Mountains that sustain millions
The word Himalaya comes from two Sanskrit words: Him (snow) and Aalay (abode). The beauty of the Himalaya, which are one of the youngest chains of mountains in the world harbouring...
Kaza to Kibber and Back, On a Cycle: My Most Memorable Microadventure
It was the month of September in 2016. I had just arrived in Kaza after a multi-day trek. After a day’s rest, I made a sudden decision...
Construction of Zojila tunnel starts. To reduce travel time from 3 hrs to 15...
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday launched the first blasting for construction related work at the 14.15 km Zojila tunnel, one of the longest in Asia, that...
Fifteen books with which to travel through nature when journeying out is impossible
If there’s ever been a year to binge-read nature-travel books, it’s this one. Through most of 2020 we barely journeyed beyond our living rooms, and really, the...
The Places In-Between (by Kartiki Gonsalves)
Exploring life in Fertile Land torn between two hostile neighbours
Lives shattered by the war of 1971, separated from most of their tribe and many family members, and...
With rampant habitat fragmentation, how the Hindu Kush Himalayas could be the next pandemic...
The world is in an 'era of pandemics.' Unless the destruction of the natural world is halted, diseases will emerge more often, spread more rapidly, kill more...
SHYOK: THE HIDDEN VALLEY OF LADAKH
Once upon a time, traveling from Leh and after crossing the formidable Kardungla (at 18329 feet the highest motorable pass in the world), you could gain access to...
Watch Rare Brahma Kamal Flower Bloom In Uttarakhand’s Snow-Clad Chamoli
The rare Brahma Kamal, the only flower known to bloom after sunset and just once a year, has been spotted in the higher reaches of the Himalayas...
It’s official: Mount Everest just got a little bit higher
KATHMANDU, Nepal — The world's highest peak just became a tiny bit higher.
Nepal and China, the two countries that share a border on Mount Everest, announced a...
Fillip to reopen Sikkim trek trails for tourists
After about seven months of Covid-induced shutdown, tourism reopened in Sikkim on October 10
Trekking has resumed in Sikkim with the far-flung Uttarey village in West Sikkim recently...
Storytelling with a Difference: Meet our Himasset Munmun Dhalaria
A great storyteller bridges the gap between “you” and “me” to make their audience feel one with them. They understand that story-telling is a conversation, a dialogue...
The Himalayan symphony
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Imagine the endless lush green fields stretching as far as your eyes can reach, the sharp pine trees guarding the gigantic mountains standing behind, the...
Scientists Warn Of Major Earthquake In Uttarakhand’s Dharchula Region
Scientists at Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology have unearthed large concentrations of micro and moderate magnitude earthquakes in Uttarakhand's Dharchula region and adjoining areas of Kumaon Himalaya due to stress in...
After Rohtang, more high-altitude tunnels to come up on Manali-Leh highway
Once the strategic Atal Tunnel under the Rohtang Pass is inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, the defence ministry will expedite work on building more...
Entire village in Lahaul tests Covid positive
MANALI: All residents of Thorang village of Lahaul valley in Himachal Pradesh, barring 52-year-old Bhushan Thakur, have tested positive for Covid-19. The Lahaul-Spiti valley has become the worst-affected district in the...
Chitkul – Last village near India-China border
Chitkul
Chitkul is the last inhabited village near the India - Tibet Border.
Approximately 600kms from Delhi, Chitkul is situated on the banks of River Baspa. Chitkul is...
Himalayas poised for a series of big earthquakes, says study
The entire Himalayan arc is poised to produce a sequence of great earthquakes, and the next big quake -- of the magnitude of 8 or above --...
Take a virtual journey to the beautiful Himalayas where saffron is produced
The Saffron Crocus (Crocus sativus) blooms in Kashmir Valley, surrounded by the Himalayas on all sides, for only two weeks a year.
At the end of autumn, usually...
A train from Uttarakhand
Picture Source: www.pixino.com
It's not the goodbyes that hurt, it's the flashbacks that follow.
Nobody could understand this quote better than Mr. Shyam Prasad Baluni who is a retired...
India Gets Its First Glass Skywalk in Sikkim – Here’s All You Need to...
If you’ve ever dreamed about strolling on a glass skywalk, then you don’t need to spend a bomb to visit a foreign country to do so as...
Strolling in Kalpa
The Himalayas never failed to awe me with its majesties and so I find myself coming back to the Himalayas on every occasion and sometimes even in...
“Tarballs” Detected in Himalayan Atmosphere
Some people refer to the Himalaya-Tibetan Plateau as the “third pole” because the region has the largest reserve of glacial snow and ice outside of the north...
Himalayan towns like Darjeeling, Mussoorie and Kathmandu are going to fast run dry
Famed mountain retreats such as Mussoorie, Darjeeling and Kathmandu may soon face acute water distress — with a demand-supply gap already as vast as 70 percent in...
Dhankar Gompa
The name of this place is "Dhankar Gompa", it is a village and it is also known as "Gompa". Located in the Lahaul & Spiti Valley, it...
Why Rohtang Tunnel Can Turn From Boon to Bane for Lahaul’s People and Ecology
On October 3, the Rohtang tunnel was inaugurated by the Prime Minister in Manali. There was the usual euphoria on the part of both the Central and...
Uttarakhand lost 50,000 hectares forest land to developmental activities in last 20 years
DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand, birthplace of the country’s major rivers like Ganga and Yamuna and home to the Himalayan ranges, is rapidly losing its forest land to commercial activities.
Data...
Tosh-unexplored beauty and serenity
Two roads diverged in a wood, And sorry I could not travel both and I- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference- Robert...
Mountain biking expedition concludes in Uttarkashi
UTTARKASHI: The first-of-its-kind Mountain Terrain Biking (MTB) expedition to the Nelong Valley region of Indo-China border in Uttarkashi district concluded on Friday. The week-long expedition was organised...
Regular sightings indicate rise in number of snow leopards in HP
The number of endangered snow leopards appear to be increasing as more sightings have been reported in the remote, high mountainous areas of Himachal Pradesh even as...
India’s First Lichen Park Comes up in Uttarakhand
Uttrakhand has got its first lichen park. Spread over an area of over 1.5 acres, it is presently being regulated in terms of visitors to ensure overcrowding...
Not Japan Or Paris, It’s India: Shillong Turns Pink As Cherry Blossoms Take Over...
Had it not been for the COVID-19 pandemic, many Indian travellers would have booked tickets to Shillong in Meghalaya which, at present, is looking like a painting with whimsical...
The Village – In Valley’s Hand
Back when we're on the trekking expedition of Chanderkhani Pass in Himachal (2016), we've seen spectacular views of mountains and valleys. The expedition was from YHAI (Youth...
THE UNDYING SOLDIER- Baba Harbhajan Singh
Situated in the East Sikkim district an offshoot of the historic Silk Route is Nathula at a height of 4,310m above mean sea level. Other than presenting...
Top 10 books about the Himalayas
The Himalayas are the highest mountains on Earth, the stupendously wild boundary between India and Tibet and a magnet for countless adventurers, missionaries and spiritual seekers. Yet the...
Snowfall in higher reaches of Valley
The famous ski resort of Gulmarg and other higher reaches of Kashmir received snowfall for the second day on Tuesday. The plains were lashed by rains, the...
Majestic Himalayas Get ‘Winter Wonderland’ Feeling as India’s Kedarnath Temple Sees Snowfall
After months of extreme heat, torrential rains causing flooding in several states, cyclones, and a severe locust attack, cold breezes have returned to India, prompting people to...
Why the people of Spiti eat stones
he word “Amchi” means mother of all living beings. As part of a centuries-long lineage, my family has been using Sowa Rigpa (traditional Tibetan medicine) as a...
A guide to visiting the snow-laden parts of North and East Sikkim
We, the city dwellers, have always been awe-struck by the mind-boggling confusion that has come to define us. And then we hear the voice that echoes from...
World Tourism Day: COVID -19 an opportunity to rethink Himalayan tourism
The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has affected us all economically, physically, mentally and emotionally ever since the very first lockdown in March, 2020.
Tourism is a significant...
Explained: Why scientists are trying to cultivate asafoetida or heeng in the Indian Himalayas
Asafoetida, or heeng, is a common ingredient in most Indian kitchens –– so much so that the country imports Rs 600 crore worth of this pungent flavoured herb every...
Cleaning souls
Cleaning souls
“ bura mat dekho, bura mat suno, bura mat bolo” contradicting this mantra of the father of the nation, a gentleman followed its flip-sided mantra. Rather than...
Study predicts massive habitat decline for the Himalayan brown bear by 2050 due to...
A recent study on the Himalayan brown bear (Ursus arctos isabellinus) has predicted a significant reduction in suitable habitat and biological corridors of the species in the...
Why the mountains matter
Mountains are the most magnificent and majestic geographical features of the world. Be it the Andes in South America, the Alps in Europe or the mighty Himalayas...
You Can Help Save Thano: Here’s How
While the first social movements occurred through protests and civil disobedience, the rise of the internet ushered in numerous online social movements. Since then, online social movements...
Covid scare hits Kullu-Manali hoteliers hard
The Covid scare has ruined the business of hoteliers in Kullu-Manali even on Diwali holidays. Room enquiries for hotel occupancy have witnesses a sharp dip.
The hoteliers have...
Why You Should Visit North India
I had a conversation with my co-workers about traveling, they asked if where we will go next, "I will go to Japan." "Thailand for me." "Korea!" and...
India’s Global Himalayan Expedition wins UN award for efforts to fight climate change amid...
An Indian organisation that leverages tourism and technology to help remote communities access solar energy has won a prestigious UN award for its efforts to combat climate...
A startup is using tourism and solar energy to light up remote areas in...
In 2013, an Indian engineer started a sustainable development enterprise called Global Himalayan Expedition. Since then, it has installed solar power in 131 villages of three regions...
Kinnaur’s Rum Theology
Precipitous heights, deep gorges, hillsides replete with sub-alpine vegetation and patches of the cold desert sandwiched between the Great Himalaya and Tibet; Kinnaur’s landscape wears such an...
Stephen Atler wins Banff’s Mountain Environment and Natural History Award for his work, Wild...
Author and Fulbright scholar Stephen Alter has been announced the 2020 recipient of the notable Mountain Environment and Natural History prize, awarded each year as part of the Banff Mountain...