Thank you for making us the Best Adventure Provider

On 9th September 2019 Trek The Himalayas was awarded as the Best Adventure Provider by Ph.D. HT Samman (Uttarakhand Tourisim). We are honored, we have won, you have won!

To give you more insight on why this award is prestigious and what it really means. PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Uttarakhand, focuses on promoting and recognizing the Tourism industry. Every year they host a huge event to felicitate creditable businesses in this industry. Therefore, getting acknowledged by such an institute is more than an honor. The main areas of recognition by PHD not only include making the Adventure Tourism business grow but also how our activities benefit the locals and preservation of the mountains. To qualify for the application an organization must be involved in Nature Conservation and Community Welfare activities. We can boastfully say that we have working towards this since our inception. Getting an award is just a pleasant outcome of all the efforts of our Team and trekkers who constantly work hard towards creating a positive trekking community.

How Did We Manage to Satisfy the Criteria for the Award?

As you know, we are one of India's leading organizations for Trekking in the Himalayas. Our prime aim is to make trekking safe in India and inculcate values of eco-friendly adventure activities in the Himalayas. Being a responsible organization we make sure that we undertake activities that benefit nature, mountains, and the people associated with them by,

1. Conducting safe events at reasonable prices: In order to preach safe hiking at reasonable prices we ourselves started conducting trekking events following all the safety standards. There was a time when going to the mountains was expensive and only big mountaineering organizations and hard-core trekkers were the players. We broke that misbelief and made hiking accessible to common people. Having said that, we never compromised in terms of the safety of our trekkers. Right from the beginning we made a point to organize treks to high altitudes only with experienced staff and proper technical equipment.
2. Collaborating with villagers: Our founders themselves belonging to hilly states are aware of the hardships of remote villages of Lower Himalayas. To make hiking a success it was essential to get the involvement of the locals and develop the remote villages first. It was dual intended move to work with the locals for the development of villages and provide them with employment opportunities. The best examples of this are our Trek Leaders who are locals of the trek villages. Once they were Local Guides or helpers, after recognizing their potential and proper training we recruited them as Trek Leaders and Cooks for our treks helping in building their career. Another example is promoting local businesses by using their homestays, food, porters, and transport vehicles. We truly believe that when an Industry grows it is only because of the development of the people associated with it. Last year we conducted CPR training sessions for our helpers, porters, and other local people. This eventually proved beneficial when our helpers and porters were involved in emergency medical relief in nearby villages too saving the lives of many villagers when reaching the hospital takes time. Today, after a decade of work, we can see the difference in the growth of the remote villages.
3. It is important to keep the mountains clean for future generations. We, therefore, started spreading awareness of safe and eco-friendly trekking amongst trekkers through informative articles, frequent emails, and enforcing rules like no smoking, no drinking, no loud music or shouting, etc. Our major action was to distribute garbage bags to the trekkers so that they did not litter the trails.
4. We have conducted donation events for the local kids. Many of you trekkers have actively sent us various accessories for these kids. And your support made the donations possible.
5. Promoting health benefits, and positive ideas of trekking through social media, newsletters, and informative articles
6. Working with the State Government, and forest departments to discuss the advantages of trekking for economic development

 How We Implement Eco-Friendly Trekking?

Green Trails initiative (by trekkers for the trekkers)

Due to increasing demand for Trekking in the Himalayas, a lot of people visit the Himalayas. There is no doubt that they brought the city waste to the mountains. We have successfully started the Green Trails initiative to bring back the waste from the slopes. In this, we motivate our trekkers by giving discounts or prizes to join us on our treks dedicated only to cleaning. Our team along with these trekkers trek as usual and collect the garbage on trails. Since 2017, and 2018 we have carried out many such successful GreenTrails batches on treks like. Roopkund, Goechala, Kuari Pass trek, and others. You can find our reported article here: Green Trails. Through this initiative not only our trekkers becoming more aware but the villagers also realize the importance of clean hiking. 

Collaboration with local clubs/associations

Fortunately, we have a team who are themselves passionate about keeping mountains clean. Every now and then our team members collaborate with their local clubs or associations to carry out a cleanliness drive. Our recent such event was with Sewaro Youth Club, Sikkim in June 2019. This event received a lot of acclaim from Sikkim government and other media. We collaborated with the Club and brought down tonnes of garbage from the Goechala trek going up to Samiti Lake. Later we joined the club members to clean around Yuksom and nearby villages too. Detailed article on this initiative can be found here: We will continue cleaning.

Prevention is better than cure

We believe in the above saying, we, therefore, give away garbage bags to our trekkers. It is our rule to not litter and bring back the slightest waste. Later, these small garbage pouches are emptied in the garbage sacks at our campsites, to collect the waste the next day. We have trained our team to segregate wet and dry waste at the campsites only. There are two separate garbage sacks in every campsite for wet and dry waste. Before leaving the campsite we make sure no trace of our existence is left. The collected garbage is then sent to the nearest Municipal Corporation.

Spreading awareness 

Every revolution is the outcome of social awareness. Our experienced and certified Content Management team articulates informative articles on Eco-friendly trekking, its importance, and various ideas. We interact with our trekkers on social media platforms to get their insights on other creative ways. In our recent article, we highlighted how plastic-free living at home will save our mountains. The article can be found here: Get fitter while saving the mountains

Likewise, we send out frequent newsletters guiding the newcomers on how to hike in environment-friendly ways. We educate them on not harming nature by playing loud music, plucking plants, walking on meadows, diversifying from one fixed trail, shouting, campfires, smoking, drinking, etc. With this awareness, we have found more responsible trekkers. 

With over a decade of experience, we have helped Adventure Tourism spread in almost all the hilly states of India. With each year we have a staff growing in their credibility, knowledge, and experience. With the rise of interest in trekking, we feel we are on the right path. As we work towards a new India, trekking has become the most popular adventure activity. We feel proud of being a small part of this revolution. This prestigious award has motivated us to work for the society. It has boosted our confidence, after all, it is your trust and the efforts of our team that has led to creating TTH a brand.