May is not only exciting on the political front but also thrilling in the great outdoors, according to the city's adrenaline enthusiasts. From open-water swimming and windsurfing to rappelling and paramotoring, adventure sports operators report a surge in sign-ups for outdoor experiences this summer. Beginners and families are increasingly looking beyond conventional sightseeing during holidays.
Surfing and Water Sports on the Rise
At Covelong beach, surfer Moorthy Megavan notes that the number of surfers from across the country has grown significantly. Last summer, he set up rooms, a cafe, and even a co-working space at his surf school. "We've had an entire team from Japan on a surf holiday here recently. They stayed and worked out of here for a week," says Moorthy. Rooms are already booked for May. "We've got surfers living and working out of here now. So, we've made it an entire tourism package with surfing, windsurfing, kayaking at dawn and campfires and thappattam performances at dusk."
Just last week, Decathlon India held a paragliding workshop at their T Nagar store in collaboration with paraglider Rajesh B. The workshop was fully booked.
Boom in Aerial Adventure Sports
Aerial adventure sports are booming, says Manikannan P, whose organization has been conducting paramotoring activities in Tamil Nadu for 15 years. "About 90% of participants are beginners trying the sport out of curiosity or for a new experience. Paramotoring offers a fully open-air flying experience where participants can feel the wind and changing temperatures mid-air," he explains. "When people stretch out their hands, it almost feels like flying like a bird. In the summer, evenings after 4pm offer the best flying conditions, with calmer winds, clear panoramic sunset views of the coastline and beautiful landscapes."
Open-Water Swimming Gains Popularity
Open-water swimming is also drawing crowds, despite being a niche sport. "Earlier, we'd get one or two people interested every month. Now we train around 40 participants monthly, especially adults," says Sharath Mukundan, an open-water swimming coach. He adds that open-water swimming helps people confidently explore other water sports such as jetskiing, surfing, and scuba diving. "We first introduce them to deep water in a pool to get them comfortable and integrate them in the sea to help them understand waves and currents. By the end of the programme, they're able to judge whether conditions are safe or not and how to manoeuvre waves," he says, adding that January to June is the best time to learn as tides are calmer.
Windsurfing Sees Larger Crowds
Windsurfing is also seeing larger crowds, not just in Chennai but in other parts of Tamil Nadu. Jehan Hoshi Driver, founder of Quest Adventure Sports Academy in Rameswaram, says people aged 10 to 80 come from Chennai just to try it. "We have seen a 50% rise in participation from men and 60% for women over the past three years," says Jehan. "Many people have even begun to train competitively, and we have an intense programme for them."
Vikram Raymund, a pilot who tried windsurfing for the first time recently, says seeing the coastline from the water was different from experiencing it from the skies above. "The sea stretches into shades of blue and green, you see fishing boats drift at a distance, flocks of birds skimming the surface, corals and jellyfish. At first, I kept losing balance because the wind changes suddenly. But once you understand how the wind and water work together, it feels like you're floating and you begin to enjoy the sea."
Rappelling and Off-Roading for All
Back on land, former army instructor Swaraj Robert Roy introduces first-timers, even those with disabilities, to rappelling at Adventure Zone in Madhurantakam. "Adventure sports are increasingly becoming accessible to everyone," says Roy. Through modified harness systems and assisted support, wheelchair users have also participated in rappelling activities. "People think these activities are only for highly active individuals, but that's not true. We've adapted the activities so even people with disabilities can experience rappelling safely. We regularly at least twice a month host people with disabilities and have even quadriplegic children try it out," he says. Swaraj took the setup to the Purple Festival in Goa last year, a cultural event for people with disabilities.
Off-roading experiences are also drawing participants looking for unconventional weekend activities. Terra Tigers, an off-road adventure and experiential driving company that organizes SUV trails, boot camps, and off-roading events, says the 20th edition of the Palar Challenge, an annual 4x4 off-roading event near the Palar River in Tamil Nadu, is scheduled for May 27. It offers multi-day, competitive and recreational off-road challenges for experienced drivers and beginners. "For our sessions, we get a lot of people who come to try off-roading, especially those who want to get into motorsports and even before planning to buy a new car. The only requirement to participate in our beginner-friendly sessions is knowing how to drive," says Arka Datta, co-founder of Terra Tigers, adding that last year they had over 200 people sign up, featuring 100 cars. Their first edition had just 21 people and 14 cars.
Abraham Samuel, who participated in one of Terra Tiger's off-roading sessions, says the experience combined adventure and community. "I loved the experience so much that I got myself a Gypsy to continue practising at off-roading events across the city," he says. Samuel will be taking part in the Palar Challenge for the second time.
Safety First
Adventure sports operators emphasize that safety protocols vary across activities, with most beginner-focused experiences relying on trained instructors, weather monitoring, and safety equipment.
AI at Amusement Parks
Water amusement park Wonderla, which sees a surge in crowds in summer, uses AI-based systems to alert if crowd levels exceed safety thresholds. "The park also uses AI-enabled tools to analyse electrical parameters such as voltage stability, frequency variations, and harmonics to identify equipment irregularities early. Camera-based monitoring systems are deployed at entry and exit points to support crowd tracking and incident monitoring, while critical ride safety functions continue to operate independently through engineering controls," says Dheeran Choudhary, COO at Wonderla.
