Garwhali Breakfast, Himalayan Mtn. Home Stay
Himalayan Social Ecology (Sept.)
Trip Overview
Hindus call the Himalayas the ”land of the gods” (devabhumi), because it so dense studded with sacred sites. Convictions about the region's sacred power can be seen in the healing properties attributed to its medicinal herbs, and in the stories of sages who attained enlightenment there. Yet even though mountains are symbols of strength and permanence, the geologically young Himalayas are actually quite fragile, and their delicate ecosystems are under increasing environmental stress.
These remote regions have also been chronically underdeveloped, and remain a difficult place in which to make a living. Local households typically depend on multiple income streams, including farming, business, pilgrim trade, and remittances from relatives working "below" on the plains. Local development advocates are promoting self-employment to counter this last trend, since outmigration displaces individuals and disrupts social networks.
Himalayan Mtn. home Stay, village Kimana (Ukhimath).
One such local enterprise is our tour's home base, Himalayan Mountain Home Stay. This 90 year old heritage home--first built for three brothers and their families--retains its traditional exterior, but extensive renovations have created a comfortable interior space. The spacious courtyard overlooks terraced fields and distant mountains, with the morning tranquility interrupted only by bird song.
Our home stay includes full board--three meals plus tea--featuring locally sourced ingredients. Our host Kailas Pushpwan is the Secretary of the Himalayan Village Development Organization, an NGO promoting grassroots rural development so that people can live dignified lives in their home villages.
Our primary activity will be mountain walking, often to temples or pilgrimage sites, at a relaxed pace that will allow us to savor Uttarakhand's natural splendor. Hindus come to these temples as holy places, but any visitor can appreciate their architectural splendor and their stunning locations. The temples may be the end points for our group's walks, but our primary focus will be the journey itself. None of the walking distances are very long--between 2-5 km one way--but they can involve significant altitude changes. Kimana (our home base) is at 4300 feet, and some sites (e.g., Tungnath) are at over 12,000 feet. Participants must be in good physical condition with no mobility constraints, and should ideally have done significant pre-trip aerobic conditioning.
Our Himalayan adventure will be in the Mandakini River Valley (a major tributary of the Ganges) in Uttarakhand's Rudraprayag District. Among the sites we will visit are:
Haridwar: (935 ft) the "Gateway of the Ganges" to the plains.
Gupt Kashi (4850 ft.) and Ukhimath (4500 ft) are market towns with important Shiva temples.
Kalimath (6000 ft) is associated with the Goddess Kali, who is said to have first appeared on nearby Kalishila.
Narayan Koti, an 11th c. site, has some of the region's oldest temples.
Tungnath (12,200 ft) Shiva temple and one of the Five Kedars. Weather permitting we will ascend to the summit at Chandrashila (13,500 ft).
Kartik Swami (10,005 ft.) and Tungeshvar (4455) also have important Shiva temples.
And more! Every village has temples, including our homestay's courtyard.
The trip will conclude with a day of sightseeing and shopping in Delhi.
For an additional fee a day trip to Agra (Taj Mahal) can be arranged. This will extend the itinerary.
The primary goals for this trip are: to travel in the Himalayas, to understand better the region's natural history, religious and cultural importance, and development concerns, and to learn about Hindu people and Hindu religious life through experiential, site-specific encounters. I would also hope that this experience will help to spur personal transformation, and in particular the expanded sense of identity, purpose and perspective often associated with travel.