of the river.” And then there are translation quirks, linguistically delightful and visually rich.

“One of the famous names of Himalayan Rivers, the Kali Gandaki raises in mustang an enclave of Nepal poking into Tibet on the other side of the Himalaya. Here it is a flat and braided river flowing in an arid open valley and cuts one of the deepest gorges in the world between Daulagiri height 8167m to the west and Annapurna 8091m to the east.

Speaking of the Kali Gandaki, that’s the one I’m leaning toward visiting. It’s the only one whose overview isn’t filled with caveats like “Great views but you need rear view mirrors,” “Once you’re on the river there is no time to stop and admire the scenery,” and “At the end of the day your head will be spinning.” Here’s what I like about the Kali Gandaki:

“Named after the much-revered Goddess Kali … the river offers a mixture of astounding mountain views and pure adrenaline with a full immersion into the wilderness.

kali1.jpg

“Turbulent rapids intertwine with abrupt drops as we dodge our way down intricate chutes of sparkling water. Village terraces cling precariously to the slopes … set against the backdrop of the Annapurna range and surreal snow capped peaks … we drift through the world’s deepest gorge … shadowy canyons of stone.

kali3.jpg

Being one of the holiest rivers in Nepal, every junction of the Kali Gandaki is dotted with cremation sites and above ground burial mounds.”

canyon.jpg

Oh, I don’t know. Maybe I want to go to the Marsyangdi instead.

One comment

  1. Good luck on them there Nepal Rivers. I still think floating naked down the Rogue sounds perfect. MB

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