I have heard news that treks to the Kalindikhal now have new permission rules. This is unverified information from Ramesh Rawat, who handles our treks in the region, but the scene seems to be:
- All trekking groups must carry a satellite phone with them.
- Participants must go through a fitness test
- Porterage rates have been hiked
- Horses aren’t going on the route
This makes life difficult, as we have a group heading there in July, and these new developments haven’t been budgeted for. While I was not able to find any announcements on the net, the news seems pretty certain, as the one source we have has been reiable.
The horses bit probably comes from the waist deep snow at the pass, and might change when the pass opens completely for the summer. At the moment, our guide’s assessment is that it would be okay for us to go, but not clients. Unfortunately, its the clients with the plans.
We do know that one group has returned from the route successfully, but with an extremely difficult experience.
So here I am wondering if my group will go to Kalindikhal, or Damdhar kandi, or somewhere else completely. Time is running short, and there are decisions to make.
If, by any chance, you have been to Kalindikhal recently, or know of the exact new permissions in place, do drop me a line in the comments. Any information you could provide would be helpful.
If you have arrived here looking for information, stay tuned. I am in the process of communicating with authorities, and will be posting updates as I find them here.
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