Yes, experts say so.
Nepal has been one of the top choices for adventure-seeking trekkers and mountaineers from around the world. And the Annapurna Circuit, ranked as one of the most beautiful treks in the world by international media like BBC, CNN and numerous other travel publications, seems to be the ultimate getaway for most of these on-the-go backpackers.[break]
However, as the road being constructed to connect Manang and Mustang districts with Nepal’s highway network nears its completion, what was once considered the world’s greatest trek is starting to lose its charms for most purist trekkers around the world.
The classic 21-day Annapurna Experience entailed endurance to continue days-long walks. Starting at Besi Sahar, the trekkers could move along the circuit, gathering unforgettable images of up-close views of the majestic mountains and breathtaking sceneries.
The warm hospitality of villagers, the challenge of making it through Thorung La Pass at an intimidating altitude of 5,416m, the serenity in the mountain breeze, prayer flags, chants syncing with the sounds of monastery bells and the spiritual energy in the pilgrimage town of Muktinath. Crossing the world’s deepest gorge in the Kali Gandaki river, the relaxing hot spring at Tatopani, the magnificent sunrise from Poon Hill, and a sense of accomplishment after days of walking in one of the world’s roughest terrains – all these and the moments along the route are what made the trek a venerated one.
Unfortunately, the scene is changing with the roads penetrating into these once untouched villages and loud tractors and bikes roaring in and out to rudely shatter the serenity of the trail.
Bhisma Raj Prasai, a tourist guide with Global Adventure Trekking, says, “There are very few trekkers who opt for a full 21-day Annapurna Circuit trek. The trek has gone down to 10 to 11 days, and with the completion of the road, it might even be completed in 5-6 days.
Mount Thorung La and Thorung La Pass.
“Besides, no one wants to trek with the dust and smoke from vehicles being blown at their face. So they choose to take the vehicles available,” he adds.
Neil Sleigh, a trekker from England, shares that the experience gathered when you’re walking on foot in peaceful surroundings is never the same as watching things go by when you’re in a vehicle.
“When I was there on Annapurna trek four years back, the road construction was already getting too disturbing for a trek,” says he. “With the vehicles rushing past, the trek just won’t be a pleasant one.”
For trekkers who like to visit places where only their feet can take them, with the roads and vehicles disturbing their pace and peace, they will hold back. The roads are being viewed as a threat to the reputation of the classic trek by many trekking agencies that have had a strong hold in attracting international trekkers for adventurous and undisturbed treks.
Rashmi Tamot, managing director at Base Camp Trekking and executive member of Trekking Agents’ Association of Nepal (TAAN), says, “The construction will force us to change the route which will be a bad move as the current route is considered one of the most beautiful treks offering walks along outstanding sceneries.
“And for trekkers, too, they might start to want to opt for other trekking routes,” she adds.
A fall near Jagat on the way to Manang.
Piet van der Poel, a natural resources manager who worked for Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) on the 2006 report on alternative trekking routes for the Annapurna Circuit, mentioned that the roads would improve the socio-economic situation of the majority of people. Markets would become accessible for their products and consumer goods would become cheaper. However, challenges such as more pollution, risks of landslides, and threats to biodiversity would come along with the roads.
Besides the negative impact on ecology, Poel also mentioned that once vehicles started plying the road, trekkers would bypass most the villages and their lodges would disappear, hampering the local economy largely dependent on tourism.
The survey team then suggested that quieter alternative routes – called short-term alternatives – be opened to replace sections of the tractor roads where traffic moved or which was under construction, and long-term alternative routes to replace sections of the present routes once the roads would open for traffic.
“I discussed alternatives for the first time with the ACAP tourism officer in the spring of 2005 as I was annoyed by the motorbikes and tractors on the trekking route between Jomsom and Ghasa,” Poel writes to The Week. “Trekkers I have talked to since sometimes still follow the road, because the guides don’t know the alternatives. But they don’t like it very much. And many already take the jeeps.”
Resting place in Jomsom.
Unfortunately, ACAP has done precious little with the report, according to Poel, and a new report they published in 2010 had shifted its emphasis from finding alternatives to developing new trails, with some of them crossing the 5,500m high Namun La, which is closed due to snow for at least half the year.
Poel says that once the road reaches Manang, there will not be a circuit any more, or at least, not in the anti-clockwise direction. Manang could end up attracting more tourists than they have now, but many places along the present circuit would simply become road stops for buses, or disappear altogether.
He assesses that 80 percent of the routes should be replaced by smaller and quieter trails passing through villages and offering better views of the surrounding mountains and less disturbed nature for the trek to maintain its attraction.
On the other hand, the roads have opened up the possibility for different types of tourists coming to the ACA besides trekkers. Dirt biking in Lower Mustang is already being promoted as an adventure sports attracting many bikers to the arid landscape. And if the villages are able to maintain their local customs and traditional charms despite the roads, it could as well be a boost for cultural tourism.
As most parts of Manang and Mustang districts lie in the ACA, it is important that the road construction and tourism development plans are mapped out with conservation of the biodiversity, environment and cultural preservation in mind. Unfortunately, this aspect has been completely neglected.
Heading towards Mustang.
“I found it a disgrace that environment unfriendly roads were built in a conservation area,” says Piet. “The soil is simply pushed over the nearest edge, often destroying the vegetation below, polluting the river, and greatly increasing the chances of landslides.”
As the road to Manang which, according to 10th Five Year Plan, is supposed to be completed by 2012, progresses along, not only is the once 215km long trek being reduced to a mere 31km, it also threatens to defile the nature, culture and the entire experience of the Annapurna trek.
And with the slow development of alternative routes in the region, does it look that the classic Annapurna will soon be mere memory?
Sadly, yes.
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