The Namche Conference: May 24-26, 2003 People, Park, and Mountain Ecotourism Participants and Presentations: Mr. Sudhir Sahi

Mr. Sudhir Sahi (New Delhi, India) Tourism & Environment Services Consultant; email: sahi@ndf.vsnl.net.in Presentation Mountain Tourism and its Impact on Culture and Trade Routes In Ladakh The high altitude district of Ladakh is India's northernmost, and among its largest, in the state of Jammu & Kashmir. It forms the great drainage basin of the Indus and its mountain tributaries including the Zanskar, the Nubra and the Shyok. The Great Himalayan Range forms its broad southern perimeter while the Karakoram is the predominant feature to its north. As the region is vast, bordering on extreme climatic variation, the impact of mountain tourism is perhaps best illustrated by flagging some key aspects. Quicker access to distant locations, larger disposable incomes and rising lifestyle aspirations characterise thr growing numbers of holiday seekers today. As with other locations, within the four corners of India, Ladakh presents extensive opportunities for a unique outdoor experience. This extends to winter as well when the frozen Zanskar turns to a white sheet, or Chadar, and briefly allows winter access to the Zanskar valley. In the rain shadow covering this sprawling ampitheatre, lie high mountain passes, lakes and valleys, seldom lower than 10000 ft and rising to the summit of Saser Kangri-1 at 25170 ft near the edge of the world's largest non-polar moisture repository, the Siachen Glacier. The temperature range is just as wide, from over 35 degrees Celcius in summer to minus 30 in winter. Tourism access by land is therefore brief, feasible only during summer when the high passes are clear of snow, usually from May to October. Domestic air services connect the district headquarters, Leh, with Delhi, Chandigarh, Srinagar and Jammu round the year. To this day, for the visitor, Ladakh will reveal the vestiges of its great ethno-cultural cauldron. It has witnessed the earliest migrations, beginning with the arrival of Buddhism. The enduring juley Ladakhi welcome embodies the true spirit of the world's highest crossroads: in the marketplace or in the ecclesiastical fabric structured around its monasteries and in its seminal link with the Roof of the World in Tibet. It is a region where mountain tour itineraries to distant brackish lakes will resonate to the call of the brahmini duck, the barheaded geese and the crested grebe. Or from Chushul to the region bordering the Hanle gompa, the rare black-necked crane might appear. And on the fringe of survival, in the barren, rocky profile of Hemis National Park, a sensitive visitor may see the habitat of the most elusive and threatened of all predators, the snow leopard. Several trekking routes radiate from neighbouring Himachal Pradesh towards the Indus basin in Ladakh. The scale of the region may require two or even three weeks on foot for some of these trails. However, for the modern day leisure seeker, confined to ten days or at best a fortnight's leave, there are quicker driving options. The terrain demands, and must receive, safety consciousness backed by basic physical fitness and acclimatization to altitudes above 10000 ft. The broad grid lines of these trekking trails follow the feeders to the old Central Asian trade route. Pushing south- north, from the mandis of north India, the route went across the crest of the Great Himalayan and Karakoram ranges, finally reaching the desert trading oases of Khotan, Yarkand and Kashgar. Ahead, it trickled out to the ancient Silk Road, the redoubtable commercial and cultural artery running east- west from the Chinese edge of the Pacific to the European shores of the Atlantic. However, by the 4th century AD, the Silk Road had lost its original focus: the lower Tarim river changed course, laying waste the Lou-lan oasis which had formed the crux to the Tun- hwang desert crossing. Chinese maritime forays later accelerated its decline. To the east, the trade route accessed Tibet, up the Indus, across the Chantang, to Rudok and finally Lhasa. This journey might reveive yet again if the drive from Leh to Lhasa operationalises. Monastic festivals that mark major events encapsule the cultural nodes of the district. To the extent that these have been integrated with the tourism calendar, Ladakh's short summer provides supplementary income for a range of service providers. Accommodation units, transport operators, provision merchants and nature tour outfitters constitute the supply chain which must depend on tenuous haulage. And in winter, virtually everything must hinge on air services. Even for national conservation areas, one belief is that bio-diversity ought not to be significantly affected by tourism which is an essential adjunct to conservation. Essentially, this implies the challenge to create an acceptable balance between seasonal visitor numbers without sacrificing wilderness qualities. For tourism service providers, this also means acceptance of service agreements. At one level, mountain tourism has rekindled interest in the old trade routes. Haji Siddiq is one of Leh's last surviving traders who plied the caravans to Rudok and Lhasa. Horses were the primary pack animals, crossing the Chang La on the third day from Leh. Bactrian camels sometimes brought up the rear. It took at least six more days to attain the Spanggur gap via Chushul and then another week to the trading station at Rudok. At this point, clothes, unrefined sugar, tea and rice carried from Leh were traded for pashmina, sheep and yak while salt was carried by the Changpas. The route extended to Rabang, Girtse and finally Lhasa. A sheep worth three rupees at that time would now cost more than two thousand while a yak priced at twenty rupees then would now fetch at least twelve thousand. Much the same revival of interest marks the caravan journey from Leh, along the old Central Asian trade route, over the Saser La and the Karakoram Pass to Kashgar. Aziz Din is Leh's oldest surviving elder who traded on this route till the Karakoram Pass closed 53 years ago. One time contemporary of Eric Shipton, his caravan usually had ten men, forty horses and ten bactrian camels. The goods brought from Leh included vegetable dye, skins, textiles, pencils and needles! Bartered and brought back from Yarkand was gold, silver, carpets and silk. The winter route to Yarkand was also used, via Sultan Chushku, taking 36 days. Since a significant part of tourism activities occur in mountain areas, the designation of 2002 simultaneously as International Year of Mountains and International Year of Ecotourism, provides an important opportunity to evaluate and create synergies in observing both events. When the balance between natural processes is subjected to heavy pressure, the resultant damage can create positions where weather patterns and lifestyles are thrown out of gear. Burning of fossil fuels and the ensuing greenhouse effect has led to global warming while the use of non-biodegradable containers such as aerosols has dented the ozone shield, raising ultra-violet radiation. In the fragile eco-system of Ladakh, this takes on a crucial dimension. Local communities become the motive force for sustainable practices, especially in the preservation of regional cultural identities. While tempering the impact of the ecological footprint, this also creates the pressure point for an equitable local share in the economic benefits of tourism.

Email: info@namche.net