CFC Students Travel to the Himalaya to Learn about
Environment and Development
The inaugural India Himalaya Field course (instructed by Keith Bosak) left the US on May-18 bound for New Delhi and twenty two days in India. From New Delhi, the group traveled to the holy city of Rishikesh on the banks of the Ganges River. After a night in Rishikesh and the first class meeting, we began traveling into the Himalaya, following the route of the Ganges in reverse until it became the Alaknanda and veered northward towards the temple of Badrinath. Our destination was a bungalow in the town of Auli where we would spend the next few days acclimatizing and learning about environment and development in the region. There were numerous guest speakers and wonderful food prepared by our amazing kitchen staff. Acclimatized and ready to trek, the group moved into the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, a World Heritage Site for its biodiversity and at approximately 1.5 million acres, one of the last great wilderness areas in the Himalaya. We spent the afternoon in the village of Lata, socializing and buying handicrafts before moving to our camp at 3000m at Ganuk. That evening it rained heavily so class was held in one of our four-person tents. Sixteen people is a lot in one tent! From Kanuk, the group hiked the short but steep trail to Lathi kharak at 3800m where we stayed two nights in a Forest Department hut and learned about the sacred landscape as well as people-protected area conflicts. From Lathi Kharak it was up and over a pass at 4210m and down to the village of Tolma. At Tolma, we stayed in village homes and learned first-hand about how community-owned ecotourism can work in the Himalaya. From Tolma, the group trekked across the valley to the Village of Suki and onward towards Rishikund, a high meadow and ground zero for the collection of the fungus Cordyceps Sinensis, which is widely valued for its medicinal properties and can fetch locals as much at $7000.00 a kilogram. Here, the group discussed changing livelihoods and globalization. From Suki, we traveled by jeeps to the town of Ghamshali at 3352m on the border with Tibet. It was in Ghanshali that students got to see the remnants of the lucrative trade with Tibet that many people in this region enjoyed until the border was closed in 1962. We stayed two nights in this wonderful village and thoroughly enjoyed our interactions with the people, especially the cricket game with the Indo Tibetan Border Police. From Ghamsali it was all downhill back to the bungalow with a stop at Lata again to discuss the hydroelectric projects being built in the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve and what effects they might have on the biodiversity and culture of the area. After the bungalow we made our way back to Delhi, sorry to leave the mountains. In Delhi the group had its final class and we all gathered for a banquet. Some students were off the next day to see the Taj Mahal while others were going back home. Regardless of our destination, we were sad to be leaving India but comforted in knowing that we had made many good friends and learned many things along the way.
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