inter-village footpaths in North?

cyberhippie · Feb 13th, 2007, 17:33

Yes it's on Janpath but I've heard they are also reluctant to sell you detailed maps. God knows why but I think it's to do with secrecy or something!!

steven_ber · Feb 13th, 2007, 17:53

Their maps for upper Assam were a bit disappointing and certainly not good enough or large scale enough for walking.

Maybe other areas are better covered.

I wonder how useful 'Google Earth' would be for this kind of thing, I use it sometimes to find where bridges are located and often see some great things, but India wont allow the same kind resolution (is that the word?) as other countries do.

Try the following MASSIVE maps, they’re old, but detailed, if I'm struggling to find a place, these maps and Google Earth (along with an ordinary atlas) are normally very helpful.

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/ams/india/

cyberhippie · Feb 13th, 2007, 18:13

You can get scale maps for trekking Steven I've seen them, it's getting your hands on them that's the problem!

There's no substitute for something like the Ordinance Survay Map of Gt Britain but for getting from village to village the maps I seen were more than enough!

roamingbaldy · Feb 13th, 2007, 21:18

Wazen - I was hoping to find something - don't take this the wrong way - a little more authentic than the Annapurna circuit, which I've heard many times is a real highway these days.

Where is the Parvati valley, and do you have any experience there?

Wazen · Feb 14th, 2007, 09:38

The Annapurna is not driveable just yet. Last year in April I saw only 3 or 4 automobiles throughout the entire circut. I doubt there will ever be a driveable road, as many locals will agree, becuae the moutnains are so steep they keep crumbling over the roads, daily. I don't know how authentic of a trail your looking for, but the trail can very easily kill you, many of the villages are old and unique, and its pretty damn remote...

The Langtang was a litle more authentic because the entire trail was a tinly little foot path, and there was no electricity. I was snowed into plywood schacks for about 5 days straight, and they were constructed so poorly the snow was blowing in through the walls and roof.
Worrying about hypotermia was pretty authentic, kinda mountain man style. I also grew a beard.
All other treckers, but two, had guides and porters. So if you hit the trail alone, youll feel pretty, um, immersed in authenticness..? heh

I spent about 50 days in Parvati valley. The cool thing about Parvati is the infamous hash production, which scares most people enough to avoid the valley. But if you like authentic Indian hash, Iraeli food, Israeli girls (yes they are mostly hot, but dont forget about your mother

), and trecking from village to village then the place might hit the spot...

The valley has many little villages that are very remote and listed in no guide book. Some of these villages take over an hour to walk to, and offer just a couple guest houses. Some villages dont have guest houses, rather some nice family might just take you in for the night! (as what happened to a South African couple I met in Parvati).

An old traveler in Parvati took me trecking hours and hours to very remote villages with a population of only 30-50...
He made me promise not to tell anyone about certain villages, becasue of the fear that they will become exploited by tourism.
I can truley understand what he means, and even though I wish to talk about some places I have been, I cant go into detail!
Mostly because the remote villages are the ones that make the hash and stuff, and if you have a clear heart Jah will guide to a family that lives 5 miles into a remote valley, and they will provide you with hash, along with chai. Authentic chai might I add.

Anyway, much of the mountain culture is alike. They are mostly clusters of houses scattered throughout endless valleys. This leads me to believe that many of the mountain areas offer off-the-map day to day trecking. Parvati is definitely one of these places….

Take the Malana to Rashol to Kasol route in Parvati.. There are one or two villages inbetween, and a couple off to the sides… Treck to those high up on a mountain, and another village is revealed. Very cool place to travel. Kalga, Pulga, and certain adjacent villages are the better known ones in Parvati. There are many, many more that see no tourists! Anyway, that’s just a little taste of what is out there… Its only a single valley out of thousands!

You should also check out Ladak and the trecks in that area. I think there are many village to village trecks in that area. What about Zanskar aswell??

vistet · Feb 14th, 2007, 10:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by steven_ber

I wonder how useful 'Google Earth' would be for this kind of thing, I use it sometimes to find where bridges are located and often see some great things, but India wont allow the same kind resolution (is that the word?) as other countries do.
'
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/ams/india/

I know that India recently requested a lower resolution on Google Earth , but this has not been implemented : looking at Leh it´s no problem to pick out the Officers Mess, a white Sumo outside Tashis Diner and - with a little imagination - the ladies selling vegetables in front of SBI. The resolution is a lot better than the rest of the Indus Valley (and my hometown ) , but I´ve still been able to pick out what must be the jeep tracks of border patrols on the Chinese side of Panggong Tso.

It´s great news that the AMS maps are back online again , and the new index picture is the bomb , but the data is really old , I think the bulk of it is at least pre-70´s , many names are unrecognisable etc.

Another Google hack : you can access the same data base as Google Earth , without running the program on wikimapia.org , and create a link from any browser , like this : the start of the Pin Bhaba trail

roamingbaldy · Feb 14th, 2007, 21:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by vistet

I know that India recently requested a lower resolution on Google Earth

It's my understanding that this was limited to sensitive locations - most of the the map resolution should be unaffected

roamingbaldy · Feb 14th, 2007, 21:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wazen

I spent about 50 days in Parvati valley. The cool thing about Parvati is the infamous hash production, which scares most people enough to avoid the valley. But if you like authentic Indian hash, Iraeli food, Israeli girls (yes they are mostly hot, but dont forget about your mother

), and trecking from village to village then the place might hit the spot...

Thanks, Wazen. I thought Parvati valley has been the sight of quite a few disappearances over the years (of travelers), which wouldn't be surprising if there are parties there who are interested in protecting their drug crops. Probably that scene - guarded drug crops, Israeli food and Israeli girls - isn't quite what I'm looking for... although if your up for it all, more power to you.

I've gotten to know a tailor in New Delhi who seems to have spent a good chunk of his youth smoking hash up in the Northern mountains. Things worked out just fine for him, although I suspect he wishes he was still there.

Wazen · Feb 15th, 2007, 04:47

I was really suprised to find out many of the travelers who wandered into Parvati valley knew noting of the drug trade...
They were actually in it for the trecks!
I also think the reason why so few people come to the valley is the fear of drug trade murders, which I cant see happening unless it invloves bookoo $$$ (i.e. internatoinal trade)

Regardless, Its a very safe place to travel. Just treck in the day time only, becaues if you treck at night, you might stumble over a rock and stub your toe. Worst come to worst you might just startle to death some indian family who catches you trecking at night, right before they offer you a place to sleep. This actually happened to me in one of Parvati's best kept secret chara producing villages that shall remain nameless.
This village produces an international export supply growing in its surrouding valleys, and I was told it was dangerous to travel here in the middle of the night. But I was lost at 12am because of some LSD incident involving a drunken french man(long story)... Next thing I know I was taken in by a group of Indian friends and family, some of them drug dealers packing kilos to sell! But they treted me like family and let me sleep on thier floor for a week!....My point is I dont think trecking in Parvati is anything to worry about man. Infact its the most shanti place I have ever been to in India, and the people definately make up the most laid back, tout-free culture I traveled so far in India (5 months).

This valley really comes to mind because it has many village to village foot paths leading to guest houses not listed. Much of the culture is untouched by tourism. There are beautiful ancient temples everywhere. You might treck up an odd foot path for five hours, and suddenly you come across a brand new Kali temple, way up in the middle of no where. Youll think to yourself how odd is it that I almost died while climbing up a mountain for 5 hours, yet here in the boonies, hidden behind endless mazes of foot paths, and miles away from any village, theres a brand new temple...
During my fifty days in Parvati I saw not a single tourist in the nameless villages that I trecked through. It was really cool..

Heh can you tell I realy miss Parvati? That should speak for itself!

vir · Feb 15th, 2007, 05:05

Wazen, I am always amazed reading your travel experiences.

dkhandekar · Aug 4th, 2007, 18:38

I wan to do a long trek walking from village to village. I thought of Narmada Pradakshina. I would like to know of the people who would be helpful for organising the trek

roopesh_kohad · Aug 4th, 2007, 20:18

The biggest walk/march/trek that happens in India probably is pilgrims carrying Ganges water to the village/town and pouring it on shivalingam there. These pilrims are collectively called "kanwarias" and they are quite visible in the month of "shravan". Read about it more here.

It should be a lifetime experience is somebody takes part in it.

shashank.aggarwal · Aug 4th, 2007, 20:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by roopesh_kohad

The biggest walk/march/trek that happens in India probably is pilgrims carrying Ganges water to the village/town and pouring it on shivalingam there. These pilrims are collectively called "kanwarias" and they are quite visible in the month of "shravan". Read about it more here.

It should be a lifetime experience is somebody takes part in it.

Well...its good you touched on it...I wanted to initiate this..

Its that time of the year again...I invite all naysayers, people who say that there is no religion left in the world and youth no longer believes in rituals...all are invited to witness the spectacle of humanity call "Kanwar yatra" comparatively lesser known that "Kumbh", people travel hundreds of miles on foot, carrying water of Maa Gnaga in small pots, and it is used to worship Lord Shiva in persons hometown.

There are millions of people, throwing highways out of gear, children, old timers, women, handicapped...and the largest group of them all the youth aged between 16-40, you have to witness the camps that have setup for them, thousands of them along the way from Ganga Ji...providing food, medicines, resting place and other basic amenities...free of cost to anyone and everyone..millions of them...

This is something for which traffic is a metropolis like Delhi would stop in rush hour, just because a 'Bhola' aka Kanwariya has to cross the road...

jyotipg · Aug 5th, 2007, 09:00

I rememebr reading about a similar route onnecting villages near Almora in the book "Trekking in the Himalayas" by Outlook traveller.

Feb 13th, 2007, 17:53	#17
steven_ber Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: London, England. Posts: 9,243	Their maps for upper Assam were a bit disappointing and certainly not good enough or large scale enough for walking. Maybe other areas are better covered. I wonder how useful 'Google Earth' would be for this kind of thing, I use it sometimes to find where bridges are located and often see some great things, but India wont allow the same kind resolution (is that the word?) as other countries do. Try the following MASSIVE maps, they’re old, but detailed, if I'm struggling to find a place, these maps and Google Earth (along with an ordinary atlas) are normally very helpful. http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/ams/india/ __________________ . How to get helpful replies to your transport/Itinerary questions. Train information.

Feb 15th, 2007, 04:47	#24
Wazen Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Wahiawa, Hawaii Posts: 264	I was really suprised to find out many of the travelers who wandered into Parvati valley knew noting of the drug trade... They were actually in it for the trecks! I also think the reason why so few people come to the valley is the fear of drug trade murders, which I cant see happening unless it invloves bookoo $$$ (i.e. internatoinal trade) Regardless, Its a very safe place to travel. Just treck in the day time only, becaues if you treck at night, you might stumble over a rock and stub your toe. Worst come to worst you might just startle to death some indian family who catches you trecking at night, right before they offer you a place to sleep. This actually happened to me in one of Parvati's best kept secret chara producing villages that shall remain nameless. This village produces an international export supply growing in its surrouding valleys, and I was told it was dangerous to travel here in the middle of the night. But I was lost at 12am because of some LSD incident involving a drunken french man(long story)... Next thing I know I was taken in by a group of Indian friends and family, some of them drug dealers packing kilos to sell! But they treted me like family and let me sleep on thier floor for a week!....My point is I dont think trecking in Parvati is anything to worry about man. Infact its the most shanti place I have ever been to in India, and the people definately make up the most laid back, tout-free culture I traveled so far in India (5 months). This valley really comes to mind because it has many village to village foot paths leading to guest houses not listed. Much of the culture is untouched by tourism. There are beautiful ancient temples everywhere. You might treck up an odd foot path for five hours, and suddenly you come across a brand new Kali temple, way up in the middle of no where. Youll think to yourself how odd is it that I almost died while climbing up a mountain for 5 hours, yet here in the boonies, hidden behind endless mazes of foot paths, and miles away from any village, theres a brand new temple... During my fifty days in Parvati I saw not a single tourist in the nameless villages that I trecked through. It was really cool.. Heh can you tell I realy miss Parvati? That should speak for itself! Last edited by Wazen : Feb 15th, 2007 at 06:45.

Aug 5th, 2007, 09:00	#29
jyotipg Lives virtually on IM Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 466	I rememebr reading about a similar route onnecting villages near Almora in the book "Trekking in the Himalayas" by Outlook traveller. __________________ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/himalaya_trekkers/

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Feb 13th, 2007, 17:33	#16
cyberhippie Account Closed by User's Request Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: the Netherlands Posts: 6,012	Yes it's on Janpath but I've heard they are also reluctant to sell you detailed maps. God knows why but I think it's to do with secrecy or something!!

Feb 13th, 2007, 18:13	#18
cyberhippie Account Closed by User's Request Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: the Netherlands Posts: 6,012	You can get scale maps for trekking Steven I've seen them, it's getting your hands on them that's the problem! There's no substitute for something like the Ordinance Survay Map of Gt Britain but for getting from village to village the maps I seen were more than enough!

Feb 13th, 2007, 21:18	#19
roamingbaldy Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Lincoln, NE (USA) Posts: 6	Wazen - I was hoping to find something - don't take this the wrong way - a little more authentic than the Annapurna circuit, which I've heard many times is a real highway these days. Where is the Parvati valley, and do you have any experience there?

Feb 14th, 2007, 09:38	#20
Wazen Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Wahiawa, Hawaii Posts: 264	The Annapurna is not driveable just yet. Last year in April I saw only 3 or 4 automobiles throughout the entire circut. I doubt there will ever be a driveable road, as many locals will agree, becuae the moutnains are so steep they keep crumbling over the roads, daily. I don't know how authentic of a trail your looking for, but the trail can very easily kill you, many of the villages are old and unique, and its pretty damn remote... The Langtang was a litle more authentic because the entire trail was a tinly little foot path, and there was no electricity. I was snowed into plywood schacks for about 5 days straight, and they were constructed so poorly the snow was blowing in through the walls and roof. Worrying about hypotermia was pretty authentic, kinda mountain man style. I also grew a beard. All other treckers, but two, had guides and porters. So if you hit the trail alone, youll feel pretty, um, immersed in authenticness..? heh I spent about 50 days in Parvati valley. The cool thing about Parvati is the infamous hash production, which scares most people enough to avoid the valley. But if you like authentic Indian hash, Iraeli food, Israeli girls (yes they are mostly hot, but dont forget about your mother ), and trecking from village to village then the place might hit the spot... The valley has many little villages that are very remote and listed in no guide book. Some of these villages take over an hour to walk to, and offer just a couple guest houses. Some villages dont have guest houses, rather some nice family might just take you in for the night! (as what happened to a South African couple I met in Parvati). An old traveler in Parvati took me trecking hours and hours to very remote villages with a population of only 30-50... He made me promise not to tell anyone about certain villages, becasue of the fear that they will become exploited by tourism. I can truley understand what he means, and even though I wish to talk about some places I have been, I cant go into detail! Mostly because the remote villages are the ones that make the hash and stuff, and if you have a clear heart Jah will guide to a family that lives 5 miles into a remote valley, and they will provide you with hash, along with chai. Authentic chai might I add. Anyway, much of the mountain culture is alike. They are mostly clusters of houses scattered throughout endless valleys. This leads me to believe that many of the mountain areas offer off-the-map day to day trecking. Parvati is definitely one of these places…. Take the Malana to Rashol to Kasol route in Parvati.. There are one or two villages inbetween, and a couple off to the sides… Treck to those high up on a mountain, and another village is revealed. Very cool place to travel. Kalga, Pulga, and certain adjacent villages are the better known ones in Parvati. There are many, many more that see no tourists! Anyway, that’s just a little taste of what is out there… Its only a single valley out of thousands! You should also check out Ladak and the trecks in that area. I think there are many village to village trecks in that area. What about Zanskar aswell??

Feb 15th, 2007, 05:05	#25
vir Indori Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 239	Wazen, I am always amazed reading your travel experiences.

Aug 4th, 2007, 18:38	#26
dkhandekar Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Nagpur, India Posts: 1	I wan to do a long trek walking from village to village. I thought of Narmada Pradakshina. I would like to know of the people who would be helpful for organising the trek

Aug 4th, 2007, 20:18	#27
roopesh_kohad Senior Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Pune, Maharashtra Posts: 164	The biggest walk/march/trek that happens in India probably is pilgrims carrying Ganges water to the village/town and pouring it on shivalingam there. These pilrims are collectively called "kanwarias" and they are quite visible in the month of "shravan". Read about it more here. It should be a lifetime experience is somebody takes part in it.

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