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(nepalvisitors.com)
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.
Sources: library.thinkquest.org
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