Thrilling Himalayan routes not open to trekkers

BD Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, June 23

As trekkers look for more thrill during the trekking season from May 15 to October 15 in this part of the high Himalayas, some of the most thrilling trek routes or religious places, besides picturesque meadows are still not accessible to them. Foreign as well as Indian tourists are not allowed entry to these places due to security reasons.

In Pithoragarh district, two such high Himalayan valleys are still not open to tourists and trekkers. These are situated along the China border in Munsiyari and Dharchula subdivisions of the district.

One of the banned trek routes is from the Milam glacier in Pithoragarh district to Malari in Chamoli district. This trek situated at more than 14,000-feet high Himalayan meadows was once a highway of tribal traders of Chamoli and the Johar valley of Pithopragarh to go to Tibet. “Five years ago, the trek route was open to trekkers but the ITBP prohibited their entry citing security reasons,” said Puran Pandey, a hotelier in Munsiyari. According to sources, the 24-km highest trek route in this part of the Himalayas is thrilling and awesome with serene and picturesque meadows and scenery around it.

The four-day trek begins from Munsiyari to the Milam glacier. The trekkers could reach the Dung camp the next day and after resting at Dung could reach Malari. They can camp at Topidhunga, Cheam, Badamu, Lapthal and Suma on way to Malari. “After reaching Malari, the trekkers can trek to Joshimath and Rishikesh and then travel to Delhi via road,” said Devendra Deva, a trekker in Munsiyari.

According to legends, the ancestors of tribal people in Munsiyari came from Tibet through this way thousands of years ago. “It is not a mere trekking route, as our emotions are associated with it,” said Deva.

Tourist traders in Munsiyari say that if the ITBP opens the Malari trek, which is a very challenging route, the number of tourists in the town will double.

Similarly, the Chaiyalekh to Chhota Kailash trek route in Pithoragarh district is fit for enthusiastic Himalayan tourists and trekkers. It is opened for the annual pilgrimage only and remains closed for the rest of the year. The regions beyond Chiyalekh, which has a scenic mini valley ahead of the Bundi camp on the Kailash Mansarovar trek route, was closed after the place was made the inner line entry point in 1996. “Most of the treks and tourist and religious places are situated beyond the Chiyalekh valley. These include Om Parvat, a naturally-erected sign of Om on a snowy hillside, and Parvati sarovar, which is considered the dwelling place of Goddess Parvati, the consort Lord Shiva,” said Mahendra Singh Kutiyal, a trader in Dharchula.

According to sources, the inner line to border posts was shifted to Chiyalekh in 1996 to facilitate the construction of the Chirkila Dam for the NHPC’s 280 MW hydroelectric scheme, for which workers from outside the region were to be brought. “As the people of Dharchula are agitating for the shifting of the inner line down to Jauljibi, it is almost impossible that trekkers will have an open entry to this place in future as both ITBP and district administration restrict tourists from going beyond Chiyalekh,” said Kutiyal.