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The trekking maps brought out by Air India and the department of Tourism-measuring 15"x18" each-are much easier to come by.
The Himalayan chain, stretching right across from Jammu and Kashmir in North to Arunachal Pradesh in the east, provides the trekker a fair bit of ground to choose from. But before he decides, quite literally, to put his best foot forward, there are two important things to be ticked off the checklist first: trekking maps and trekking guides. During the ‘70s and most of the ‘80s, getting hold of a trekking map was difficult because there weren’t any available in the market. Thankfully, things have improved since then, and we now have quite a few trekking maps which provide a fair idea of the trails, topography and distances.
While access to the 1:50,000 and 1:250,000 scale maps provided by the Surveyor General of India is still restricted in this age of satellite imagery, the trekking maps brought out by Air India and the Department of Tourism-measuring 15"x18" each-are much easier to come by. The set has been produced by ace cartographer Man Mohan Singh Bawa, who has taken pains to provide useful information, like names of villages the local use.
Bawa’s set is based on Survey of India maps, and the scale varies between 1:200,000 and 1:250,000. That basically translates to 1 cm on the map measuring between 2 km and 2.5 km on the ground. They do not, therefore, show contours, but point out trekking routes through valley systems and mountain ranges – marked in yellow ochre.
J&K comes in six sheets on a 1:200,000 scale, with an overview in the forerunner sheet on a 1:1,000,000 scale. The areas covered include Gulmarg-Yusmarg, the Bandipur-Lolab valley, Srinagar-Kolahoi, Kishtwar-Anantnag, the Nun Kun area of Zanskar, Padum and Leh.
Himachal Pradesh is covered in eight sheets on the 1:200,000 scale, with an overview sheet on a scale of 1:1,000,000. The areas covered are Chamba-Pangri, Dhanladhar, Bara Banghal-Kulu, the Lahaul valley, the Kulu-Parbati valley, Shimla, the Spiti valley and the Kalpa-Kinnaur valley. The UP Himalayas are represented in an overview sheet of 1:700,000, and the subsequent four sheets are mostly on a 1:200,000 scale. They cover the Harkidun and Gangotri valleys, the Kedarnath and Khatling glacier region, Badrinath and the Valley of Flowers, and the Rupkund-Pindari glacier. The series devotes one sheet on a 1:180,000 scale to the Darjeeling area, one sheet on 1:285,000 scale to Sikkim, and one on Bhutan on the 1:600,000 scale.
In the main, this is an excellent set well worth the price of Rs. 300. The trekking route maps published by State government tourism departments incorporate similar detail, but they have shaded areas showing the ranges. The J&K one, for instance, has two sheets on a scale of 1:250,000, and Himachal Pradesh has three sheets on a similar scale.
If you are planning a trek in the Zanskar on the Ladakh regions of J&K, there is one set of maps you should try and lay your hands on. Published by Geneva-based Editions Olizane, the pocket-sized booklet with fold out sheets covers 16 treks. Though the scale is only 1:350,000 and, therefore, has less detail, this is more than made up by the detailed descriptions provided on the back of every sheet. This set is available all over Europe, so you know what to ask your friends or relatives for the next time they go abroad. Having said all this, I should mention that the best maps are available only with defense personnel. Their maps, on a scale of 1:50,000 are a treat for the trekker, as 1 cm on a map covers only ½ km on the ground, and thus they incorporate far more detail.
Once you’ve gone with maps, turn your attention then to guide books. These books essentially describe various regions and then go into specifics of most of the well-known treks, giving details of the route, distances, and the expected time to be taken for each day on the trail.
Take the one on the Garwhal, for instance, by Gurmeet and Elizabeth Thukral. Falling somewhere between a coffee table and a guidebook, this paperback has some glorious photographs and covers a few excellent trekking trails. But its most notable is the insight it provides into the area, the people and culture of the region presented in an easy, chatty manner. The text is mostly supplemented by Bill Aitken.
Some other useful guidebooks include M. S. Kohli’s Trek the Himalaya and the Playground of the Gods, H. P. S. Ahluwalia’s voluminous book co-authored by Manfred Gerner, Gary Weare’s Trekking in the Indian Himalayas, the Arton Guide on Ladakh & Zanskar by Olivier Follmi and Trekking in Pakistan and India by Hugh Swift. Once you’ve got your maps and guidebooks together, the next step is to gear-out right. That is another story
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This article was published in ET Esquire. The Author is currently Managing Director with
Ibex Expeditions Pvt. Ltd.,
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