Travel News September 2007

Top Travel Destinations

Ladakh's lofty passes
Chittor: Where Bollywood stars welcome you
Unrest affects tourism in India's 'golden triangle'
Goa expects to touch 25 lakh tourist mark this season
Balasore for the art lovers
Bihar to feature in Japanese magazine
The first twenty Indians that is ready to travel to Siachen with the Indian Army

Ladakh’s lofty passes
October13, 2007

Raw. Stark. Stunning. Three words to describe Ladakh.

Located in northwest India’s Jammu and Kashmir state, the remote Ladakh astounds first-time visitors with its surreal landscape – craggy peaks, barren deserts, plunging gorges, turquoise-green rivers and a backdrop of ancient gompas (Buddhist monasteries) carved into sheer limestone cliffs.

Closed to outsiders until 1974, Ladakh is often dubbed “Little Tibet” due to its uncanny resemblance to neighbouring Tibet – from the whitewashed gompas, vast plateaus framed by lofty peaks to the Ladakhi language written in Tibetan scripts.

Literally “the land of high passes”, Ladakh is one the most rugged regions in the Himalayan Range. Its elevations, even in the valleys, rarely dip below 3,000m. Passes and ridgelines average 4,500m-5,500m (Mt Kinabalu sits at 4,095m) and peaks top out at 7,135m/7,087m (Nun-Kun massif).

What draws climbers most to Ladakh are the high-altitude treks, extreme climate and 6,000m-7,000m peaks. Even alpine newbies can summit the popular Stok Kangri (6,153m) with basic ice axe and crampon skills.

Hostile conditions
Adding to its mystique is the fact that eight months in a year, the region is shut off from the rest of the world. Snowbound passes are closed to traffic from late September to early June, and flights into Leh (gateway capital to Ladakh) are erratic at best. Even in the height of summer this year, my flight out of Leh was cancelled due to thick fog.

In winter, the temperature plummets to a bone-chilling -20°C. A summer’s day may start at a pleasant 15°C-20°C then dip to below 10°C at night. Ladakhis (what the locals are called) depend on melting glaciers for water due to the mere 110mm annual rainfall.

Trekkers' playground
One of Ladakh's earliest settlers were the Khampa nomads who traversed high, windswept trails in search of pastures for their yaks. Originally from Tibet, the Khampas settled in the Nimaling plains in the upper Markha Valley. Today, foreign hikers decked in high-tech gear pay local guides to retrace the same route that became part of the popular 10-day Markha Valley trek. As early as the 19th century, British explorers have been traipsing these Trans-Himalayan mountains.

Ladakhis are of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent and speak Ladakhi, a language similar to Tibetan. Traditionally, Ladakh had an agricultural-based economy producing barley and wheat and breeding livestock. Apricots from the lower valleys and pashmina (wool from the Himalayan mountain goat) are the main exports. Today, tourism makes up 50% of the region's GNP and in peak seasons - July and August - Leh is overrun with tourists.

Sampling a trek
I signed up for the popular five-day Lamayuru-Chilling trek with Leh-based operator, Nomad Travel. My trekking companion was Dutch tourist Marc Teunissen, whom I met at Mahabodhi International Meditation Centre where we were staying

The 65km-journey would take us across the high ridges of the Zanskar Range, traversing four passes averaging 4,700m (the highest pass, Konze La, sits at 4,950m) and through quaint, far-flung hamlets beyond the Indus Valley. Our tiny group of four included Raju Gurung, our guide cum cook (a Gurkha from Nepal), and Tashi, the "ponyman" with his four mules that would lug our stuff.

A five-hour, butt-jarring drive from Leh through hairpin roads in a 4WD took us to the rustic village of Lamayuru (3,430m), famous for its ancient gompa. Dating back to the 10th century, Lamayuru gompa is perched on top of an eroded crag with tiny caves.   Part of the Kaygupa order, the gompa has been destroyed and restored over the centuries and stores a vast collection of antique thangkas (Buddhist scroll paintings), statues and frescoes. 

Our trailhead starts across the road from the gompa along a small stream. After an hour's climb up a scree slope towards the Prinkiti La (3,700m) - La means pass in Ladakhi - I got nauseous and started retching. Altitude sickness had crept up on me although I had acclimatised in Leh (3,500m) for a week before the trek.

But the consolation was when Raju spotted a group of eight mountain goats with their kids in tow, grazing on a high pass about 100m from us. From afar, they looked like Himalayan Tahrs, heavily built goats with stubby legs and short, curving horns.   They graze the high pastures in the summer. Bharals (Blue Sheep) are also commonly spotted on the high pastures of Ladakh and Zanskar. They have thick, horizontal horns and the males have dark-blue wool on the rumps and are a favourite staple of the elusive snow leopard, found mostly in the remote regions of West Himalaya.

From the top of Prinkiti, we had a sweeping vista of the snow-dusted peaks of the Zanskar Range and the deep, narrow gorge that awaited us below. Following a steep descent, the trail snakes through a canyon hemmed in by five-storey high rock walls. Four hours later, we arrived at Wanlah village where we set up our tents for the night. The 11th century-old Wanlah gompa, still under restoration, sits on a sheer hill watching over the postcard-pretty village with its mud-brick houses and lush green fields. Over the days, it became a routine to plod up and down sheer terrains, cross icy-cold streams and stroll past remote villages with lovely, bright-yellow mustard fields and a thick growth of willows and poplars. We stumbled upon friendly villagers who cried out, "Julay, julay . . ." (Ladakhi for "hello", "good-bye" and "thank you") and slipper-clad shepherds who bounded up the trails with their flock of sheep. Chortens (Tibetan stupas) and mane walls (stone plates inscribed with Buddhist chants) dotting the passes and pilgrimage routes blessed us on the journey.

Sweet juniper-laced crisp air accompanied our walks and the pretty-pink rose bushes (Rosa webbiana, a deciduous shrub) cheered up an otherwise drab landscape. After hours of gasping in the thin air and plodding up almost-vertical slopes, we were always rewarded with awe-inspiring vistas - maroon and turquoise-streaked mountains and snow-dusted jagged peaks framed by clouds floating in a crystal-blue sky.

In the evenings, the aroma of Raju's cooking whetted our appetites as we chowed down on stir-fried masala vegetables and warm, fluffy chapatis.

Gorgeous alpine views, climbable 6,000-m peaks, and rich, vibrant cultures - a sure recipe for another trip back to Ladakh next year. Marking my calendar now . . . 

Getting there
There are daily flights from Delhi to Leh via Jet Airways, Air Deccan and Indian Airlines (irregular). By road, it takes three days to travel from Delhi to Leh via the Manali-Leh pass (open from mid-June to September).
When to vist
Ladakh's trekking season is from June to October, except for the infamous Chadar trek, a 10-day trek across the frozen Zanskar River, which starts in January/February. 
Cost
Trekking costs from US$40/RM135 per person, per day (minimum two trekkers). Includes food, guide, porters/ponies, tents and sleeping pads.
Read
For more information on Ladakh treks, check out:

• Trekking in the Indian Himalaya, Lonely Planet Publications
• Trekking in Ladakh, Charlie Loram, Trailblazer Publications

Source: Malaysian Star

Chittor: Where Bollywood stars welcome you
October12, 2007

With the voiceover done by Bollywood stars Hema Malini and Shah Rukh Khan, the light and sound show at Chittorgarh Fort in Rajasthan's historic city of Chittorgarh has become a great attraction for tourists. Besides the two actors, famous singers Lata Mangeshkar and Rehmat Khan have also lent their voices to the show.

The one-hour evening entertainment in the fort, which is spread across a 280-hectare site on the top of a 180-metre-high hill, is proving to be a great draw as about 1,000 to 1,500 visitors come to see the show every day.

Chittorgarh, also called Chittor, was the capital of the erstwhile princely state of Mewar under the Rajputs from the 7th to 16th centuries.

Completed at a cost of around Rs.29 million, the light and sound show project is the first of its kind in the state that has been set up on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis. Financed by the central tourism ministry and executed by the ITDC, the show is being run by the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC) and Hindustan Zinc Limited on a partnership basis.

Source: MSN India

Unrest affects tourism in India's 'golden triangle'
October9, 2007

Incidents of unrest in the 'golden triangle' of India's tourist circuit - Agra, Jaipur and Delhi - is adversely affecting the flow of visitors, with hotels in the city of the Taj reporting around 70 percent cancellations in the past month.

The virtual closure of the Taj Mahal in August due to street violence, followed by the fear generated by the gang rape of two Japanese girls and now the Gujjar community protests on the Agra-Jaipur highway have collectively damaged the prospects of a profitable season that the tourism industry had anticipated.

Sources in Agra's Hotels and Restaurants Association and the Tourism Guild here say that a number of tourist groups have shifted to Bangalore and Goa in view of the unrest here. The tourist season has already begun but hotels here have several vacant rooms as many tourists are avoiding the circuit.

Rajeev Tiwari, president of the Federation of Travel Associations, is a worried man following reports of large-scale - nearly 70 percent - cancellations. Agra got around 2.5 million tourists last year, with the Taj drawing at least 12,000 visitors a day.

Tiwari said the Supreme Court should, on the lines of its recent directive in Tamil Nadu asking Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi not to go ahead with a state-wide shutdown, issue a similar directive insulating national highways from rampaging mobs.

'The Uttar Pradesh Tourism Department should approach the apex court to secure a directive against agitators who block the highways,' Tiwari told IANS.

Source: IANS

Goa expects to touch 25 lakh tourist mark this season
September 27,2007

Goa expects to achieve a milestone in the tourist inflow this season by touching the 25 lakh mark, for the first time in the history of the coastal state.

In terms of tourist arrival, the state is rapidly growing at a pace of 10-20 per cent annually besides welcoming 24 lakh odd visitors last year.

"This season, the figure will touch the record 25 lakh figure, which will be the highest for the state till date ... at least 10 per cent increase in foreign arrivals is expected this season," Ralf D'souza, Chairman Travel and Tourism organisation of Goa (TTAG), said.

Goa, famous for its 105-km-long sandy and pristine beaches, also created a record of sorts when it attracted sizeable foreign and domestic tourists during off-peak monsoon season.

Officially, the tourist season began this week and the first chartered flight will touch Goa airport sometimes next week.

While domestic tourist influx cannot be projected accurately, industry experts feel that the chartered flights will spiral to 750 mark this time.

"Last year, total 725 chartered flights arrived. This year, there will be a slight increase in the figures," D'souza said.

However, the chartered flight growth in the state is marred by the constraints on Goa airport. "There are limited slots available and we have to share the airport with Indian navy and domestic flights," the TTAG President stated.

Source: Times of India

Balasore for the art lovers
September 19, 2007

Have you always been attracted to folk and tribal art? Then visit Balasore of Orissa this season and you could have one of the most memorable tours you ever had. The reason: Here you could see tribal artists at work, painting the walls of houses in and around the entire town with pictures depicting the lifestyle of tribals, their culture, flora and fauna and designs.

The artists are led by Kesudas, a popular cartoonist and executive director of Baleswari Kalakendra, an organisation spearheading a movement to revive ancient arts. The painting spree has been on for the past one month.

"Tribals are considered the first artists. Earlier, tribal arts were more popular than other typical art forms. But, unfortunately, tribal arts and crafts are almost on the verge of extinction due to several reasons," Kesudas said.

"We have decided to revive the forgotten art of tribals who live in our town and have forgotten their art and culture," he added.

In the first phase, tribals artists such as Marut Rout, Partha Sarathi Mohanty, Gadadhar Mohanty, Bibhuti Das, Malay Maharna and Balu Behera have painted at least 10 houses in each tribal settlement in 31 wards of the town at their own cost.

"We have decided to cover the neighbouring areas too and also the neighbouring district of Balasore. We urge tribal artists from other districts to follow us. Tribals should not stay away from their distinct art forms," he added.

Painting has always been very important in tribal culture and festivals.

Source: MSN India

Bihar to feature in Japanese magazine
September 19, 2007

Japan's leading tour operator Nippon Express Company Ltd will do a special feature on "Buddhism and Bihar" for its magazine. This was stated by tourism minister Nand Kishore Yadav, who returned from Japan after participating in a seminar on "India tourism" held in Tokyo on September 12.

The seminar was jointly organised by FICC and Japan Association of Travel Agents. The seminar included a one-to-one interaction with tour operators.

Speaking to mediapersons on Tuesday, Yadav said that the magazine had a circulation of over 4.5 lakh in Japan and that the special feature would create awareness about tourism in Bihar.

"Only 9 per cent of the Japanese visit India for business purposes. The rest come for religious tourism. During the seminar, I emphasised that religious tourism cannot be complete without Bihar being in the itinerary since the state is the land of enlightenment," Yadav said.

He said that he also assured tour operators in Japan that the state government had started implementing several projects for tourists like air taxis, good roads and motels and hotels of international standards. He said that he had also invited tour operators to visit the state.

Source: Times of India

The first twenty Indians that is ready to travel to Siachen with the Indian Army
September 16, 2007

India is taking its first twenty civilians to conquer Siachen. It will be a journey to claim Siachen by the Indian people. Indian Army will escort a team of people to the Saltoro Ridge in the region on September 19.

The 22-day excursion is the first in a series of initiatives to promote tourism in the territory. American and French trekkers and the odd Bollywood celebrity have got a taste of the world's highest battlefield but this is the first time Indian civilians have been extended this privilege by the Army. About 20 people from across the country will be accompanied by a team of military cadets.

Three of them are from Mumbai: marketing professional Mukund Deodhar, management professor Charuhas Joshi and public relations consultant Balakrishna Pillai. All are avid mountaineers and trekkers who have already scaled heights higher than Siachen.

Source: Indiadaily.com