Chaliyar River Paddle is an annual kayaking event which takes place in Chaliyar river with the aim to create awareness to conserve Chaliyar river and promote adventurous water sports which gain more prominence in Kerala recent years. The organisers claim that it is one of the longest in India and second-longest in Asia with a 68 kilometer downstream kayaking starting from Nilambur and finishes at Cheruvannur near Kozhikode city.
Kayakers with different kinds of kayaks, yachts and standup paddlers from across the India and the world take part in the event. During the event, garbage collection will be undertaken by kayakers. In 2022, around 1600 kilograms of garbage was collected and 2000 kilograms of garbage was collected in 2023 from Chaliyar river.
The event was organised by Jellyfish Water Sports in collaboration with Kerala Tourism Department and Kerala Adventure Tourism Promotion Society.
Kerala, New destination of Water Sports
Water sports and adventurous water sports are gaining more popularity in Kerala recent years. Rushing river waters through rugged terrains are abundance in Kerala which attracts kayakers from all over the world.
Iruvanjipuzha and Chalipuzha in Kozhikode district both of which are tributaries of Chaliyar river is home to Malabar River Festival, an adventurous kayaking championship which is held annually. One kilometre long down river kayaking is the most interesting and adventurous of all competitions and unique titles of “Rapid Raja” for fastest in men’s category and “Rapid Rani” is delivered to fastest women kayaker. Along with Malabar River Festival, International Kayaking Championship is also held in the site. In 2023 Malabar River Festival, candidates for Paris Olympics 2024 were also selected from festival.
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