River Rafting in Maharashtra - Kolad

 

Few of my office colleagues planned to have a trip. So we all started thinking of some nice place for either one day trip or overnight. A simple trip to some resort nearby didn't exite us much. We all wanted some fun, some adventure. One of the plan was most liked by all and that was river rafting at Kolad. 

Kolad is a village located in Raigad district of Maharashtra. It is on the banks of Kundalika river. The location is very picturesque which makes it a ideal destination. Kolad is around 120 kms from Mumbai. It can be reached from Mumbai or Pune for a weekend getaway.

We were a group of 10 people and so we hired a vehicle to travel conveniently from Mumbai. Also vehicle will be better to commute to rafting point and back from the rafting end point. 

We opted for overnight package by RiverTrail Adventure and resort.  We stayed at their Pali site and it was a beautiful property.  Rooms were clean. We took 2 five bed rooms. They also have option for tent stay. The property is located just adjacent to river making it a cool and scenic location.

We started from Mumbai in afternoon and it took us around 3 hrs to reach the place since we took some halt at Mahad for Ganesh Darshan and later for snacks.

We reached around 6pm, had tea and light snacks and immediately went for kayaking. Enjoyed kayak in adjacent river. Played volley ball and badminton for some time. Had dinner arranged by Rivertrail. It was a simple but delicious meal. Later we did bonfire and played some games, sang songs at the bonfire and enjoyed. Later we all went to sleep as we all were exited for the next day activity of rafting.

In the morning we all went riverside to enjoy the scenic beauty. The fog and the cirping birds sound and the fresh air everything was so pleasant. We had breakfast and tea. Later we got ready to proceed to the rafting point. We were given rafting instructions. The rafting starts when the water is relased from the dam.  

The rafting started. We all joined the activity in a raft The water was in full force. The total distance of rafting at Kolad is around 12 kms. There are Rapid grade II and grade III. Rafting taught us to observe be attentive, co-ordinate and work together. After finishing the rafting, towards te end point, where the water was stable, we were given option to jump in water and float in the water. We had nice photo shoots with the Go-pro camera and video recordings. There are additional charges for Go-Pro photography but worth it as you would like to keep these memories alive.

We finished the rafting and at the end point, there were stalls for Vada Pav. We all enjoyed the hot Vada Pavs and got in to the vehicle to again reach the Rivertrail resort. Freshened up and had delicious lunch. Took rest for some time and proceeded back for our return journey to Mumbai.

How to reach:

Car / own vehicle will be more preferred.

Buses going to Ratnagiri halt at kolad. Check with bus operators 

Train : Get down at nearest station on Konkan railway. Passenger train available from Diva railway station on the central line of Mumbai. Diva or Ratnagiri passenger train operates daily.

 Expense Incurred : Total cost per person for this entire trip was 3500 per person. This included all our costs right from travel, stay, meals, rafting and Kayak.