The Trip
A low to medium volume, Class IV river, the Tons was first run in 1980 by Jack Morrison, followed by a commercial exploratory trip in 1986. Since then, apart from a 15 km commercial section, the river has hardly ever been challenged. The main raft section is around Camp Lunagad, Aquaterra Adventure's summer camp, near Mori village.
Aquaterra Adventures made the first Indian descent on the hardest section on this river (Khunigad - Tiuni) in April 2003. We followed it up by running the first fixed departure expedition on the Lower Tons, an exciting 75 km journey down this Class 4 section of the medium volume Lower Tons river. This adventure kicks off from our base camp on the Tons river, with familiarity gained on the 15-km-long commercial section of the upper Tons near Mori. A short overnight hike into the hills adjoining whets the appetite before we begin the 75 km journey, from the small town of Tiuni, down to Icchari, where the river is dammed.
Below Tiuni, we encounter Foreplay, Premature Ejaculation, a series of Class III+ rapids, followed by Channel Rapid, Pillow talk, Thrice Bitten, Deadly Dedsu before we reach the bridge at Atal, the village below which we camp on Day 01. Day 02 begins with several Class 3 rapids after which we flow into a gorge where we tackle the Lone Ranger, Three Musketeers, and the Roaring Bagni.
We paddle through a long gorge where we hear ample chatter of monkeys and the call of cuckoos. The land takes a more gentle and tropical rhythm from the upper, more alpine, valley near the base camp. Palm trees grow at the edge of cliffs and their roots drop 80 ft into the nourishing water of the Tons.
The gorge opens out at the bridge near Minus and the river flows gently for the next 10 kms till we reach Major Surprise, the biggest rapid on the trip. Major Surprise is followed by a series of big rapids before the river flattens out again near the dam at Icchari.

Note:
1) Expedition river rafting is an exhilarating mix of adventure travel cum sport. Within the parameters of risk associated with any adventure sport, the above expedition is safe even for the inexperienced non-swimming participant. Our unmatched safety standards have ensured non-swimmers and first time rafters to experience rivers like the Brahmaputra in the north east, one of the biggest rafting rivers in the world, to the Tons, Sutlej and Zanskar in the west. We'd be happy to put you in touch with participants from these expeditions should you want to gain more insight into their experiences. Adventurers are advised, however, to be prepared for the occasional toss into the water, which is part of the experience.