India Whitewater

Spend 14 days rafting the upper Kali River through the Eastern Kumaon — a stretch of whitewater that forms the international border between India and Nepal. You’ll travel by paddle rafts and oar rigs, flowing past terraced farms, freshwater streams, sandy beaches, and thick tropical jungle. This is a side of India that most travelers never reach.

Your course begins at the NOLS India base before heading to the river, where your experienced instructors will start with the fundamentals: loading and rigging boats, paddle strokes, and the communication skills needed to move a raft as a team. From there, you’ll progress into hazard evaluation, hydrology, and swiftwater rescue techniques — learning to read rapids, assess risk, and make sound decisions as conditions change.

The Kali runs cold year-round, and temperatures along the river corridor fluctuate dramatically — from the heat of lower elevations to the cool of the surrounding mountains. Weather can shift fast. Your instructors will teach you to manage both the river and the conditions around it, gradually handing leadership responsibilities to your group as the course progresses.

You’ll leave with the paddling skills and risk management judgment to take on whitewater well beyond the Kali.