What is rafting?

Rafting  is a sport done on strong  flow  rivers with  the  boats which are  called raft.

The main aim of raft passengers is not to capsized the rafting boat and stay flat while they are avoiding from the rocks, obstacles  and redirecting the boat via shovels to a better area.

Rafting usually  done with a team formed by 6 to 8 person. Being succesfull in Rafting is completely based on a Team work. All team members have to paddle in a harmony with the same enthusiasm.

There are various  difficulty degrees in  rafting activity . The degrees of difficulties are up to  the river flow rate , abundance of rocks and so on.

When river passing through it’s bed;  naturally  river must pass through a variety of natural obstacles. These obstacles affect the  speed  and direction of the flow therefore it creats turbulences , waves , sudden accelarations in the flow and river.

Sparkling white parts of  the flowing rivers due to the turbulences and  waves are called and known as  "Rapid"

Rivers are ranged according to their flow speeds and obstacles they have.  The grade of the river give you clues about it’s characteristics  and difficulties. Here is the list of river grades for rafting ;

Grade 1: Very simple , slow flow . Suitable for small easy transitions
  
Grade 2:  A regular flow. Small rocks and waves ( without any danger) suitable for simple transitions.

Grade 3: Medium difficulty. Rarely 1 mt high waves might occur.  Visibility is limited.

 
Grade 4: Very difficult  and has great rapids . It is hard to estimate the beginning and end of drops.  A grade with full of  obstacles and difficult transitions.

Grade 5: Extremely hard, high flow rate , dangerous rocks, steep slopes, consecutivedrops, limited transitions. Not recommended for amateurs.  It is a class filled with challenging obstacles.