After the strict Lockdown of approx 3 months, the country has resumed some of it’s travelling. Trains and flights and even bus services have resumed, not full-fledged as before, but to some extent.

Yes, the restrictions have been eased a bit but the reason for the restriction, the novel virus, is still there.

We get frequent enquiries regarding the treks. We at our end are also very eager to start our services. With a complete pause in our services due to the lockdown, our business and every individual associated with tourism and trekking, has suffered heavily.

Lockdown has eased and I plan to visit the mountains

Visiting a hill-station is a much simple:

• get in your individual car with your friends and family.
• go out to a place and stay in your room.
• And return the same way, without getting exposed to others.
• This type of travel is much safer as of now, in the times of Corona. You can have a good outing without getting exposed to strangers.

But trekking is much of a social sport. You come to the basecamp, there is a meet and greet session, you dine together, you share tents, you get images clicked with your group. These are not mandatory but these are all that makes your trekking interesting and memorable. Companionship is the word, I guess, which gives you strength to complete these difficult treks.

With Covid-19 present along with us, it becomes very risky to join a social sport. Moreover, social-distancing is the key to gain an edge over this novel virus.

So, organising a trek as of now seems impossible as we do not wish to risk anyone. No matter how sanitized we keep our equipment, no matter how isolated we keep the trekkers, we are still at risk, as it’s not a full-proof strategy.

Speaking of the financial aspect of organising a trek in the times of corona. The people associated with the industry have heavily suffered in the last three months and are very much eager to start, this also includes us. But we also share a concern, which is the after-effects of infection. With poor health-facilities at the village level, it seems a blessing that these places are still untouched from the infection.

On the view of resuming the services, the associated people are divided in their views on whether to resume the travel services or not.

One is the financial concern. The lock-down has resulted in huge financial crises among the people associated with trekking and tourism. So to recover from this crisis, many people prefer to resume the services.

But the horrors of coronavirus haunting the cities makes us think twice. Moreover, once a community spread starts in the area, their free movement will also get restricted. Which will affect the other activities supporting the economic system.

We assume the situation will improve soon. Though the virus will stay with us for long but we will develop measures to handle the situation. We know a lot more about the virus today than we knew about it 3 months back. And the continuous work on the healthcare system, will surely result in something to make things work.

Till then what we can do is to keep with safety norms. And stay safe. Things will work out soon. We humans have figured out ways for every challenge that comes up to us since times immemorial. And we will surely find a way for this too.

Trekking and other Adventure sports like paragliding and river-rafting are our necessity. We need these activities to challenge ourselves.

So, till this virus surrounds us, stay safe, and follow the safety norms. See you at the summit soon.