World's best bungee jumping site By Channel NewsAsia's Correspondent Punjita Pradhan | Posted: 17 October 2009 1411 hrs
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NEPAL: It has been hailed as the best bungee jumping site in the world, and it is found high in the mountains of Nepal.
We are talking about the Bhote Koshi gorge, which is located 100 kilometres northeast of Nepal's capital Kathmandu.
After three hours of driving from Kathmandu, you'll find the gorge.
The gorge is 160 metres deep, and melted snow from the Himalayas flows into the swift currents of the river at its base.
One of the gorge's star attractions is a 166-metre-long suspension bridge.
Here, you can look forward to the experience of a lifetime - bungee jumping into the deep gorge.
Free-falling towards the rushing waters of the Bhote Koshi River, surrounded by the sheer cliffs of one of Nepal's steepest gorges - what a thrill!
And a bungee jumping spot here boasts the longest free-fall in the world - close to 7 seconds.
Thrills aside, safety precautions are extremely stringent where bungee jumping is concerned.
Jumpers are secured at the ankle and given a body harness.
Typically, interested jumpers must not weigh more than 115 kilogrammes, or less than 40 kilogrammes.
The jumper must also not have any injuries or physical disabilities.
Even at the eleventh hour, second thoughts are allowed.
But if it's all systems go for those game for a challenge, they will proceed to the edge of the suspension bridge and off they go.....free fall or rebound.
"I felt full of adrenaline!" said a man after doing his jump.
"It's once in a lifetime!" said a woman jumper.
Bungee jumping is said to have its roots in the centuries-old tribal ritual known as naghol or land diving in South Pacific.
Vanuatu islanders still practise the ritual. Boys who perform the jump are considered to have attained manhood.
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