If adventure beckons, it’s to Namma Bengaluru you should be heading. Trekkers traversing hills and forests and legging it through remote Karantaka villages is a common sight.
The board of youth services and sports is going full throttle in providing elaborate projects and facilities for sport and adventure lovers. The General Thimmayya national academy of adventure (GETHNAA), which comes under the board, has several services to offer. Gethnaa, set up in Nrupatunga Road in 1989, offers training in aero, aqua, and terrestrial sporting disciplines.
Anupam Agarwal, director of training elaborates on the schemes undertaken by the academy. Training is given in rock climbing, river rafting, and other aquatic sports. While rock climbing is taught in places like Badami and Ramanagara, locked in by the Western and Eastern Ghats all around, river rafting is in full swing in the Kodagu regions of Barapole and Dandeli of Uttara Kannada. Aqua training is imparted in Vani Vilasa Sagara dam in Chitradurga village.
The first lesson is to acquaint learners and adventure seekers about the dangers involved in such risky sports. Only those who strictly adhere to all safety guidelines are allowed to participate in the training process. More than 125 sportspersons from various countries participated in the Kali kayak competitions conducted by the Academy. Sporting talents from Kerala also took part in the three-day contests held in Dandeli Ganeshagudi in Uttar Kannada.
At the recently concluded bouldering competitions in Bengaluru, the star attraction was the wholehearted participation of the student community. To popularise adventure tourism, Eco-Trails, a Karnataka EcoTourism Development Board initiative got rolling last month. Under the project, seven forest tracks of Karnataka have been left open for trekkers. These officially sanctioned trekking routes are in Skandagiri and Avalabetta of Chickbellapura district, Savandurga of Ramanagara, Bidarakote and Siddara Betta in Tumkura and Devarayanadurga, and Makali Durga in Dodbellapura.
The Eco Tourism Department initiated the project in the wake of attacks on trekkers who took forest routes on adventure trails. Under the new initiative, trekkers will have the services of guides while going out on adventure trips. Those interested in joining eco-trails can make online bookings. In a ten-member team, participants will be charged Rs 450 each. Lodging and food bills come extra. Only a maximum of 40 participants is allowed a day into a particular trekking zone. To begin with, the timings are from 6 am to 12 pm. The program can be accessed on www.myecotrip.com.
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