High altitude areas and alpine pastures are the most alluring landscapes in the Himalayas. Befittingly, the locals have reserved them for the deities. But in recent years as modern mass tourism grows, these fragile heights are being assaulted by an ever-increasing number of tourists.
Be it the Himalayas, or Andes, traditional cultures have always looked at the mountains as abodes of the gods. The higher the mountain, the greater was its religious importance. Human activity was limited to the brief summer month when thousands, motivated by faith would plod along ancient pilgrimage routes to the sacred shrines. Occasionally, nomadic herders would move up during the summer months, camp here for a few days and move on leaving these fragile heights to heal their wounds in solitude.
High altitude areas and alpine grasslands are fragile ecosystems. They are a storehouse of unique flora and fauna including rare herbs, which have evolved to the short growing season. Excessive human intervention can cause irreversible damage to these unique ecosystems. But today, these scenic areas are seen as excellent raw material for the tourism industry and ski villages, ropeways and roads are being built to open up these areas for tourism. The scars are visible everywhere and tourists have shown little respect to our sacred mountains.
This reflects how our perception of the mountains has changed over the years and traditional wisdom has taken a back seat. Earlier people traveled to the mountains with feared and respected. The harder the journey, the closer it brought one to divinity. Today, they are seen as play grounds of the affluent and thousands of tourists flock to the mountains motivated not by faith but pleasure. Modern mass tourism is gradually invading areas once reserved for the gods.