Vaibhav Kala, Founder & Director, Aquaterra Adventures, is a pioneer of whitewater rafting expeditions in Northeast India. Guiding since the beginning of organised and serious adventure travel in the country, he has been at the forefront of conceiving, planning and executing trips that were considered too audacious to run. Aquaterra was an idea formed on a mountain climb in Ladakh. Solil Paul (our initial co-founder) and Vaibhav were guiding for over 3-4 years then and they saw a clear gap in adventure travel on the sheer size of offerings. Vaibhav is responsible for opening up remote Himalayan valleys to adventure tourism, and has helped open up Indian river running like none before—with rivers like the Tons 19 years after it was run in its entirety, the Siang (Upper Brahmaputra), Subansiri, Lohit in Arunachal Pradesh, the Pindar, and so on.
Q. You have led some pioneering rafting expeditions in the Northeast. Tell us about that experience.
A. My first foray into Arunachal Pradesh, which has all the big rivers that make up the Brahmaputra, was in 1994. I was 22 years old and running some of the biggest, wildest rivers on the planet. We ran the first and second descents of the Subansiri (which makes Majuli at its confluence with the Brahmaputra), a descent of the Siang (the Upper Brahmaputra) and a raft descent of the Lohit river in the extreme east of the country from Kibithu at the border with China. These were very early days not only of exploration in India’s Northeast but also of river running in India. It took many years, but from 2022, we returned by offering multiday expeditions on the Siang, Subansairi and the Lohit, and did our 20th edition last year on the Siang. Being a biodiversity hotspot, and one of the most untouched ecosystems on the planet, Arunachal Pradesh lends itself to a unique blend of possibilities, from nature tourism to hikes, culture, biking, kayaking, rafting, road trips, lodge based adventures; and is on the cusp of arriving as a world-class destination.
Q. What is the ideal tourism model for Northeast India?
A. It should be low impact, zero waste, sustainable and approached with proper carrying capacity studies to ensure it does not go mass, and erode the very USP that will bring people to the Northeast.
Q. What do you feel are the biggest challenges facing adventure tourism in the Northeast?
A. There’s a lack of available infrastructure. Capacity-building measures are needed to ensure adventure travel matures with licensed guides and certified equipment, to encourage experienced outfitters to lend a hand in promotion. For example, we only run trips in Nov-Dec as we are unable to truck in guides and gear every other month. If there was infra captive, we could promote it six months of the year.
Q. Is the Northeast suitable for every kind of tourist? Or is it for ‘responsible’ tourists only?
A. Due to the terrain challenges and lesser infra, the Northeast needs an evolved person coming for the right reasons. Mature travellers must know simple things like we move early as the sun rises earlier, to reach a destination on time; expect basic infrastructure, intent of visit must be to savour landscapes and not expect to be going into a ‘luxury’ destination.
Q. What are some of the destinations in the Northeast that stand out for you?
A. Arunachal by far!
Q. Would you say that the tourism potential of the Northeast is still largely untapped?
A. Yes, and in a good way. Therefore, the recommendation is that any development must be with proper capacity studies.
Q. What would be the right way to promote Northeast tourism?
A. Slow, deliberate, cautious, and with great planning. Terminal thinking is a MUST!
