In Search of Adrenaline: What Kinds of Extreme Tourism to Try

In a broad sense, extreme tourism refers to recreation, which is associated with some kind of risk, even with survival. For example, when you need to survive in the field without the usual gadgets, having at hand only matches and a knife. Sometimes called an extreme active, sporting or unusual way to relax: go on a bike ride, to jump with a parachute, to live in a tribe of aborigines. What unites all these types of recreation is that tourists have to overcome difficulties, learn unfamiliar skills, explore the unknown. And, of course, excitement and thrills, which you won’t get even while playing games on a Hellspin login website.

Extreme tourism can be divided into areas: water, air, land, mountain, and exotic. Here’s what you should try first.

Water Extreme Tourism

Rafting

Rafting on rafts on the stormy rivers with rapids and waterfalls can be sports, tourist, and camping.

The most common is a tourist type. A group (from 4 to 12 people) is accompanied by a professional instructor. The composition of the group depends on the complexity of the route: even children from 6 years old and people of age can raft on calm water.

You will need a vest and helmet for rafting. Clothing is important. Focus on the climate and weather in the area where you are going to raft, and don’t forget the “dry” set to change clothes.

Kitesurfing

Kitesurfing is riding on the water with a kite, a large kite. Kite surfers catch wind with their kite, accelerate, and surf.

For kitesurfing, you need a board with bindings, a trapeze – a special belt to which the kite is attached, slings and the kite itself. The kite is controlled by the slings, changing the pull force and direction of movement.

Of course, it’s necessary to begin with learning, instructors assert that only one out of twenty people can do it at the first attempt. First steps in kitesurfing are better to do on the water, although you can ride on the snow on skis or snowboard, as well as on the fields and even on asphalt on the mountain board, the main thing is to have a steady wind.

Diving

The fascination of diving is added by fascinating pictures of the underwater world and the ability to move not only forward and backward but also up and down – as if in outer space.

Tourists are offered a variety of diving destinations: safari diving (diving from a yacht), extreme diving (diving into underwater caves and shipwrecks), underwater diving, and night diving, where you can see sea creatures sleeping during the day.

To dive on your own, you will need an international certificate (PADI, CMAS, or NAUI), which proves that you have been trained and have experience diving. Without it, no diving club will allow you to dive – only if it’s a trial lesson with a certified instructor.

At first, the instructor will dive with you. When you gain experience, he will be replaced by a buddy partner. You will need a wetsuit, flippers, a mask and a scuba tank, or rather a SCUBA system, which allows you to breathe underwater.

The key to safety is a well-learned instruction and complete obedience to the instructor. You must remember how to use the scuba, learn sign language, and underwater always keep in sight of the instructor or buddy-partner.

Air Extreme Tourism

Skydiving

Skydiving is being developed as a kind of parachuting sport. The athlete jumps out of the plane – “dives” into the sky – and is in free fall until the parachute opens.

To become a skydiver, you must obtain a license, undergo serious training and buy equipment. The minimum set of sportsmen includes a suit, goggles, gloves, helmet, altimeter, and three parachutes – the main, pulling and reserve parachutes.

There are competitions in skydiving: solo and group – when several athletes perform acrobatic numbers in the air. Another type of the sport is freestyle, which resembles ballet in the air.

But the most extreme is double skydiving: an athlete flies in free flight, opens the chute, then unhooks it at a height of 10-15 meters and falls into the water. The trick isn’t easy to perform because you have to calculate the exact place of landing and not crash into the shore.

Hang Gliding

Hang gliding is also an air sport: the pilot flies a hang glider, a “plane” without a motor. Contrary to popular belief, a hang-glider does not need to jump from a hill to take off: athletes start “with their feet” – running with the hang-glider down a slope and, after gaining speed, taking off from the ground.

You should learn hang gliding only with a certified instructor who will teach you how to fly the aircraft and how to follow the rules like driving a car: to overtake other pilots on the right, to fan out when following a group, to give way to beginners.

Among equipment you will need a hang glider, suspension system, reserve parachute, navigation devices, helmet, special clothes, shoes, and gloves.

Ground Extreme Tourism

Horseback Riding Expedition

These are trips on horseback. Horses can go over mountainous and rugged terrain, over sand and water, as well as deep snow. Equestrian tourism offers the opportunity to discover wildlife and see rare birds and animals.

If you have little experience riding a horse, the journey should go with an instructor and choose a short trip – no over one day, with a simple route without obstacles. Before the trip, you will be taught how to care for the horse, saddle it, control the animal and even fall from the horse.

Experienced equestrian tourists can travel on their own, choosing more difficult routes – with heterogeneous terrain, mountains, swamps and rivers. As a rule, it’s recommended to get vaccinated against tick-borne encephalitis.

During multi-day trips, tourists stay overnight in camps or at campgrounds along the route. In the camps, you need to set up tents, cook food and be sure to take care of the horse.

Jeeping

Jeeping is an off-road trip in jeeps, four-wheel-drive vehicles with high cross-country ability. Jeeping routes often pass through forests, through steppes or deserts, and over water obstacles.

On the way the crews are accompanied by instructors who give advice on how to overcome obstacles and help to pull out the vehicle or repair the damage. Before the trip, you will study the route together with the experts and be briefed on the rules of conduct in the car and safety.

If the trip lasts for several days, an attendant will help you get lodging for the night.

Off-road routes are chosen according to the level of crew training and degree of complexity: simple excursion, medium, with small obstacles on the way, and heavy, to overcome which you will need a winch.

A kind of jeeping is jeep safari. It’s a trip to the wilderness or in nature reserves. In some countries, you will be offered routes through the dunes. You can also travel off-road on motorcycles, quad bikes or snowmobiles.

Leland Guerrero

“Avid travel ninja. Devoted pop culture fanatic. Freelance coffee enthusiast. Evil analyst.”