One of the things that can highlight bamboo rafting in Kerala is that it makes one go slow in life. Instead of noisy motorboats, quiet bamboo rafts take you to forest lakes and reservoirs that are sometimes inside the protected areas. The experience here is all about receiving through listening, watching and slowly moving through nature and not rushing.
Bamboo rafting is very much a part of the Western Ghats and big wildlife zones. One can find such a condition in the places like Periyar Tiger Reserve (Thekkady), Parambikulam Tiger Reserve (Palakkad), Karlad Lake in Wayanad, and Kottur–Neyyar near Thiruvananthapuram, where the local people usually organize it together with soft trekking or nature walks. You may go trekking through a moist deciduous forest in the morning, and after breakfast or lunch, you take a raft for a part of the route.
The localities are biodiversities of the earth, therefore, you are not just “being taken for a ride”. You are looking for the animals and birds along the waterline and the forest that include elephants, gaurs, sambar, otters, water birds, and raptors while the guides tell you the calls, tracks and plants alongside the way. At Karlad Lake and Kuruvadweep in Wayanad, bamboo rafts make the water swims more serene, and shorter, and the focus is on the fresh air and calm backwater rather than just the sightings of the animals.
Usually, the good season is from October to March when the monsoon is over. Besides the trails being more stable and the weather being cooler, the visibility over the lake or reservoir is also clearer. In some tiger reserves and eco-tourism centres, there are fixed time slots (morning / full day / half day) with mandatory guides and limited group sizes, therefore, it is better to make a reservation in advance.
Most of these places are located in the heart of the forests, where the Forest/Wildlife departments or their eco-tourism wings mainly run the programs, sometimes along with the local tribal communities. Although the rules on group size, reporting time, dress code and behavior are very strict, they ensure the safety of visitors, wildlife, and the environment.
Click Here to view the list of accredited adventure activity providers offering Bamboo Rafting experiences in Kerala.
Shorter lake or reservoir floats should be chosen if you are travelling with children or elderly people. If everyone is comfortable with long walks and a full day outdoors, then you can go for the full-day Periyar or Parambikulam programmes only.
Rafting in Periyar, Parambikulam and Neyyar–Kottur is generally booked in advance through the official eco-tourism centres or online portals. The fixed reporting time is usually early in the day.
Take instructions from guides, wear life jackets correctly and do not lean over the sides of the raft. Forest rules related to silence, littering, and movement should be strictly adhered to.
Wearing light, quick-drying clothes, a hat, applying sunscreen, and using walking shoes or sandals with good grip can help you a lot, as most programmes are a combination of trekking and rafting.
