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Adventure Sports in North India
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terrain, snow covered mountains, green Alpine meadows, mountains, lakes and rapids and beaches provides an exciting environment for any sports man. Some of the adventurous sports are river rafting or river running, mountain climbing, skiing, hang-gliding, ballooning, motor crossing, heli-skiing, scuba diving and camel safari.

Mountain Climbing
The Himalayas are the major attraction for the adventure lovers in North India. Various different types of people and as well as saints have traveled in North India to discover various pilgrimage places which are some of the most beautiful places on earth. Some of these places are Kedarnath, Gangotri, Yamnotri, Badrinath and Amarnath. Kishtwar is a popular mountaineering area in Ladakh, which was explored by climbers and has various peaks. In 1883, mountaineering was started as a sport in the Himalayas when W.W. Graham, a European, came to the Himalayas for the climbing. Later, in 1951, Gurdial Singh led the first full-fledged Indian mountaineering expedition to Trishul and successfully climbed the peak. After this various Indian and foreign mountaineers climb the Himalayas every year. Improved road communications, reliable weather forecasting and well organized facilities have made mountaineering and trekking a safe sport.

River Running
Some of the leading river-running experts have said that India has the potential to become the river-running capital of the world. River-running is a very popular young sport in North India, and the challenges of the rivers in the upper Himalayas makes it among the best regions in the world. The tremendous force of the rivers and the navigational capability facilitates the river running. River-running expeditions in North India are organized and managed by professional Indian teams who have been trained in abroad in some of the most difficult water stretches of the world. Some of the best known whitewater river running courses in India are the River Ganges in Rishikesh, Beas river in Manali, Indus river in Ladakh and Zanskar river in Zanskar. The River Ganges is regarded as one of the most river running capital of India as it harbours over 90% of white water running in India. Its mountainous terrain offers some of the most amazing river-running in the country which is ideal for the paddle rafting and car rafting. The best season to raft in these rivers is in the months of August and September.

well known places in Himachal which offers excellent trekking, skiing and hiking trails. Adventure-seeking travelers visit these places in winters to enjoy skiing along its snow-covered slopes. Various equipments and excellent instructors are also available for skiing.

Motor Rallies
Now, India also holds as one of the major place on the international rally circuit. Here, various motor car rallies are established as annual events that attracts people from India and as well as from abroad. The topographical distribution of India makes it ideal for running motor rallies. Recently, the vintage car rallies are also held in which some very rare cars not only run in the rally but are also displayed. These rallies are held in some of the cities like Kolkata and Jaipur. The Federation of Indian Rally Drivers Championship also organizes championship rallies at national and international level. Presently, there are four teams in India which are Team MRF, Team JK, Team JCT and Team Paarel. The motor sport includes various activities like autocross, motocross, drag racing, motor gymkhana, etc. Some of the rallies are held from the month of August till December. The Himalayan car rally is one of the popular car rallies but now it has been discontinued.

Ballooning
Ballooning has also become as a popular and fancy sport in India. The balloonists in the balloon look like those dangerously hung on baskets but standing in the basket is a delightful sensation. The giant balloons swell out their folds and rise in the sky in a colourful parade. There are about two or three persons in a balloon. When alone, a balloonist can rise to the heights of 800 feet but groups are restricted only to the height of 200 to 500 feet. The ballooning facilities are available for amateurs and professionals across the country. A Balloon mela festival is also organized in Delhi every year. The Balloon Club of India is located at New Delhi’s Safdarjung Airport and has three balloons and 50 members. The Ballooning Club in India organizes various international balloon festivals and demonstration flights annually. The Indian International Balloon festival is held every November and attracts participants from all over the world.

Hang-Gliding
Hang-Gliding is a very new adventure sports in India. For the hang gliding one requires a hang glider, a flexible wing aircraft that is piloted by shifting one's weight. The flight depends on the thermals, the rising columns of warm air. While taking off one has to run on the moderate slopes till the glider inflates. Some of the best hang gliding places in India are Srinagar, Khilanmarg, Kangra, Dharamshala, Solang Nala, Shimla and Kasauli. The hang-gliding clubs are located at Pune, New Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Shimla, Bangalore and Kalahati.

Heli-Skiing
Some of the most modern and reasonable ski resorts have been developed in India, realizing the vast scope of tourism. India is the first Asian country that offers heli-skiing facilities. The snow covered mountains and their height are tempting enough to attract the adventurous spirits of the skier, providing all sorts of joy and excitement. The main difference between the normal skiing and heli-skiing is that the heli-skiing includes a helicopter. Heli-skiing was introduced in Kashmir in January 1988, in collaboration with the Sylvan Saudan, the famous Swiss born ski-mountaineer. In the heli-skiing the helicopter leaves one at the top of a snow capped peak and from there one just has to criss-cross the way downward. The skier can experience the thrill and danger of skiing in Kashmir and the Indian Himalayan region. Some of the the heli-skiing places in India are Hanuman Tibba, Deo Tibba and Rohtang Pass near Manali. Trained Indian instructors are also there to help the newcomers. One must also check the snow conditions and weather of that particular region so that the conditions are safe for skiing.

Ice Climbing
Ice climbing on the magnificent Indian Himalayas is a very thrilling adventurous winter sport in India that takes one to the most challenging journey on the hard core snow. Ice is also as hard and rough as any surface of a rock and various methods of rock climbing can be used here to cross any ice barrier. The holds are also not very strong and firm as on rocks. The holds and anchors have to be made by the climber themselves with pistons or screws. Ice that you are climbing on, depict many states, so each of these conditions requires a slightly different subtlety. Some of the most desired peaks for Ice climbing are located in India in Garhwal, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and Kumaon. Some of the essential things which are required while ice climbing are shoes or boots, ropes, ice tools, helmets, head lamp and bealy device.