The story so far
Karnataka is home to some of the tallest peaks in South India and there has been an increase in the number of people who are taking up trekking expeditions.
With this increase, there have also been repeated discussions about ecological concerns among environmentalists. Taking note of this, after two major incidents this year – one of over a thousand people gathering near Kumara Parvatha in the Western Ghats in January and around 5,000 people visiting the peaks in Chikkamagaluru in a weekend in June – Forest and Ecology Minister Eeshwar Khandre announced that online booking would be mandatory for all trekking activities henceforth.
Scene of trekkers assembled on January 26 at Devaragadde checkpost near Kukke Subrahmanya in Dakshina Kannada, which is the starting point of the trek to Kumaraparvata peak. There has been a surge in the number of trekkers to Kumaraparvata Peak on January 26 and January 27. | Photo Credit: Raghava M 6044
What happened in January and June?
It was chaos at the entry point of Kumara Parvatha, in Dakshina Kannada district on January 26 (Republic Day) this year, as along with 954 people who had tickets to scale the hill, around a thousand more trekking enthusiasts showed up hoping to get tickets.
Kumara Parvatha is located in the ecologically fragile Pushpagiri Wildlife Sanctuary in the Western Ghats. The consequence of so many people assembling at this sensitive zone resulted in a trail of plastic bags, bottles and leftover food that littered the forest area. Environmentalists and regular trekkers were up in arms after this incident and demanded action from the government. Khandre assured them that a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) would be put in place and trekking would be banned on the route until the SOP was released.
Similarly, in the third weekend of June, 5,000 visitors gathered in Chikkamagaluru to visit the popular Mullayyanagiri and Etthina Bhuja peaks in the district. This also raised concerns about the ecological damage these hills will face due to a footfall which goes way beyond its carrying capacity.
Kudremukh Peak in Karnataka. | Photo Credit: K_MURALIKUMAR
Who looks after the hills in Karnataka?
As many as 18 trekking trails in the State fall under Karnataka Eco Tourism Board (KEDB), founded in 2013. The Board maintains 10 trails in Bengaluru including Savandurga and Skandagiri, two trails in Chikkamagaluru and five in Belagavi.
Currently, online booking exisits for all these 18 trails on the website Karnatakaecotourism.com. There are 100–350 slots reserved every day for each trail depending on it carrying capacity.
There are also several other trails like Kuduremukh and Mullayyanagiri which are maintained by the respective divisions of the Forest Department. Then there is also the Horticulture Department which maintains trails in Nandi Hills and Kemmannugundi.
Empty plastic water bottles, plastic covers and wrappers dumped by trekkers and tourists on the peak of Yettina Bhuja or Ettina Bhuja, a popular trekking destination, on the Western Ghats in Chikkamagaluru district, Karnataka. | Photo Credit: RAVIPRASAD KAMILA
What are the concerns of environmentalists?
Even with the existence of online booking systems, environmentalists and regular trekkers say that the government has not been successful in regulating the crowd. For instance, a booking system was already in place at Kumara Parvatha when the overcrowding incident happened. Officials of KEDB had also earlier acknowledged that the maintenance of rules was lax on many trails and that they would implement them strictly in the coming months.
Thousands of people visiting these trails has also given rise to small businesses mushrooming near the peaks which continues to remain a concern. Shops which sell instant noodles, tender coconuts, water bottles and hot beverages often result in trash accumulation in eco-sensitive areas, where there is no waste management system either. They also say that too many people attending to nature’s call on the trails will also create problems.
More than 1 lakh trekkers had visited the 18 trails of KEDB within eight months in 2023. This number was significantly more than 96,000 visitors across 12 months in the previous year. With this kind of increase, regular trekkers have come to question the reason why people trek at all.
“The crowd from Bengaluru, especially the IT crowd, are drawn more towards trekking now as they seek adrenaline high during their weekends. For another large chunk of them, it is the desire to make reels and take pictures and post them on social media. This is why we are seeing a large number of people make their way towards the hills these days. This is also exactly why we need strong regulations,” said an official from the Forest Department.
What was the Minister’s recent announcement?
Khandre recently announced that an online booking system will soon be introduced for Kuduremukh and Netravati peaks in Kuduremukh National Park and the system will eventually be integrated into other trails.
“Suddenly there is a rush in trekking places. This is causing disturbance to the ecosystem in the area. There is a need to streamline each aspect. There should be no pilferage in the collection of money for tickets also. This is why I have ordered an online booking system for all ecotourism spots and our department is building it now,” Khandre said.
A file photo of Shola forest at Kuduremukh National Park. | Photo Credit: MANJUNATH HS
How will online booking work?
Under the online booking system which will be introduced in Kuduremukh, only 300 people will be allowed to the sites in a day. The booking for an entire month will open on the 25th of the previous month. For instance, the bookings for August must be made on July 25th. One person can book tickets for a maximum of three people. Owing to monsoons, trekking is banned on many trails between the months of March–September.
There is a slight change in the booking system for weekends too. Out of the total 300 tickets, 100 will be kept for tatkal booking. Under this, 50 tickets will be open for last-minute booking and 50 can be booked by local villagers. Tatkal booking will open at 10 a.m. every Thursday.
When the booking system is completely integrated for all peaks, in an event when all the slots for a particular peak have been booked, the website will show other hills in the region where there are vacant slots, so that trekking enthusiasts can plan accordingly.
However, it has to be noted that there are no booking days specified for KEDB trails.
