Kufri --Unsafe,

vmehra24 · Dec 24th, 2007, 11:02

In Shimla everybody wants to take you to Kufri but we found that Kufri trail (you leave taxis and then take a short pony ride up to snows) is very unsafe and the trail itself should be closed.
By the huge pony traffic much of the trail is knee-deep in mud but higher up there is a stretch of steep 100 meters of steep icy incline and that is very unsafe esp while going down.
They make you disembark your ponies at this point and you need to climb up and down by yourself. We saw many people slip on ice and it is a miracle that we saw nobody being seriously hurt though we heard that a lady has slipped off her pony three times.
The pony system is setup as to lead to some inconvenience to travellers who have to wait upto one hour in snows but the major problem is that they dont inform you that some serious unsafe conditions are involved and as not everybody is upto or fit for climbing up and down on icy surfaces, I think it is not ethical for the pony drivers
not to tell travellers of this risk.
Hence my advice to would-be travellers--avoid Kufri and goto Narkanda instead.

pmvelu · Dec 24th, 2007, 11:40

Hi Mehra,

Except snow, it's the same story when we visited around 1999 to this place. But then too, the entire trail was with deep muddish water (Muddish water is atleast a feet depth) and we were too frightened especially when we returned back .

Just thought of telling this as this problem is existing atleast for past 8 years !.

Cheers
Velu

spicetrekker · Dec 24th, 2007, 11:46

I went in March 04 so there was no snow but the entire area reeks of smell of pony droppings and urine - quite disgusting

vasuki · Dec 26th, 2007, 18:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by vmehra24

In Shimla everybody wants to take you to Kufri.....Hence my advice to would-be travellers--avoid Kufri and goto Narkanda instead.

At Kufri the taxiwallah has a cut with the ponywallah and all the small shops there. Wherever you spend money he takes his commission and hence the rush to take you to Kufri...

Narkanda is divine!

himadventures · Dec 26th, 2007, 22:50

Yes- this is common scene in kufri and even on rohtang.This is what we can say that these places are crumbling under tourist pressure and who cares for ecology or taking care of resources...

I agree NARKANDA is much better or you can try CHAMBA region which is relatively cool !

neotraveller · Dec 30th, 2007, 22:42

I agree with spicetrekker. I went in april/may.
What would have been a pleasant hike has been screwed up buy these horse fellows.

And worst part is there's no proper safety ... They just hand you over to some chap who's not a trained fellow.
I fell off the horse and it dragged me a couple of feet in the mud. Thankfully i was able to break loose from it.

Dec 24th, 2007, 11:02	#1
vmehra24 Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Ahmedabad Posts: 187	Kufri --Unsafe, In Shimla everybody wants to take you to Kufri but we found that Kufri trail (you leave taxis and then take a short pony ride up to snows) is very unsafe and the trail itself should be closed. By the huge pony traffic much of the trail is knee-deep in mud but higher up there is a stretch of steep 100 meters of steep icy incline and that is very unsafe esp while going down. They make you disembark your ponies at this point and you need to climb up and down by yourself. We saw many people slip on ice and it is a miracle that we saw nobody being seriously hurt though we heard that a lady has slipped off her pony three times. The pony system is setup as to lead to some inconvenience to travellers who have to wait upto one hour in snows but the major problem is that they dont inform you that some serious unsafe conditions are involved and as not everybody is upto or fit for climbing up and down on icy surfaces, I think it is not ethical for the pony drivers not to tell travellers of this risk. Hence my advice to would-be travellers--avoid Kufri and goto Narkanda instead.

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Dec 24th, 2007, 11:40	#2
pmvelu Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Mysore Posts: 298	Hi Mehra, Except snow, it's the same story when we visited around 1999 to this place. But then too, the entire trail was with deep muddish water (Muddish water is atleast a feet depth) and we were too frightened especially when we returned back . Just thought of telling this as this problem is existing atleast for past 8 years !. Cheers Velu

Dec 24th, 2007, 11:46	#3
spicetrekker Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Mumbai Posts: 264	I went in March 04 so there was no snow but the entire area reeks of smell of pony droppings and urine - quite disgusting

Dec 26th, 2007, 22:50	#5
himadventures Maha Guru Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: India Posts: 1,069	Yes- this is common scene in kufri and even on rohtang.This is what we can say that these places are crumbling under tourist pressure and who cares for ecology or taking care of resources... I agree NARKANDA is much better or you can try CHAMBA region which is relatively cool !

Dec 30th, 2007, 22:42	#6
neotraveller Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: India Posts: 42	I agree with spicetrekker. I went in april/may. What would have been a pleasant hike has been screwed up buy these horse fellows. And worst part is there's no proper safety ... They just hand you over to some chap who's not a trained fellow. I fell off the horse and it dragged me a couple of feet in the mud. Thankfully i was able to break loose from it.

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