Location – Bhekare waterfall, Bhivapuri
Nearest Railway station – Bhivapuri (Near Karjat)
What is Waterfall Rappelling?
Waterfall Rappelling is sliding down or descending waterfall with the help of ropes. Rappelling is also known as “Abseiling”. Rappelling is the one of the adventure activities which needs proper training & guidance from experts. Rappelling cannot be done without equipment’s; mainly ropes gloves, helmet, seat harness, descender (Friction Device).
My Experience of Waterfall Rappelling
After my thrilling River Rafting experience few months back, I was looking for another adventure activity. Recently I tried waterfall rappelling at Bhekare waterfall. It was one day activity organized by Mumbai Travellers. Well just like rafting, rappelling is also fun-adventurous activity.
We started our trek from Bhivapuri, after a long walk in deep forest, we reached at Bhekare waterfall. I freaked out when I saw the height of the waterfall. The area around waterfall was slippery; it was mixed feeling of excitement and nervousness. But I was encourage by our mentor Mr. Raka, He gave us the basic information and demonstrated (how to descend waterfall) rappelling techniques.
Finally the rappelling activity started. The equipments like seat harness, rope and descender are the life saver in any kind of rappelling. Descender is 8 shaped devices, which control the friction of the rope and descent. We were made all set with all the equipments around the body by the coordinators.
When my turn came, Mr. Raka did the cross checking and reminded me all techniques and instructions. Then he tied me up with the main rope and asked me to stand on the edge of the waterfall (Well it’s was toughest task of the rappelling). I was damn scared, but somehow with small-small steps I reached on the top of the waterfall.
I just have to be careful while sliding down through the waterfall and maintain distance between legs. It was really challenging to stand in horizontal position (perpendicular to the slope) because of the slippery slope. After some struggle, I managed to stand in the correct position.
As I let the rope through descender with my hand I began to rappel down. Initially, it was difficult to handle the control but after a few steps got a grip and the control. Then, I actually started enjoying the awesomeness of descend. The stream was directly hitting on my head, I could hardly see things around me, just water all over, but it was full of thrill & great experience. Without any fall or dangling, I reached at the bottom.
If you are adventure seeker and looking out for something adventurous then it is totally worth of trying.
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