Dear Travellers,
By now we all are aware of the devastation that has gripped the state of Uttarakhand. But the real picture is unfortunately hidden in media mis-information and ineffective government PR machinery.
Few facts I have been able to gather:
- Tourism is the mainstay of a big population of Uttarakand but business here has suffered immensely as the entire state has been labelled as a disaster zone.
- The entire state of Uttarakhand is NOT underwater or swept away. The flash flood has affected a few areas - Badrinath, Kedarnath region, parts of Uttarkashi and Pithoragarh. It is mostly the rural areas that have been affected.
- There are TWO distinct regions in Uttarakhand - Kumaon and Garhwal. It is pockets of Garhwal (Badrinath, Kedarnath and Uttarkashi) that have been affected by the floods, with small rural pockets in Pithoragarh in Kumaon being affected.
- Most of the kumoun region has remained unaffected.
- Popular tourist destinations like Mussoorie, Dhanaulti, Nainital, Ranikhet etc. are fine.
- While there has been some damage in the Kinnaur region of Himachal Pradesh, the higher plateaus of Spiti and Ladakh are fine. Don’t cancel your vacations there - again you will hurt livelihoods badly.
“Business here has suffered immensely as the entire state has been labelled as a disaster zone. The truth is that roads are functional and schools are open. Life is as normal as it gets. Small businesses and service providers are the ones who have taken a major hit in this unaffected area. Please assure your clients that to travel to our parts is completely safe. All of us need some tourists coming our way!!” Ashish Arora of The Himalayan Village, Sonapani by email on 5th July 2013
But, my humble is to check more details about the place you wish to visit and then decide about your travel plans before any cancellation / delay. Any questions are more then welcome to be addressed to me. I have friends / travel partners who are in the areas to give exact information.
Would like to thank you Ashish Arora for your inputs on this critical information.
Aman Kishore
By now we all are aware of the devastation that has gripped the state of Uttarakhand. But the real picture is unfortunately hidden in media mis-information and ineffective government PR machinery.
Few facts I have been able to gather:
- Tourism is the mainstay of a big population of Uttarakand but business here has suffered immensely as the entire state has been labelled as a disaster zone.
- The entire state of Uttarakhand is NOT underwater or swept away. The flash flood has affected a few areas - Badrinath, Kedarnath region, parts of Uttarkashi and Pithoragarh. It is mostly the rural areas that have been affected.
- There are TWO distinct regions in Uttarakhand - Kumaon and Garhwal. It is pockets of Garhwal (Badrinath, Kedarnath and Uttarkashi) that have been affected by the floods, with small rural pockets in Pithoragarh in Kumaon being affected.
- Most of the kumoun region has remained unaffected.
- Popular tourist destinations like Mussoorie, Dhanaulti, Nainital, Ranikhet etc. are fine.
- While there has been some damage in the Kinnaur region of Himachal Pradesh, the higher plateaus of Spiti and Ladakh are fine. Don’t cancel your vacations there - again you will hurt livelihoods badly.
“Business here has suffered immensely as the entire state has been labelled as a disaster zone. The truth is that roads are functional and schools are open. Life is as normal as it gets. Small businesses and service providers are the ones who have taken a major hit in this unaffected area. Please assure your clients that to travel to our parts is completely safe. All of us need some tourists coming our way!!” Ashish Arora of The Himalayan Village, Sonapani by email on 5th July 2013
But, my humble is to check more details about the place you wish to visit and then decide about your travel plans before any cancellation / delay. Any questions are more then welcome to be addressed to me. I have friends / travel partners who are in the areas to give exact information.
Would like to thank you Ashish Arora for your inputs on this critical information.
Aman Kishore
