Koprulu Canyon National Park was almost 100 KM from the hotel, and it took 1:30 hours to reach the best rafting place in turkey. Koprulu Canyon Rafting is on the Koprucay River, which is almost 14 km long. At the park, you can perform a few other activities such as hiking, Camping, Safari Jeep, Photography, and picnicking with family.
Leaving for Rafting
According to our plan, on 7th July 2017 (4th day of our visit to Turkey), we reached Antalya (Province of Turkey) through Onair, a domestic flight operator, in the afternoon, where our booking was at the Grida City Hotel. The very next morning, we were waiting for the pickup van, which would drop us to the Rafting in Antalya. It is a whole-day activity from pickup to return at your destination. The name for organizing this Rafting activity was “Tarzan”. We paid them (what I remember) 120 Turkish Lira (Pak Rs. 3,360/- in July 2017).
The driver of the van arrived at the reception of the Grida City Hotel, collected money from the receptionist (which was paid by us). This was the only thing that was in our plan, but we did not book online. We left the hotel at 0930 Hrs to reach our final destination for whitewater rafting in Antalya at Koprulu Canyon National Park.
Preparation for Rafting
Now continuing to my turkey namaa, before going directly to the river, we were gathered at one place under the small cafeteria, when two (2) more vans arrived with a group of people. Most of them belong to Russia, and others like us were from Asian countries i.,e Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Iran. Here, the cameraman came to film all the faces (do smile here). A guide from the organizers delivered a detailed lecture about the River, Rafting, Boating, Paddle positioning, First Aid, Safety equipment, filming the scenes, break during rafting, buffet lunch, special shoes (they will offer you to buy from their place, now the choice is yours), insurance was not included nor offered by them (it should be included). He delivered these instructions or guidance in the languages of English and Russian.
After finishing the lecture, we took our rafting equipment (Helmet, Life Guard Jacket & Paddle) and followed our guide to the rafting area. There, he divides us into different groups with eight (8) persons in each group. Russians were not part of the Asian group. This whole 3-hour river rafting experience is unforgettable for all of us.
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Gear up
During rafting, we walked in a pond of cool water, enjoyed by shouting, screaming & throwing water on other boat riders. Quick & fast paddling was done to cross other groups, posing for camera videos & pictures, took breaks, and did swimming at a few places (unbearably cold water), chatting with the Turkish boat leader.
Special Activity during Rafting
There was a place for a special activity during rafting. It was a wheelchair at almost 200 feet above the river. You have to reach the starting point by walking, move upstairs, wear a safety belt, sit in a chair, and it will move forward on the metal ropes very quickly. For three (3) minutes rides, they were charging $10 per person/per ride.
Buffet Lunch after Rafting
After finishing our rafting, we came back to the starting point and there we had a buffet lunch arranged by the TARZANs. What I understand is that they are serving; they cooked dry pulse (I did not like that) with salad and shawarma. Drinks were on a payment basis.
Video & Pictures of Rafting
During lunch, our movie was shown on a big screen. They were selling the videos and pictures to us in Dollars or Turkish liras. We purchased one of our group photographs for 10 TL & paid 50 TL for a Video CD.
Finally, took a shower under open showers to wash our bodies, wear normal dresses, sit in a van, and reach the hotel in the evening. We were the last ones dropped by the transporter.If you want to see our Complete Rafting Video, then watch it here:
