The landscape around Rishikesh is stunning. Rolling hills, green valleys, white waters. But sometimes seeing it the right side up can be boring; especially when you can see it upside-down, hurtling at a million miles an hour.
Not 13km from Laxman Jhula, at Mohan Chatti on the Neelkanth Road, adventure sports outfit Jumpin Heights is hitting new highs (and ‘lows’) with bungee jumping, tandem flying fox on a kilometre-long zip line and, more recently, a giant heart-stopping swing (Rs 2,500 for bungee or giant swing and Rs 1,500 for flying fox; jumpinheights.com). And I am here to brave India’s highest bungee jump.
Yet as my harnesses are fastened, I can’t help but wonder what I’ve got myself into. Any thoughts of feigning a sudden injury or illness are quickly dismissed though, when, right in front of me, three teenage girls decked in their blingiest clothes dive off the 83-metre-high platform with hardly a whimper and only a giant rubber band tied around their ankles to break the fall. To save face, I waddle to the edge too. And take the plunge. A few life-flashing-before-your-eyes moments later, my feet are back on solid ground and, eventually, so is the rest of me.
When you’re in the area next, skip the rafting and jump off a cliff instead. It’ll probably be the most simultaneously terrifying and exhilarating thing you’ll do for a while.