KILLAR (PANGI): As tourism in India is predicted to grow exponentially as a result of increase in spending capacity and lifestyle among the city dwellers, especially youth for exploratory travel, Pangi valley  of Chamba district in Himachal Pradesh in inner Himalaya is set to emerge  as sustainable eco-tourist destination of the region in due course of time.  

Since most of commercial tourist places in Himalaya are full beyond their carrying capacity, scouting for new tourism destinations has become a priority for explorers as well as tourism operators.

Pangi valley of Chamba district, Himachal Pradesh in the North-West Himalayas is developing as a novel destination for adventure and cultural tourism. Pangi valley has pristine beauty, rough roads, tough terrain and rich unexplored culture of indigenous community to make it a favourite destination for adventure-lovers. Once known as ‘Kalapani of the North’, Pangi valley is a heaven for explorers, who want to delve deep into folklores and history of place combined with adventure its  gregarious landscape offers.

Sustainable Tourism @ Pangi Valley

No doubt tourism is growing leaps and bounds in Himalayas. But this has given rise to a host of other problems: Human-wildlife conflicts, water scarcity due to drying of natural springs, environment pollution and the resultant socio-demographic changes.

These issues  have raised a debate today about the principles on which tourism development and  sensitive and fragile ecology of Himalayas should be based upon. The Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) encompasses several sensitive and fragile human-environment systems and ecological carrying capacity is a critical factor for tourism development. Tourism development and promotion in the IHR should therefore be built around the principles of sustainable tourism as opposed to mass tourism.

Pangi represents a rich and pristine and unexplored cultural milieu  nourished by local inhabitants Pangwals and the ‘Bhots’ over the centuries in the north-west Himalayas. Natives including home stays owners have piloted a sustainable tourism model.

Collective Efforts for Voluntary Actions (CEVA) has been working for the upliftment of indigenous communities by creating sustainable livelihoods opportunities, women empowerment, providing health care, and strengthen marginal farmers through appropriate interventions in North-west Himalayan region. Along with their strategic partners GroundUp Conservation, CEVA is generating alternative employment for Indigenous community in Pangi through promotion of community-based rural tourism.

Development of Homestay Tourism

The homestays is emerging as the mainstay of tourism development strategy under Community-based Rural Tourism model in the Pangi valley. Utilising and publicising the Himachal Pradesh Homestay scheme, 2008 Homestay based tourism possibility is being promoted among local inhabitants.

Collaborating with District Tourism Development Office at Chamba, CEVA and GroundUp Asia have helped 38 interested households to register as homestay in Pangi. The revised target is to reach a total of 60 registered homestays by beginning of tourism season in 2022.

Through the unique sustainable tourism model in Pangi valley, the stakeholders are facilitating a host of ideas in this field.  The bonds between local community and government agencies are being strengthened. So is the case with new collaborations and convergences with Government’s line departments. Pangi home stay owners are  seeking schemes in order to build platforms, providing ‘ease of doing business’ to local community.

National and International organisations with years of experience in the sustainable development sector such as United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and NABARD - National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development are being associated with prometon of tourism in  Pangi. Assistance from NABARD has been useful in mobilising and capacitating community for tourism activities. UNDP has supported cultural tourism  by providing support for development of homestays and solid waste management systems in the valley.

Exposure Visit to Tirthan Valley for the Inhabitants of Pangi

The Pangi people also learnt from exposure visit to Great Himalayan National park, Tirthan Valley, Kullu which was conducted in association with UNDP-India. Tirthan valley is practicing sustainable tourism and it has emerged as a successful model of Homestay-based tourism in recent years. In pandemic period, Tirthan has been a favourite destination for workstation among the youth who want to avoid hustle  and bustle of the city life.  

The Pangi people learnt a lot from the exposure  visit to GHNP  an got insights into tourism development and business  model. A four-day learning program was conducted in collaboration with Sahara NGO at Deori village, Tirthan. Participants were trained on possibilities of Eco-tourism development, homestay management, culinary skills and room services by sectoral experts. Participants also visited heritage valley homestay and Nature Learning park at Great Himalayan National Park during their visit.

Tourism model of Pangi is providing indigenous people an opportunity to help learnt modern means of livelihoods, showcasing their culture by continuing its practice in its most natural form. Thus, the exposure visits like these have expanded the basket of choices for inhabitants of Pangi,  besides ensuring that their rich culture and practices are not tempered with. This unique approach to integration and conservation provides a rich opportunity for natives to learn sustainability vis- a- vis ancient culture and be an example for others to emulate.

(Harish Sharma is a Chamba -based writer, environment and social activist  and runs an NGO in the district, Views expressed here are his).