The Himalayas, over the centuries,
have attracted trekkers, mountaineers,
pilgrims and ascetics. Since time
immemorial its rugged heights crowned
with snow and draped in vast glaciers
has lured man to pit his courage and
ingenuity against its dangerous
challenge.
Below the snowline at 18,000 feet,
nature appears to relent and from the
austere magnificence of the heights
brings down to a different world of
cascading water falls, lush green
forests, flower-bedecked meadows and a
variety of flora and and fauna. Here the
rivers flow clear blue and icy.
Here nestle small villages and hamlets
with their diverse local customs,
dances, folklore and architecture. The
people are as vibrant as their
surroundings and in many cases innocent
of the sometimes dubious benefits of
modern civilization.
Since ancient times, ascetics have
climbed into these inhospitable heights
in search of peace. In doing so, they
have established places of pilgrimage
that have become more than household
names since their fame has spread to all
parts of the world. Names like Kailash
Mansarovar, in Tibet, Thyang Boche in
Nepal, and of course Badrinath,
Kedarnath, Yamunotri, Gangotri of
Uttarakhand. Then there is Amarnath in
Kashmir and Hemis in Ladakh.
Those first mountaineers - whether
ascetics, pilgrims, traders, hunters or
shepherds - had no special training or
climbing techniques, but acquired a high
degree of skill from necessity and
constant practice. Having to cross the
mountain passes at heights ranging from
1500 m to 5,800 m, they designed
ingenious equipment, food and clothing
from indigenous material to help them
combat the intense cold and negotiate
the treacherous snow and ice.
For a vast number of people, the
Himalayas appear to be the Shangri-la,
to others, the abode of God.
Trekking in the Himalayas is now quite
enjoyable and has become comparatively
easy with the development of lightweight
equipment and clothing with booming
tourist infrastructure. There are
difficult treks as well as easy treks,
long and short treks. Vehicles,
helicopters and aircrafts are also
available to explore the Himalayas
according to one's resources, taste and
leisure time. But you still find people
in remote mountain villages who maintain
the age old traditions and have not
changed for generations. There is much
that is new and interesting in the
Himalayan villages.
Stan Armington has rightly said that
"Trekking is neither a wilderness
experience nor is it a climbing trip".
Even at a height of 12,000 to 14,000
feet in secluded valleys, there are
small village settlements tending their
flocks of sheep and goats or herds of
Yaks of nomadic shepherds and Gujjars.
As a result, there are people on the
trail to guide and help you - the
trekkers. Articles of daily necessity
are also available in these small
hamlets. Even in the remote areas one
can easily mix with the people and 'live
off the land". Most westerners find it
difficult to comprehend this aspect and
visualize their trekking trips to be the
same as those organized in their
national parks or in wilderness area of
their respective countries.
Almost all the Himalayan valleys are
full of rural settlements and the
population gradually thins out with the
rise in altitude. One always finds
people on the trekking trails and there
is no dearth of information as to
trekking routes and directions. Hill
people are traditionally very hospitable
and this adds pleasure to trekking in
the Himalayas more than anywhere else.
Some people believe that trekking in the
Himalayas is a climbing trip where they
have to negotiate rocky cliffs, thick
jungles and uncharted routes. But this
is not so. In almost all Himalayan
regions, the local people have well
developed trails. There are routes from
one village to the other, between
adjoining mountain pastures and across
well defined high altitude passes, where
people travel from one valley to other
for trade, cultural exchanges, religious
activities and inter - marriages.
These mountain trails and high passes
normally do not require any
mountaineering skills or artificial
climbing aids. Of course, at places,
they are covered with snow and may have
crevasses. However, these obstacles can
usually be crossed without the aid of
mountaineering equipment like ropes and
pitons. There are only a few difficult
treks which need mountaineering
techniques or equipment. An example is
the trek to the Nanda Devi Sanctuary in
India or a trek across several high
passes which require special equipment
to negotiate the glaciers.
Trekking is more enjoyable than climbing
the peaks and offers spectacular scenic
beauty. The Himalayan region, till now,
has been comparatively less affected by
the modern urban civilization with its
industrial pollution. It provides an
opportunity to be in natural
surroundings and to get away from the
milling crowds of the cities. The
trekker usually returns home
rejuvenated, and with new enthusiasm to
take up the challenges of city life.
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