Myanmar's first commercial whitewater rafting expedition is due to set off from Putao in January 2006.

AS the tourism industry becomes increasingly sophisticated in Myanmar, the range of options for visitors also broadens, from cultural and historical tourism, to ecotourism and adventure travel.

Myanmar is particularly ripe for the further development of adventure travel, as the country has been blessed by Mother Nature with a wide variety of geographical features that lend themselves to exploration by those who are willing to leave the tour bus behind and step off the beaten track, if only for a few hours.

The year 2006 will see the latest addition to Myanmar’s small but growing list of adventure options when the country’s first commercial whitewater rafting expedition sets off in Putao, in far northern Kachin State, in January.

Putao’s potential as a host for more daring tourists is unlimited, as the town is surrounded by vast expanses of snow-capped mountains, icy and untamed rivers, and green wilderness that is rich in flora and fauna.

Most of the rivers around Putao had never been explored before February 2003, when a group of adventurers and entrepreneurs conducted a study of the feasibility of rafting on the Mayhka and Nam Lang rivers, the headwaters of Ayeyawaddy River.

The first descents were organised by the owners of Balloons Over Bagan, Mr Brett Melzer and Daw Khin Ohmar Win, in conjunction with David Allardice of Ultimate Descents in New Zealand, and Patrik O’Keefe, an Australian who runs Hokkaido Outdoor Adventure in Japan. Mr Allardice and Mr O’Keefe are adventure travel specialists with years of experience exploring not only their own countries but also remote locations around the world.

Mr Melzer, who did not accompany the expedition but who has been whitewater rafting three times, said, “It was an area that had never been explored or documented by the colonial British or the Myanmar people themselves because it’s inaccessible.”

“The only way to go through the area is in rafts, which is really exciting for all of us,” he said.

It was intense expedition for the team of rafters and kayakers, which included seasoned adventurers Mr Allardice and Mr O’Keefe.

“The team, which consisted of people who are considered experts in the world of whitewater rafting, even had to walk around many of the rapids, and they were in a situation where once they started down the river there was no way out except to keep going all the way through,” said Mr Melzer.

An article written by Mr Allardice about the expedition, and published in the October-December 2003 issue of the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism’s Enchanting Myanmar magazine, reflected the difficulty of the journey.

“Despite long days we have been unable to average more than 10 miles a day. The raft has been dragged across, around and under huge boulders, pulled past terminal drops, lined through slots on its side, unloaded and portaged,” Mr Allardice wrote.

“Everyone is exhausted. We sit around the campfire in the evening, glazed eyes staring vacantly into the flames, eating the last of our food supplies and thinking silently about what the next day might bring.”

Despite the hardships the explorers faced during the trip, the business partners decided that commercial rafting trips in Kachin State were viable, so they founded Ayeyarwaddy Expeditions, which specialises in adventure travel.
The company’s first commercial whitewater rafting expedition, which will go down the challenging Mayhka River, will be run in January 2006 with plans to offer it one time a year thereafter.

The trip will take 20 days to complete, which will include trekking to the put-in point, and 10 days of solid rafting down more than 300 kilometres of river. It is only suitable for experts with experience on Class V or VI whitewater.

On the other hand, the Nam Ling River offers calmer, crystal-clear waters that are perfect for more casual tourists looking for a softer version of the Mayhka expedition.

“It’s suitable pretty much for everyone. It’s classified as Class III or IV, which means moderate,” said Mr Melzer. “It’s quite exciting and challenging but you do as the instructors do, so don’t need any rafting experience.”

The Nam Lang package combines two days of trekking with two days of rafting down 60 kilometres of river. The best season for the trip is from October to April.

The whole Ayeyarwaddy Expeditions project, which includes purchasing whitewater rafting equipment and building a resort hotel near Putao to cater to the rafters, is expected to cost about US$1.5 million.

The resort is currently under development with the help of more than 200 local people. The company has already bought three expedition rafts and hired four foreign river guides.

Mr Melzer said there are many difficulties involved in developing a luxury resort in a remote area, but the biggest challenge is transportation, as only a limited number of flights are offered to Putao.

“Staring in October, however, Air Bagan is supposed to offer two flights a week, which gives us mush more flexibility,” he said.

He estimates that about 50 or 60 tourists visit Putao each year to go trekking, so the impact of tourism has been minimal. Even if the number of visitors is raised to 500 a year, as Mr Melzer hopes, he said he still believed there would be no harm to the natural environment.

Mr Melzer said he firmly believed that people will be interested in what his company is offering in Kachin State.

“Rafting has been popular for quite some time. It really took off in 1970s and 1980s. . . . I think it continues to grow, and the trend now is towards more exotic and new destinations,” said Mr Melzer.

He also said he believed the travel industry in Myanmar was happy to see more development.

“I think (whitewater rafting) adds a new dimension. Obviously people know that Myanmar has a lot of cultural and historical attractions. For adventure tourism, it hasn’t been developed,” he said.