Travel experts suggest hotspots to develop for adventure tourism in Maharashtra

Sea the starsNishant Patel founder The Grand VacationistRanked at 96 globally India has a lot of ground to cover when it comes to adventure sports and activities State tourism minister Aaditya Thackeray has taken a great initiative to regulate adventure activities and define safety standards that will result in higher safety and more participation from adventurists and operatorsrdquo shares adventure enthusiast and travel experience planner Patel His reccosgtgt Ganpatipule The town on Konkanrsquos coastline is ideal to try motorboat activities and water sportsgtgt Kolad It has a 12to13kmlong stretch on the Kundalika River thatrsquos great for white water raftinggtgt Kasara Stargazing is a mesmerising experience at Kasara where you can identify constellations for hours in the moonlightOf caves and fortsAseem Hattangadi founder The Travel TherapistAjanta Caves is one of the many ancient caves in the state Pic CourtesyWikimedia CommonsldquoMaharashtra is a state thatrsquos blessed with numerous water bodies clear skies rugged interiors and a coastline Itrsquos no surprise that highadrenaline activities needed the boost via the Adventure Tourism Policy that was recently approvedrdquo explains Hattangadi From jetskiing to hiking there are several activities to tryhe sharesgtgt Diveagar beach Located in Raigad district 170 km away from Mumbai the beach offers numerous adventure activities like jet skiing boating and ATV rides Therersquos also the Phansad Wildlife Sanctuary nearbygtgt Maharashtra forts There are 350 forts in the state The few accessible and noteworthy ones are the sea fort MurudJanjira Raigad Panhala Tikona Rajmachi Pratapgad Daulatabad and Sinhagad Kondhana Theyrsquore good spots for hiking and trekkinggtgt Caving We have many ancient cave sites like Ajanta Elephanta Ellora Bhaja Karla and Junnar that are ideal for cavingAlso Read Pay Mumbai commuters Rs 5000 each as travel allowance says BJPCloser homeDhiren Talpade founder Jumpstart Outdoors LLPWaterfall rappelling near KarjatTalpade who designs experiences in the outdoors shares ldquoThe policy will require all operators to get registered with the government afresh to ensure maximum safetyrdquo In and around Mumbai most activities happen over the weekends he says Here are some that he recommendsBoth organised by Talpadegtgt Kamshet Itrsquos a paragliding hub but this time of the year itrsquos a good idea to head there to explore the lake streams and small hillsgtgt Karnala Fort Karnala is currently open but the forest department has certain rules due to COVID19 Itrsquos quite scenic in this season for trekkinggtgt Karjat and Khalapur Waterfall rappelling is a tricky but great activity to try out in the KarjatKhalapur belt Ensure you tie up with a trusted vendorWalk the lineNavin Devnani Torres founder of Slack Mitra and member of Slackline India AssociationTorres highlining at Nagphani Pic CourtesyGayatri JuvekarTorres who runs Slack Mitra which offers slackline gear workshops and connects to the community suggests that slacklining is an activity that should be included within the scope of the policy ldquoSlacklining is a fun balance activity and one of the easiest ways to enter the state of flow It entails walking jumping or doing tricks on a oneinch wide flat rope which is stretched and anchored between two trees or mountain cliffs with a safety leash also known as highliningrdquo he explains Safety is paramount and guidelines should be underlined in the policy he says suggesting two spots perfect for the activitiesgtgt Juhursquos Pushpa Narsee Park and Juhu Chowpatty Best way to start slacklining is to meet up with the friendly inclusive local slackliners usually on a Sunday morninggtgt Nagphani Khandala Nagphani or Dukersquos Nose is the hub for highlining in India Highlining should be attempted only by those whorsquove had prior training in slacklining and the safety aspects of the sportAlso Read Mumbai Commuters hand railways a lsquoright to travelrsquo roadmap