RISHIKESH
The National Green Tribunal banned unlicensed river-beach camps years ago over Ganga waste disposal, and the district has periodically bulldozed illegal setups in Shivpuri since. A few NGT-compliant camps still operate legally — ask to see the camp's NGT clearance certificate before booking, and never book a beach camp during monsoon regardless of licensing, since flash floods on this stretch are a real risk.
The riverside beach camps that now line the sandy banks along the Shivpuri stretch grew directly out of the rafting boom that began in the 1990s, when rafting operators and GMVN started running overnight packages combining a day of white-water rafting with a night camping on the Ganga's banks. What began as basic operator-run tent setups has since expanded into a large seasonal tourism industry of beach camps offering bonfires, music and adventure add-ons, operating roughly October through June before the monsoon river levels make the beaches unsafe.
