River Rafting Brahmaputra, Rafting Tours, River Expeditions Himalayas

Brahmaputra River Rafting Duration : 18 Days
One of the great rivers of Asia, the Brahmaputra commences its 3,000-km journey to the Bay of Bengal from the slopes of Kailash in western Tibet. As Tibet's great river, the Tsangpo, transverses east across the high-altitude Tibetan plateau north of the Great Himalayan Range, carving out myriad channels and sandbanks on its way. As it tumbles from the Himalayan heights towards the plains of the subcontinent it twists back on itself, cutting a deep and still unmitigated gorge, until finally turning south it emerges in Arunachal Pradesh as the Dihong. Just beyond Pasighat, it meets the Dibang and Lohit where it finally becomes the Brahmaputra.

Duration :
18 Days

Places Coveed :
New Delhi - Dibrugarh - Pasighat - Yinkiang - Tuting - Pango - Rikor - Alubadi - Yinkiang - Geku - Yangbum - Ponging - Pasighat - Dibrugarh - Delhi

Season :
December to Feb

Day 01: Arrive Delhi
Met on arrival at the airport. Transfer to your hotel and meet up with rest of the team. Overnight at the hotel.

Day 02: Delhi
A full day city tour of Old and New Delhi followed by a group briefing and slide show on the Brahmaputra. Overnight at the Hotel

Day 03: Delhi – Dibrugarh (Fly)
Fly to Dibrugarh. The airstrip at Dibrugarh is located in a quaint little village outside Dibrugarh called Mohanbari. This area of Assam is famous for its strong tea and its age old tea gardens. After visiting one such garden we will take a sunset cruise to the famous Rukmini Island. We will camp overnight on the vast sand banks of the Bhramaputra (the only male river of India) Overnight camp.

Day 04: Dibrugarh - Pasighat
The only way across the width of this river is by ferry boat. The spectacular ride take about seven hours to complete as the river is spread across almost 12 Kms and interspersed by shallow sand banks. One will have enough opportunity to admire the rich migratory bird life and if we are lucky, we might even be followed by Fresh Water Ganges Dolphins. The ferry culminates with a short 45 minutes drive to the small town of Pasighat at the foothills of the eastern Himalayas. Overnight in tents/ local guest house.

Day 05: Pasighat – Yinkiang (150 km/07 hrs).
Today we venture into the dense and tropical Arunachal countryside. A drive along the lower sections of the Siang runs parallel to the famous Namdapha National Park. A 7hrs scenic drive along the Siang valley will bring us to the District Headquarters at Yinkiang. Overnight in tents / local guest house Yinkiang.

Day 06: Yinkiang – Tuting (140 km/8 hrs)
Tuting is the starting point of our raft trip. The road to Tuting has been opened very recently. All the initial expeditions on the Siang had to trek for four days to get till this point. Overnight in tents/guest house at Tuting

Day 07: Tuting
A rest day to relax after the long drives, sort out gear and walk around the Tuting bazaar and village. Use the spare time to identify your rafts and gear. Go through a safety briefing and get into the right frame of mind. Overnight at Tuting.

Day 08: Raft Tuting – Pango (6 hours)
This morning, we encounter big Class III & IV rapids at Ninging and continue past another Class 3 rapid at Palsi to reach Pango, where we set up Camp for the night, above yet another big rapid to be encountered the following morning. Overnight Camp.

Day 09: Raft Pango – Rikor (6 hours)
Today, we scout and raft down the Pango rapid and enter the Marmong Gorge, one of the most beautiful and remote jungle gorges in the world. It has steep impenetrable tropical forests on each side. We raft till the Rikor village and set up Camp above the village. Rikor is a small hill village still living in the stone ages. The simple people here will open up their heart and houses to make you feel at home. If we are lucky we can even join them in a hunting trip into the forest. These villagers still use poisoned arrows and spears for hunting. We will enjoy an evening of Ponung dances and the local millet wine called Apang. Overnight Camp.

Day 10: Raft Rikor - Alubadi (6 hours)
Today will be one of the biggest whitewater days on the river. We will negotiate a big Class 4 at Rikor followed by the Zebra Rock rapid following a few kilometers downstream. Half a kilometer downstream, we encounter another big Class 4+ rapid on a bend. We raft past Ramsing and several rapids including a Class 3 + followed by a 3 kilometer float till Alubadi beach. Overnight in camp.

Day 11: Raft Alubadi – Yinkiang (4 hours)
A short day on the river - we begin with the huge "Breakfast rapid" with a history of raft flips, followed by milder ones all the way till the suspension bridge at Yinkeong.
Overnight in camp.

Day 12: Rest Day
A day in hand to rest and walk around the Yinkiang village. We will also use this time to re stock our supplies. Evening a we will join a local cultural event in a local family house.
Overnight in Camp.

Day 13: Raft Yinkiang - Geku (6 hours)
We begin this day with a long Class two rapid and shortly afterwards we reach The Durga Mata rapid. The rapid is perhaps the most technical grade IV on the river and gets its name after the Godess of Strenth and Power also known as the Destroyer of Evil. A good part of the day is spent in the environs of this rapid before we carry on to beach the rafts at Geku. Overnight in Camp.

Day 14: Raft Geku – Yangbum (5 hours)
After Geku, we begin a long float till a Class 3+ above the 65 Bridge. An easy day with long float sections. We pass several Adi tribal settlements on the way. Today, we raft past the first major confluence of the Siang river with the Siyom river after the suspension bridge at Boling. We reach Yangbum by late afternoon and camp. Overnight in camp.

Day 15: Raft Yangbum - Ponging (4 hours)
A short day on the river with quick run to a big rapid at Pangin village. We make camp above the rapid and visit the village. Relaxed day.
Overnight in camp.

Day 16: Ponging – Pasighat (4 hours)
We begin the final run to the plains at Pasighat by negotiating the last rapid on the trip at Ponging. The Siang seems to gather a lot more volume as we float into Pasighat where we beach our rafts for the last time on this trip. Transfer to rest house at Pasighat.
Overnight at Rest House / Hotel.

Day 17: Pasighat- Dibrugarh
Drive 45 minutes to the Orium Ghat and catch the downstream ferry service to Dibrugarh. On arrival at Dibrugarh we will be transferred to our small hotel for the night. Overnight in Hotel.

Day 18: Dibrugarh – Delhi
Transfer to the hotel to catch your flight to Delhi. On arrival in Delhi check in to your hotel. Transfer to the international airport late in the evening for your international flight.

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