RISHIKESH
Unlicensed river-beach camps have been the subject of National Green Tribunal restrictions and periodic enforcement over Ganga waste disposal. Compliant camps do operate - ask to see the camp's clearance before booking, and never book a beach camp during monsoon regardless of paperwork, 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.
