Visiting the Park
Eco Tourism
The GHNP is unique with its unabashed, untamed, unspoiled, and unmitigated milieu, which is difficult to find elsewhere in the Western Himalayas.
The World Heritage Site status is bound to attract more trekkers, but the rugged and difficult terrain of Park chooses only the fittest and adventurous into the Core area. The buffer area’s forests are popular destination with most of the day-visitors to the Park.
The uniqueness of this Park lies in its ‘roadlessness’. The location of GHNP is remote and inaccessible, a reason for less than 600 trekkers in a year. Only those who are attracted to remote forest areas, adventure and serious trekking come to the Park. In GHNP, nature is in its wildest form, in its purest essence, in its most ancient presence. A trekker coming around the turn on a trail, sees incredible views of flowers blooming in the green grass, clouds losing themselves in the trees, and the trees in view one moment disappearing the next. The breathtaking views and adventure in the Park are not a routine experience; they give a trekker a chance to live beyond the ordinary.
With a network of roads spreading into interior Himalayas, it often becomes hard to come by environs in India or Nepal forests which have not been trekked. Moreover, climbers leave a lot of garbage all over the place…one cannot escape humanity. But only adventurers choose GHNP for getting the experience of coming face-to-face with primordial nature as it has always been.
Lot of serious trekking in GHNP is on trails washed out by storms and strewn with uprooted trees; a kind of experience, if you knew what you were getting into, you might not have chosen to undertake. The fact is that the place is so enormously primitive that walking up a trail that comprises slick rock, slick mud, slick leaves, hardly anything that is trust-worthy, and washed away bridges, gives a sense of deep adventure. It is not about a trail so wide that it is easy to find; the journey so often done. In the Park it is about finding your way along trails that are ancient and earthly beautiful. Perhaps, not many of us will say that that is what adventure is really about. The fragile ecosystems of the Park are evolving with very little human intervention. This allows only for few visitors in a year coming to the Park. The no-road connectivity thus becomes park’s assets.
The Great Himalayan National Park offers the causal hiker and serious trekker a wide range of experiences in the natural wonders of the Park. Trails range from relatively easy day walks in the Ecozone to challenging week or longer treks through arduous and spectacular terrain. GHNP ranks as one of the best national parks in the world and reveals its beauty, diversity, and depth through time spent in exploration.
At GHNP, there are numerous habitats for exploration: from lush forests of oak, conifer, and bamboo, to gentle alpine meadows; from swift flowing rivers to high elevation glaciers. The terrain and geology are diverse. If one is lucky there are opportunities to observe endangered species of the Western Himalayas in their natural habitat.
Impressions of Dr. Jeff Salz
“The reason of adventure is where it takes you – internally, but also… just today, coming around the turn on the trail, I looked down and I saw this incredible view of flowers blooming in the green grass, clouds loosing themselves in the trees, and the trees coming in the views and disappearing, it was just breathtaking for me, and I have this moment of feeling that this is what makes life worth living. In all the daily hubub it is easy to forget the incredible beauty and magnificence of life, just the sheer glory of life. And you do not see it in day-to-day experience – so adventure is thing that lives us beyond the ordinary and puts us in touch beyond the extraordinary” explains Jeff Salz while describing his experiences of a trek to the Tirthan Valley of the Great Himalayan National Park. Jeff, from USA represents, the new breed of “ecotourists.” Increasingly people, especially the young, are now attracted to remote forest areas, adventure and serious trekking. Students from city schools all over the country arrive annually in large numbers and enjoy a variety of nature-based activities.
Unabashed, Untamed, Unspoiled
Fortunately the states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal have much to offer to this new, emerging breed of eco-tourists. Nature is in its wildest form, in its purest essence, with its most ancient presence at the Great Himalayan National Park in Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh. It’s unabashed, untamed, unspoiled, and unmitigated milieu send invitation to very special trekkers who love adventure. Jeff continues to compare the GHNP environs with the Nepal forests where there are hardly a grove of trees which has not been trekked. Moreover the climbers leave a lot of garbage all over the place….one cannot escape humanity, says Jeff. He chose Great Himalayan National Park for experience or feeling that he is among very few to come face to face with primordial nature as it has always been.
Lot of serious trekking that a trekker like Jeff does is on the trails washed out by a storm; there are uprooted trees….the kind of experience if you know what you are getting into, you might not have chosen to do it. The fact is that the place is so enormously primitive that the walking up a trail that is slick rock, slick mud, slick leaves, hardly anything that you can trust, the bridges being washed out, all these elements giving you a sense of deep adventure. It is not about a trail so wide that it is easy to find; the journey so often done. In the Park it is about finding your way along the trails that are so ancient and earthly beautiful. Unlike Jeff, not many of us will say that that is what adventure is really about. The Park management is very conscious of the reality of poor quality of trails, bridges or unattended landslides. The fragile ecosystems of the Park are evolving without very little human interventions. This allows only a few hundreds of visitors in a year coming to the Park. The Park brochure describes no-road connectivity as one of the assets of the Park
Spiritual renewal in the Great Himalayan National Park
A trek to cross over the Pin Parvati Pass in GHNP
Dhel Meadow (3737m) early winter
Birding in Tirthan Valley of GHNP
Wildlife Viewing in the Tirthan Valley of GHNP
A scenic view of the Great Himalayan National Park