Chardham trek: Three lost trails rediscovered

New Delhi: An expert team in search of the lost trek routes to Chardham has returned with hopes for the revival of at least three old trails to the Himalayan temples.

If revived, the three treks discovered during the exploration can bring the pilgrimage spirit back to the yatra besides boosting tourism in Uttarakhand in a big way, team leader Rakesh Pant said after the end of the arduous expedition.

The 25-member team led by Pant returned to Rishikesh on Monday after traversing a distance of 1,158 km on foot braving the vagaries of the weather in highly difficult terrain in 50 days.

“The journey, though arduous and challenging, was highly rewarding and rich in experience. We had a rare opportunity to speak to nonagenarians who are living witnesses to the good old times when the lost routes were alive and in use by pilgrims,” Pant said.

The team even stayed in “chattis” or transit camps en route to the temples which were so popular with the pilgrims when the yatra used to be conducted on foot in the absence of motorable roads.

The three lost treks which can be revived are Rishikesh- Devprayag hiking trail, Gangotri to Kedarnath trek via Bhatwari-Belak pass-Budha Kedar-Panwali Kantha and Trijugi Narayan and Dharasu to Yamunotri via Falacha Top, Pant said.

There is scope for the revival of these trails with some effort by the government, he said.

Many routes are now totally lost due to the construction of the Tehri dam, Pant, who runs the NGO named Trek The Himalayas which conducted the expedition jointly with the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board, said.

He said his NGOm along with UTDB, is working on a documentary and a book summing up their experience during the exploration in two months. –(PTI)