Kayaking to start on River Kaali every Sunday from Sept 3

MANGALURU: If kayaking is your thing, then head to Karwar. From September 3 onwards, there will be regular kayaking event on every Sunday. The kayaking will be held from Siddar to Karwar, a distance of about 18 km on the still dark waters of the Kaali River.
There will also be two island trips for the kayaks during this trip and a visit to the Kaali Matha temple situated on one of the twin nameless islands.
River Kaali runs 184km through three taluks - Haliyal, Joida and Karwar- before joining the Arabian Sea at Karwar. As many as five dams have been built across this river for the production of hydro-electricity and because of its sedate nature, River Kali attracts visitors for swimming and adventure sports.
The organizer of this event said the event would start off initially only on Sundays and depending on the response, it will be extended to weekends. Each batch will have 30-35 participants and the organizers have 35 kayaks, with life jackets. The life guards will monitor the whole trip enroute from the start at 7am till it ends at 12.30pm.
The new place identified between Siddar and Karwar for Kayaking is surrounded by thick mangroves and forests where the visitors can enjoy the diversity of plants and animals. There are more than three islands with thick forests in this 18 km distance giving kayakers an amazing view all along the route. The event has been organized by Leisure routes in association with Dr Ravindranath Tagore Beach Development Committee, ministry of tourism along with Uttara Kannada District Tourism Development Committee. The participants should not have any medical complications and knowledge of swimming is not essential. The trip would end with a sumptuous local cuisine at the resort developed by the promoters.
Recently, a three-day Kayak festival held in June first week saw good participation from about 150 participants from various countries like India US UK, New Zealand, Australia and Nepal.