This is the astonishing moment white water rafting guides used their oars to whack tourists during a dispute over prices.

The amusing fracas erupted during an argument between the tour guides and visitors over the fees for the attraction in the town of Brahmapuri in Uttarakhand, India, on Friday.

Footage shows dozens of people, some of them workers and some tourists, hitting each other with the bright yellow paddles.

'A fierce battle is going on, the fight started due to rafting,' a man can be heard saying in the footage.

Another onlooker can be heard requesting a youngster who was carrying an inflatable rafting boat on his head to lower the boat.

Others in the crowd urged the men to stop fighting. The tourists were eventually dragged to safety.

Witnesses said the confrontation started when one group was trying to pile into a raft but the guide refused to let too many people onboard. They then began demanding discounts and arguing over the prices.