The drop is a precipitous 400 feet. The rocks, deluged by the falling water, are as slick as an oil spill. And the water is unbelievably freezing. And the only acceptable way down is a frightening but exhilarating journey rappelling down the waterfall. These are the conditions in which a team of adventurers from the Adventure Club of Telangana and the Adventure Club of Andhra Pradesh, in association with Amaze Adventures created new world records in Waterfall Rappelling at the Katika falls in Araku Valley.
K Ranga Rao, the founder-director of the Adventure Club of Telangana (ACTS), was exhilarated at the achievement, “It was a big dream for us, and a great achievement for our team.” The group established its first set of records in 2012 with a 14-member group and earned a national record in the Limca Book of Records, 2013.
The group has been working in the Araku Valley with the aim to promote the region as a global tourism destination.
“This year we had 40 members, so we started planning three months back. While earlier we used to have only one big row, this year we rappelled down six rows, and also did blindfold attempts, random river rappelling. All these are new adventures records in water rappelling, and will be entered in Limca Book of Records, Book of Record Setter World Records and the Guinness World Records’’.
For the various participants, this record-breaking achievement is a moment of great pride. 20-year-old Venkata Suresh, one of the participants, told The News Minute, “This was my first experience of such a record-breaking waterfall rappelling. I feel proud to be a part of the Adventure Club of Telangana team. This was the best experience, a lifetime achievement for me.
In the future, the adventure club also plans to expand to the Kuntala waterfalls in Adilabad and Gayathri falls in Chittoor, and is planning to involve adventurers from other countries. Despite being in a risky business, the adventure club gives the top priority to safety, using the expertise of locals to ensure safe but exhilarating experiences.
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