Himanchal Pradesh might be already a name in kayaking circles as the Beas river runs straight through the town and offers some good Grade V (above Manali) Grade IV (through Manali down) and nice Grade III from the rafting section down. But obviously there is more...the Bhaga, Chenab, Zanskari, Parvati and Sutlej as well as the Spiti, Chandra and other creeks in and around Himachal, Spiti and Lahaul.

If u venture into Himanchal Pradesh, your best choice of base will be Manali. A honeymoon place resembling sceneries of Switzerland with the Chaos of a bustling Indian City. Everything is available and the Hippitrail still shows it’s marks. Fullmoon Parties with on looking Indian Honeymooners as well as fascinated Indians from the plains asking all sorts of weird questions about the funny plastic thing you are carrying.

Anyway, Manali will let u arrange everything you might need for onward travels to rivers like the Bhaga, Chenab and Zanskari, which all need shore support, donkeys to carry your bits and pieces and time. But they also offer some great exploratory paddling in the Himalayas.

The Beas Already known, this river can offer you everything....easy paddle and warm up through the Rafting section, and you can basically work your way up...it has been paddled all the way from Solang, some 15 km above Manali and will definitely still have some more kilometers higher up. So as the road follows most parts of the river, you can basically choose your starting point and difficulty.

The Parvati Still accessible by road most of it’s parts, it shows the same characteristics as the Beas...Continious Gradient with basically same difficulty easing off the further you descent the river.

The Sutlej As a major drainage, it has been descended from pretty high up. Basically flat through Lahaul, apart form the higher sections, the moment it enters Himanchal through the Himalayas, some incredible big volume whitewater will wait for you.

The BhagaStarting from Darcha, this river is very dependable on the water flows and should be attempted only by a strong team with the necessary experience. The places visible from the road are inviting but, it seems as if all that is just there to lure you into the troubles in the hidden places of the first gorge. All is mainly Grade III-V ( VI) but remember....very dependable on the water level again!!

The Chenab Starting from Keylong this river offers some Grade IV-VI exploratory kayaking all the way to Kashmir...here you should take precautions again to gather enough information about the situation in the Kasmir area. A Take out is also possible earlier but, involves a two day trek out!

The Zanskari A creek coming down from above Darcha, needs a little bit more water as you would want to have on the Bhaga, so possibly a good idea to try that one on your way up for the Tsarap or the Zanskar and paddle the Bhaga on your way back to Manali.

Mainly Grade IV+ with some V+ in there.

A days paddle down to Darcha, where it joins the Bhaga.