Adventurous sports in Nepal-The emerging taste of Nepali youth

PRITI KHAREL
English philosopher Alfred North Whitehead once said, “Without adventure, civilization is in full decay.” At the first read, this statement seems to be absurd, but deep inside it highlights the fact that adventure is an inseparable aspect of human life.

Perhaps, this could be one of the reasons why Nepali youths are gradually being attracted towards adventurous sports. There was a time when adventurous sports in Nepal fell under the cliché that it was a pursuit allotted merely for foreign tourists. Nevertheless, as time progressed, these sports received its momentum with domestic residents getting dynamically involved in it.

“I love adventurous sports because I can experience the pleasure of overcoming the fear. If I didn’t overcome the fear of falling during paragliding, then I could have never relished the panoramic beauty of Pokhara while flying,” says Aakriti Sharma, 22, who has already done bungy, paragliding, rafting and zip flyer.

Youths have been particularly interested in these sports, as they have the zeal and courage to experience risks. And now, with the common notion of ‘YOLO: You only Live Once’, the young generation of the country is allured by all thing adventure. Agreeing with the YOLO notion, 25-year-old Manish Bhatta remarks, “Life is just too short to be wasted in doing ‘normal’ things. If you don’t dare take risks while you’re young, then you can hardly do it in your entire life.”

On the other hand, peer pressure has also been a driving force for youngsters to indulge in daring sports. Someone who has bungeed is tagged ‘courageous’ and ‘cool’ amongst friends. Therefore, when one gets involved in adventurous sports, most of his friends naturally want to participate in the sport. Sometimes they’re even forced to do so in the fear of being called chicken hearted.

Apparently, Nepal hosts more than 20 adventurous sports, with rafting, bungy jumping, paragliding, canyoning and recently introduced zip line, being the popular choices. But gradually, ultra-light aircraft, rock climbing, elephant polo and mountain biking have also been gradually winning the hearts of adventure hunters.

One of the top picks of the youngsters is bungy jumping in Bhotekoshi, which is the only bungy in Nepal and is also renowned for being one of the most extreme bungys in the world. And why shouldn’t it, as one has to jump from a suspension bridge at a height of 160 meters above the rapid streams of Bhotekoshi river roaring below. Meanwhile, with the aim of breaking the monopoly of bungy in Bhotekoshi, High Ground Adventures is establishing Tower Bungy in Pokhara, which is scheduled to open for public in September this year. Hence, if one has the courage to free fall along with the gravity, then the offering is right on his way.

As the involvement of Nepali youngsters in the adventurous sports is perennial unlike foreign adventure lovers, who tend to visit the country only during specific seasons, more and more people are investing in this sector. Hence, we have all the more options to choose from. In order to encourage youngsters, many companies also provide special discount to the students. One of such agencies is High Ground Adventures, which has been providing the service of Zip line in Nepal since 2012. The cost of the adventure for Nepalis is Rs 3,890, while the cost for students is Rs 3,500.

Speaking about youngsters and adventurous sports, Bikrum Pandey, president of Adventurous Sports Tourism Society said, “Without the participation of youngsters, the development of adventurous sports in Nepal would retrograde. It is due to the increasing demand of Nepali youngsters that many new adventurous sports are being introduced in the country. If they stopped seeking adventure, then many agencies offering such services would shut down.”

source:Kharel Priti (2013),"Adventurous sports", republica,3 Aug 2013
photo: Bhaswor Ojha/Republica