On a high, naturally!

The excitement of visiting a mall is slowly being replaced by fascinating recreational activities.

Youngsters in the City are looking at options like trekking down the ridges of Mullayanagiri or scuba-diving through the corals of Andaman and Nicobar Islands in an attempt to unwind over the weekend.  

The hunger to trek and travel and the adrenaline rush that they bring has helped the tourism market flourish.

Adventure groups like ‘Get Beyond Limits’, ‘Nirvana Nomads’, ‘Bangalore Mountaineering Club’, ‘Ace Paddlers’ and ‘Planet Scuba’ are some which have grown by leaps and bounds.

Manjunath of ‘Ace Paddlers’, who organises adventure trips throughout India, says that though they don’t have an age limit for people to join their group on adventures.

A major chunk are those above the age of 20.  He cites the hectic pace of life through the week as the main reason to be away from the City. 

The Operations Head of ‘Bangalore Mountaineering Club’ also sings the same tune.

“People here work for 14-15 hours a day. Their urge to be with nature heightens during the weekends. Not constrained by responsibilities, adventure sports is the perfect way to realise their survival skills and go beyond their potential.”

For such an industry, one doesn’t have to think of different marketing strategies as the innovative idea of a travel group itself provides publicity through word-of-mouth. 

‘Nirvana Nomads’ didn’t resort much to marketing as their weekend activities like wave surfing, rafting, cycling, trekking and bungee jumping were already popular.

It was started by adventure enthusiasts, Chirag and Hitesh, who were frustrated with the way the entire travel industry was sold and consumed.

‘Nirvana Nomads’ helps people savour their journeys.

“We found travel becoming more like a checklist in this country, where most people generally ticked off the places they want to see, rather than experiencing the magic of a new place itself,” says Hitesh.  

They also organise private trips for people who want a travel getaway once in a while and conduct long trips to exciting places like Himalayas, Ladakh and Uttarakhand.

The boys decided to embark on this journey around three years ago and soon found themselves planning for their first trek to Agumbe.

As they have entered the adventure industry from different academic backgrounds, they are confident even when they say that they don’t want a steady, corporate job.  

However, planning a trip isn’t easy. It involves patience and motivation.

Hitesh adds that before taking off, their planning generally involves heavy research about the destination, weather conditions and the interesting events that take place there.

It also involves availing local support, getting equipped with adequate emergency supplies and adventure equipment and talking to trekking instructors.  

More than getting enraptured into nature’s silence or experiencing the eerie thrill of an adventure, these groups act as a great bonding space for strangers.

“On a Friday evening, we see 20 strangers in the bus who are shy but by Monday morning, it’s really nice to see how close they become with each other. There is really no reason why one should travel, it’s to do something epic!” wraps up Hitesh.