Telangana to become hub for Eco Adventure Tourism: Water rafting, trekking, hiking and rock climbing are just the start. Camping at Amrabad Tiger reserve, climbing up less known rocky waterfalls, rappelling and jummering will soon define adrenaline rush in Telangana as the State is set to become an eco-adventure tourist hub.
Adilabad will receive the biggest boost as its terrain holds trekking paths, rock-climbing opportunities and water sporting locations.
Eco Adventure Tourism in Telangana
With the Telangana government charting a roadmap to boost the sector and the Centre pumping in Rs. 1 crore as seed money towards adding gear, personnel and other facilities at popular eco-tourist cities in close to four districts, Telangana will draw in domestic and international dare-devils, tourism officials now expect.
As per the plan, Adilabad district in Telangana will receive the biggest boost as its terrain holds trekking paths, rock-climbing opportunities and water sporting locations.
The sleepy district, in fact, has close to 40 trek routes around the Kuntala and Gayatri waterfalls.
“Till a couple of years ago water rafting was unknown in Telangana. Now, experienced rafters and rappellers visit waterfalls and hills in Adilabad a bit too frequently,” said K. Ganga Rao, founder and director of Adventure Club of Telangana State.
The club which started as a small offshoot of Andhra Pradesh tourism a decade ago is now a full fledged group of administrators, tour operators, trainers, experts and enthusiasts all bitten by the adventure bug.
Daredevil tracks
As per records of the State tourism department, one of the most beautiful yet dangerous water fall locations, Mallelatharetam in Mahbubnagar district, has been attracting dozens of adventure seekers who trek, rappel and slide. Next among the daredevil hotspots is Farahabad, which is just 158 km from Hyderabad and located close to Srisailam forest area. To spot the big cat, campers wait for weeks in this dense forest.
“The wait is as good as the one you witness on wildlife television channels. Out there it is just you, the forest and the beasts,” a frequent wildlife camper, V. Kishan Reddy, said.
However, what eco-adventure tourism means for those taking the treks, climbing the mountains and rafting in gushy streams is more than just raw excitement. For many it is also a time to be one with the nature. “In a Wordsworth-ian sense, eco-adventure tourism is also about experiencing a sense of sublime,” N. Stalin Babu, a trekker who spends weeks close to Adivasi habitats in Rampur, near Saleshwaram.
According to experts eco-tourism is directed at allowing a tourist route via nature dense areas without adversely affecting the natural surroundings.
“It is an all-in-one package; adventure, a body workout and a sense of being close to nature,” Mr. Rao said.
