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| Travel News |
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| Srinagar-Leh highway thrown open |
By Thaindian News
Srinagar, Tuesday, April 15, 2008
The strategic Srinagar-Leh highway in Jammu and Kashmir was opened for traffic Tuesday after remaining closed during the winter months due to snowfall. Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad flagged off a fleet of Srinagar-bound vehicles from Zero Point near Gumri across Zojila pass, marking the earliest annual opening of the 434 km Srinagar-Leh highway.
It is for the first time that the road has been thrown open in mid-April for vehicular traffic despite this winter’s heavy snowfall. This vital road link between Kashmir and Ladakh used to be generally opened for traffic in June.
Last year, the opening of the road was advanced to May 1, which was then the earliest time to have the highway thrown open after prolonged closure during winter.
Technical Education Minister Haji Nissar Ali, chief executive councillor of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Developmental Council (LAHDC), Kargil, Asgar Ali Karbalai, commander of 15 Corps, Lt. Gen. Mukesh Sabarwal, chief engineer of project Beacon, Brig. A.K. Bhutani, chief engineer Himank, Brig. Palati, deputy commissioner Kargil and other officers were present on this occasion.
The chief minister met engineers, workers and soldiers of Beacon and Himank projects maintaining the highway and appreciated their efforts to ensure its early opening.
He said this was an important road link as it connected the Ladakh region with rest of the state and country.
“Its early opening has significance for the people,” Azad said, adding that the road link would help in carrying essentials sooner to the mountainous region and also promote tourism activities.
News Courtesy: thaindian.com
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| More tourists than ever before in Ladakh |
By The Magpie
Leh, Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Leh has crossed the 50000 mark in tourist influx recorded in 2007 summer season. According to J&K Tourism Department Leh, the number of tourists visited Ladakh last year was 50185 that includes 28178 foreign and 22007 domestic tourists.
This figure shows a considerable surge from the previous year’s influx of tourists (43821), which is attributed to more frequent flight operations and suddenly much cheaper air fair option available with the Deccan Airways launching its service between New Delhi and Leh last summer.
It has also been seen that more number of domestic tourists visit Ladakh, which was relatively unknown among them as a tourist destiny. Ladakh was thrown open to foreign tourists in 1974. Since then it remained an attraction for foreigners only until recent years when vacationers from others parts of India (apparently more from Southern part) found Ladakh as a destiny apart from Kashmir and Simla. Last year’s figure tells that about 4000 more domestic tourists visited Ladakh than the previous year’s record of 17707.
Influx of domestic tourists is mainly attributed to the Sindhu Festival started by BJP led NDA government, when there was massive publicity campaign throughout India about this festival inspired by then Union Home Minister L K Advani with his surcharged religious sentiments.
Nevertheless, it reaped a bonus of introducing Ladakh as a possible travel destiny for increasing number of domestic tourists in India. At the same with the improvement in communications and hotel and guest facilities the number of foreigners coming to Ladakh have also increased. 28178 foreign tourists in 2007 is about 2000 more than the previous year.
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| Trekking routes in Ladakh face garbage menace |
By The Magpie
Leh, Saturday, October 13, 2007
Overland Escape, a travel company based in Ladakh, organized a cleaning drive collecting tons of garbage along the trekking routes between Lamayuru and Padum in Zanskar with a dual purpose of reducing the ever growing garbage menace along this popular route and creating awareness among the general public about the environmental hazards of piles and piles of rubbish trekking groups leave behind them.
The 10-member team found that Silver foil used to carry packed lunch, fruity packets, coca cola and pepsi bottles, mushroom, tuna tins were mainly found everywhere along the route. Tsering Namgyal, a staff of Overland Escape who led the group with another staff Kunga and a German lady Nana, observed that the main stockpiles of garbage were found around the stalls and camping site put up at different points and the worst situation was at Fanjila, which forms the junction for three trekking routes leading to Chilling, Alchi and Zanskar.
Namgyal said, it was sad to see that villagers everywhere were least bothered about the garbage lying at their places for many years. Expressing his concern he further said, if this growing garbage menace along the trekking routes is not dealt with these areas would be left with nothing but rubbish all over.
The team left the garbage bags at Tourism Office compound in Padum, where the Tourist Officer Mr. Namgyal wrote an appreciation letter for their effort. The Director of Overland Escape Tundup Dorjey said, by organizing such cleaning campaigns we want to repay our debts to nature, environment of Ladakh, that provide us with a tremendous resource to earn our livelihood and we feel greatly obliged. Through our such constant cleaning drives we have now come to realize that it would need more than just cleaning, so we have set up a plan to try and convince the local government to have strict regulations issued to travel agencies to bring the garbage back along with them in future. For this purpose our travel company has already produced “Green Bags” to be issued to different trekking groups for at least bringing their rubbish back with and not leave it to cause further depredation of nature.
One of our members of the campaign team, Nana Ziesche from Germany wrote her experience about the latest cleaning campaign that we carried out along the routes between Lamayuru and Zanskar:
Since 1993 I’m traveling to Ladakh, first as a backpacker, after a while as a group leader and since 2000 I have an own travel agency called Ladakh Travel, based in Hamburg/Germany. I’m working together with the ladakhi Travel Agency Overland Escape since some years. Feedback of clients is usually positive; just there is a constant complaint about the rubbish in Ladakh, not only on the trekking routes but also in the villages. So we thought it a good idea to do a cleaning trek like it was done several times before. We chose the Lamayuru-Padum-Trek as we heard that the last clean-up was already some years ago. Apart from that I was doing this trek in 1996 and I was curious what changes had taken place.
So we set off on 15th September with a troupe of 7 Ladakhi boys, 3 Nepalese Cooks and a helper, 3 horsemen from Himachal with 15 horses and myself as the only westerner and a woman.
The cleaning was so organized that we put the plastic bottles and crushed tins in bags and burnt the other rubbish like food packets, old clothes etc. We started in Lamayuru, but found out very quickly that we could spend days and fill more then the bags we brought as it was very dirty. It was not only our aim to clean up, but also involve the villagers and create some awareness about environmental issues and the problem that if no-one cares about the rubbish, Ladakh will be in 10 years just one big garbage pit. But villagers said that they had other impending works to do at that time. Quite obviously, it was their harvesting time, however, the usual bunch of boys hanging around didn’t show any enthusiasm in helping. So we just cleaned the camping area and around, put the filled bags on the truck and set off for Wanla.
The trekking route, apart from Bonbon-paper and some empty Frooties, was quite clean. About Wanla I can’t say much as I unfortunately caught fever, vomited and remained lying down in the tent. But I saw next day the truck leaving with 20 bags of rubbish to be disposed in Leh.
We started slowly only as far as Fanjilla filling up 2 bags on the roadsides with 2/3 burnable items. At Fanjilla, we were surprised to find lots of dirt strewn around such as at Lamayuru, but maybe with some shops and tent restaurants selling soft drinks and other items it was just “unavoidable”. After talking to a couple of women they agreed to help in the afternoon, but no one turned up when we started. A single lady who showed up rather late simply ignored the garbage we had collected by saying that that there was no rubbish around her place. We burnt a big rubbish pile and things such as plastic bottles were packed in some five bags to be carried on horses. We moved on further into Hanupatta gorge for some four kilometers collecting rubbish including plastics. On the way we came across a tent restaurant owned by a 15-years-old boy called Nyima. His stall had soft drinks and some food items brought in on his motorbike for exhausted trekkers. It was bit disappointing to know from him that he threw most of the empty bottles, cans etc. into the river, while some he was using as a decorative items in his stall. As we proceeded further we finally got to the village with some 15 houses, however we could hardly find any men, there were some children and women who we could assemble for our usual briefing on garbage menace and thereby seeking their participation in collecting the rubbish strewn around. They asked for money in return, however, we refused saying that it was their village and they should keep their place clean. Finally, some boys were spared to join us. Fortunately, there were not many plastic bottles so we could burn the other rubbish at the next camping site.
The next day when we were crossing Sirsir-la to get to Photoksar, enroute we found tins of mushroom, tuna, paneer, fruit cocktail – some so old and rusted that it was difficult to recognize the label. We filled bags with these tins crushed making our load quite heavy. At the camping site we were pleased to find a garbage pit with piles of rubbish, but not separated and burnt. So we added our load pile into the pit and did our job.
The worst scene we came across was at the second camping site at Photoksar, where it seemed that open ground was being used as toilet as a result it was not pleasant to pick rubbish there. Some villagers even complained that their animals bear the brunt of such unmindful garbage including broken glasses and tins.
The Singge-la Base Camp had relatively less garbage perhaps due to the less number of trekkers using this route. The campling at Gongma Yulchung was very clean as villagers themselves cared to keep the surroundings clean.
Finally, we got some appreciation from some other trekkers at Lingshed, who were concerned about the garbage problem on trekking routes. Some Americans joined us in our cleaning drive that was quite encouraging. They told us that at some camping sites they refused to pay the fees unless the owners promised to keep the site clean.
The next, we moved further on collecting plastic bottles on the way towards the road. It was disgusting to see age old garbage lying strewn all over including along the river in Hanamur and Pishu villages and cleaning was almost impossible for us. A bad pungent smell of rubbish prevailed in the area. There was an abandoned restaurant at Pishu, where only an old lady helped us in cleaning the area while as a bunch of men did not care at all and were rather busy playing cards.
By the time we were in Padum (headquarter Zanskar) after 10 days of rigorous garbage collection all along the trek routes we had some 13 bags filled with plastic bottles, crushed tins that we showed to the Tourist Officer, Mr. Namgyal, who hesitantly agreed to give a space to keep the garbage, but he did not give us the clue about the proper disposal. Nevertheless, he appreciated our work and hoped that such campaign would help create awareness among people in Padum, where problem was a serious concern. Until now people would just throw garbage anywhere least bothered about environmental hazard it causes. Having a stroll around town myself I could see the obvious and was in a way speechless that it is possible that in a modern country as India is in many aspects, there are still these awful environmental conditions.
Just to add my observations about 11 years ago trekking, I felt a big change with the tent restaurants and their offer of soft drinks and other rubbish-arising items. In earlier years it was only possible to buy something up to Wanla and after Pishu. But rubbish was already there as I remember us being quite early at one camping and collecting every burnable item to have a nice little fire and getting it much cleaner.
As long as Ladakhis want to get money by selling items to trekkers, I feel that it should be also their responsibility to care about the rubbish afterwards. But tourists also could help with a bigger demand for local products and avoid the rubbish arising items.
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| Why tourists choose Ladakh? |
By Morgane
Leh, Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Leh, first city of Ladakh, welcomes a lot of tourists, interested to visit places of Ladakh. But what are exactly the strengths of the place? What do tourists expect of Ladakh and Leh and what do they find exactly?
We can begin with my own situation. I took a plane from Geneva to Delhi, accompanied by my mother. After five weeks in Rajasthan (one of the prominent tourist states of India), and two other months in Gujarat for a practice, I was happy to materialize my dreams: to reach and visit Ladakh. Ladakh, one of the famous far destinations in the world, sounded like an adventure land. I expected to find myself lost in a wonderful mountainous and dried valleys landscape, in which gonpas and old castles would show the old pride of past reigns and peace of Buddhist religion. On the two-day bus trip from Srinagar up to Leh I saw beautiful scenery, smooth hills wrinkled by water erosion for so many kilometres. The Himalayan Mountains are still growing; nevertheless, erosion is the word I would take to describe the landscape. Snow, water and wind attack rocks relentlessly. That’s why you will find relieves of isolated peaks, thinly cut and mushroom shaped where the softer rocks from the sides are eroded. For me, Ladakh is first of all an open book of the different natural processes. Rivers, mountains, different altitudes, less people and less vegetation create an invaluable and unique landscape, that I love to see and liked to walk through. The impression left by Leh is that life seem to be on a strange turning point…Motorcycles, cars, treks agencies, shops of one part and mountains, people in traditional clothes, monks and Buddhist places on the other part. We can’t feel totally disoriented in Leh, as far as food and proposed activities are concerned.
Let ask another tourist of Leh during a dinner on a rooftop.
-What did you expect of Ladakh before coming? “Nothing particular. I came here because of the weather: there is no rain here. I think that Ladakh is the best place to stay during this period of the year. Another reason is that I wanted to have a lot of trek. Further, Ladakh is one of the famous places to visit in India.”
-How can you describe Leh? “It’s a tourist centre, with a lot of businesses focussing on tourists as customers. That’s not so different from the other places of India.
-Do you plan to come back in Ladakh later? “I usually do not to go back to the places I’ve already visited.” -Did you find what you expected from the place? “Yes. The Buddhist influence, a lot of tourists’ facilities, particularly agencies…I’m killing a lot of time here easily!” (Jay, from America)
-Marilyne, why are you now in Ladakh? “I was expecting to find a good weather, no monsoon and sun! I also wanted to be out of the city: less stress, less traffic jam and noise, less people…I’m also here to find mountains, nice landscape and to have a trek.”
-Did you find what you expected? “Yes. Here I find nice and peaceful places and cool weather. Landscapes aren’t as I imagined, but are still beautiful and colourful. In general in India, I didn’t expect to find such friendly and smiley people. I found in Ladakh peaceful people, maybe because of the Buddhist influence.
-Don you think about coming back to Ladakh? “It is already the second time that I’m here, in a same travel. I enjoy the positive energy of the place. I have still a lot of places to see, that’s why I would like to come back.
-And what is Leh for you? “Leh is a quiet place, in which you can relax, meet yourself… It’s also a city where I met inhabitants, who I appreciate to meet daily. I spent great time with them. Leh, among my travel in India, will stay an appreciated and invaluable remembrance.” (Marilyne, Switzerland)
What about Leila, from France?
-Leila, what did you expected of Ladakh and Leh? “I could inspire myself from the book of Olivier Folmi, telling his experience in Zanskar, in winter. After reading the book, I wanted to come in Himalayas. I was thirsty for the absolute and wanted to melt myself in the landscape’s immensity. I wasn’t looking for people, but for solitude of mountains, and to meditate in a good place.
-Did you find what you expected? “Yes, and more than that. A friend and I met Tibetan nomads during our trek in mountain. We got a positive impression of this people: they have such positive energy and are self-contained.”
-For you, what is Leh? “I can’t feel in the Himalaya here, because of the shops, restaurants and cars. There is a gap between the altitude of 3,500 meters in a far place and that we feel still apart of the mountains. I wasn’t expecting Leh like that. Maybe it wasn’t like that ten years before…Consummation’s society is now here and is amazing. A positive fact is to see the several ecological movements in the city. I would like to come back in Ladakh, maybe with my future family.”
(Leila, France)
To interview tourists is an easy operation. The discussion, regarding holidays, seems to be very light. In a further step, we can summarise that tourists, coming to Leh are basically interested by beauty of landscapes and mountains, and some are interested to meet the local people. By the discussion, we were still asking ourselves why and how the consummation’s society reached Ladakh (I’m afraid with us for one part), how Leh’s daily life sceneries changes every year, and how can we preserve by our contribution the originality of Leh…
(Author is a tourist from Switzerland)
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| IMF opens office in Leh |
By The Magpie
Leh, Saturday, July 07, 2007
Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) has opened its branch office in Leh for the convenience of local travel agents in getting the clearances for expeditions to Stok Kangri and adjacent peaks.
Air Vice Marshal (Retd.) P C Rautela, AVSM, SC, VSM formally inaugurated the one-room office spared by J&K Tourism Department of Leh to be run under the Everest Hero Sonam Wangyal. Local travel agents can now heave a sigh of relief as they no longer have to get the permits for expeditionsto abovementioned peaks from IMF office in New Delhi. Air Marshal Rautela said, with the opening the branch office at Leh, clearances can be procured locally and IMF has also reduced the clearance fee to Rs. 2000 per head to be charged from foreigners only. The opening of IMF Leh office has come about after a delegation comprising ALTOA members led by Thupstan Chhewang MP Ladakh met IMF, he said.
He said, IMF does the clearance on behalf of Ministry of Home Affairs and it had to take this step to regulate clearance norms in case of Stok Kangri on the bases of some complaints they received about ‘illegal’ expeditions being carried out here in Leh. He further said, by next year the IMF office in Leh will be very busy when 100 peaks in Ladakh will be opened for mountaineering expeditions. Air Marshal Rautela opined that mountaineering in Ladakh would be a unique attraction, however, he stressed upon having strict regulations and keeping the expeditions limited to prevent polluting of glaciers and damaging the flora.
He also promised that IMF would extend full support to Ladakh Mountaineering and Adventure Club (LMAC) and in a week or two this club would be affiliated to IMF. Later, Everest Hero Sonam Wangyal told that after conquering Everest on May 22, 1965 he was posted at Shey by ITBF, when setting up of such a club in Leh occurred to his mind. Later, LMAC was founded with Mr. Wangyal as the President and Sonam Wangyal Chotness, Sonam Paljor, Motup Kalon, E S Gergan, Urgain Lhundup, Dawa Saab, Tangay as the other founding members.
Giving his valuable tips for mountaineers aspiring to climb Stok Kangri Mr. Wangyal said, one should not just go and come back; it is a wonderful opportunity to catch the sight of almost all the popular peaks of Himalayas from the top of this peak. He corrected the name Stok Kangri as actually called Kang Lha Jal, meaning holy Kangrinpoche (Kailash mount) view. Expressing his opinion about the Ladakh’s potential in mountaineering, Mr. Wangyal told about how two young locals made it to 20160 feet without any equipment and rescued a lady tourist climber. He recommended that such outstanding feats and bravery should be rewarded in the form of commendation certificates from IMF. Later, Urgain Lhundup, Dyputy Director, Tourism revealed about the setting up of a mountaineering institute in Leh as one of projects to be taken up in the first phase of 15-crore sanctioned so far under Ladakh Development Project funded by Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India. Among others present in the inaugural meeting were P T Kunzang V President ALTOA, Motup Kalon, Tangay, Aijaz and Motup Rimo.
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