Walking Narmada, Krishna or Kaveri river?

I'm thinking about walking the lenght of one of these rivers.
Any recommendations about which one to chose, regarding to nature, trails, surroundings in general? Are there big or small roads near the rivers? Should I bring a tent? Any hazards for the solo walker? Any advice would be helpful

I'm planning to start the walk january next year.
I've travelled in India before, 12 years ago, but only hiked in the Himalayas.
I have experience with long distance hiking.

Look up Alastair Humphreys. He has done quite a few including one along the Kaveri in south. If you think that you can finish it in 2 months, Jan should be fine, else it will get very hot. Starting a bit earlier than that is better.

Hi,
See this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parikra...mada_parikrama

I feel you'll find this interesting.

Dhrubatara:

Indeed, it looks very interesting. But I would not walk the Narmada Parikrama as a pilgrimage, I would wear shoes and carry a backpack ... would that be offending to other walkers or people living along the route?

Not at all...there are lot of people who walk with shoes on although they are pilgrims. It is difficult to follow all the customs like walking barefoot.
I feel you'll enjoy the trip with the pilgrims...you'll get good subjects for photographs....

Normally a Parikrama is supposed to be done barefoot, but considering the distance and the terain, many would use footwear.

Thank you very much for the information, Dhrubatara.

Is it necessary to carry a tent or are there places to stay everywhere along the route?
What kind of weather and temperatures could I expect in january/february?
Are there many mosquitoes in this area, and do I need malaria protection?

Once again thanks for all the information given!

Bongo, you might be interested in this thread about a planned walk along the Kaveri:

500 miles and more to walk ?

You can read this: http://www.narmadasamagra.org/parikrama.htm

Hi again

I've been reading a bit on the internet about the Narmada Parikrama.
One site mentions that one shouldn't walk alone, because of tigers and dacoits in the area. Is this a joke or ...? Does anyone have any information concerning this?

Dear Bongo,

I may be interested to join you for narmada. give me your mail id.

There is a book in Bengali 'Topobhumi Narmada' by Sri Sailendranarayan Ghosal Sashtri where he describes his experience of Narmada parikrama (i.e. covering the stretch of Narmada river on foot) in his twenties. He faced lot of dangers from wild animals / dacoits but that was about 50 / 60 years ago (not sure) when he did his parikrama. There are about 7 / 8 volumes and some of the experiences recorded are very extraordinary. It is basically a travel book with a high degree of spiritual experiences. I do not know whether translations are available but after reading it, I have felt that places around Narmada river are quite mystical if one is inclined to feel the same.

Rightly said @JeetB. I've also read the volumes of this book in Bengali. After reading this book written by Shri Shailendranarayan Ghosal Shastri 50 years back, & going through some other holy books like Mahabharata of Ved Vyas, etc., it is concluded that there is no iota of doubt Narmada is a Tapa-bhumi (the land of penance or meditation). Thus, the book, Tapabhumi or Topobhumi Narmada (in Bengali) can be considered an 'Encyclopedia of Ancient Yoga' where we find the various ancient yoga practices of secretive Indian saints, some of them are living over centuries. One would find in this book a complete discussion about Vedas, Upanishads, Geeta, Shastras, etc, processes of experiencing the 'truth' behind them. Whatever the author has seen, his every day work from morning to night during his journey of circumambulation of the highly sacred Narmada river is mentioned in this book. Undoubtedly a best traveling book, but don't know if it is available in other languages Among other secretive saints, a mysterious hermit named Kripanath also predicted the future work of the author while he was traveling the southern bank of the river saying that one day he would write some volumes of book on Mata Narmada & his experience of traveling, referring the book to be a 'Viswa-kosh of Yoga'.

I'm also planning to accomplish a Narmada Parikrama from Amarkantak (located in Madhya Pradesh) to the Gulf of Cambay in Gujarat where the Narmada river joins the Arabian Sea. According to the Hindu tradition, I also believe Narmada Parikrama is the most sacred or pious than other parikramas.

Har Narmade!!!

Note however the pilgrimage on foot up & down both banks of the Narmada is I believe said to take 1-2 years (!)

No tourist visa will allow you to do that; or not in one go, anyway.

Traveling both the banks takes over 2 years... minimum time period is 3yrs, 3 months & 13 days, however, it depends on a Parikramavasi how he completes his parikrama. Har Narmade!