Plunge to Bathe in Nepal!

A 500ft-high tropical gorge. A wild, gushing river. A bridge across the yawning gorge. Picture this. Now, take a deep breath and – jump!

No, I am not encouraging you to develop a suicidal tendency. Instead, I am dreaming about that wondrous day when I will take this plunge right into the Nepal’s Bhote Kosi river – secured with bungy harnesses, of course!

Yes, bungy jumping has finally found a natural home in the Himalayas, the highest mountain range in the world. The Last Resort (before the apocalypse!) in Nepal offers this Ultimate Bungy from a remarkable 160m, right into the gushing waters of one of the wildest rivers on the planet! It is the longest freefall in the world, and amongst the planet’s most definitive thrills. After about eight seconds, your screaming voice echoes as you make an almost 790-ft arc, before gradually swinging to a stop. 

Laugh in the face of fear: The sport is designed, built and run by experienced professionals from New Zealand. The 166m-wide steel suspension bridge was designed for the sole purpose of bungy jumping by Swiss hands. And even if you have gorged on Nepali delicacies all the way before getting to the Last Resort, fret not! The bridge has a loading factor of 41,500 kg, and your measly something-less-than-100-kg is definitely not going to make a dent into it!

Coming to the location, it is a three-hour bumpy bus ride from the capital city of Kathmandu. But once you get there, the valley is breath-taking, with dense jungle covering the gorge sides. Even if you feel almost-wet-my-skinny-jeans fear at the very thought of taking the plunge, come up here for just the view. And build your courage by trying rock climbing or rafting first.

If your friends back home refuse to believe that you took the plunge, first, get defensive by saying: "Jumping is not natural to your brain like eating or drinking, so the brain tries to keep you safe by resisting jumping.” Once they start to snigger and point, tell them how even the most experienced bungy jumpers are still nervous, even after hundreds of jumps. Just when you are about to lose respect, strike awe in their hearts by showing them a DVD of your attempt! (That is provided you did not wet your cheeks and pants) And then swagger like a lion! You may even consider causing partial deafness by screaming, "Alive is awesome!" into their ears, before running away in hysterics!

And here’s a feel-good fact: a part of the (obscene?) amount you spend on the jump is contributed towards development of local infrastructure.

Convinced yet? If you are, you owe it to this rather ravishing blog writer to send a pre-paid ticket to Nepal and The Last Resort gift card to experience this adventure bath first-hand!