Mountain Culture and Tourism in the Himalayas Mountains - Term Paper Example

College MOUNTAIN CULTURE Mountains are physical projections higher than the normal level of the environment. They are higher than hills. Culture on the other hand is the way of life of particular group of people at a certain time. Therefore, mountain culture is the livelihood of people living around mountains, their manner of conducting their activities, behaviors and routines. Mountain culture also means the tradition of symbolizing mountains through visual arts. There exist a relationship between mountains and culture. A number of themes come up from the study of mountain culture. These two theories expressing the meaning of mountain culture relate to each other greatly. This is because the visual arts representing mountains cannot be in existence without the presence of the people inhabiting around mountains. Through the visual arts symbolizing the livelihood of people around the mountains, other people who live elsewhere get ideas on what the culture of the mountains involves whereas, the mountain people add economic value, through displaying and selling their arts. Mountain culture also represents the many activities that take place in the mountains regardless people not living around the mountains. People carry out sport activities in mountains for instance, mountain climbing whereby they use special wear for protection as they aim to reach the peak. Other sport activities include skiing as the mountain regions are mostly with snow and trekking. Military training mostly occurs in the mountain regions especially the isolated mountain regions. Testing of dangerous warfare bombs also occurs in these mountains areas. People living in the mountains use the mountains for sacred purposes. Some believe that their god lives in the mountains. They conduct worship in the mountains or facing the mountains, as they believe it shows their reverence to their supernatural being. They also visit the areas to offer sacrifices to the gods. Their religious beliefs and myths in the mountains make the mountains very important and sacred to them. There are certain mountains known for their sacred nature such as the Everest. One of the main activities associated with mountain culture is tourism. Mountain tourism involves visiting mountain areas by both local and international people for knowledge, leisure and interaction with the mountain people. Mountains are tourist attraction sites globally because of their interesting geographical setting. People find the mountain heights fascinating and enjoyable to carry out sports activities among other things. Mountain tourism promotes development especially to the people living in the mountain areas. Himalayas are a set of mountains found in India and are the tallest in the world. They bear massive layers of snow in their tallest peaks hence known as the home of snow. They are a source of water to many people due to the many rivers that originate from these mountains. The Himalayas occupy a large geographical area and contribute majorly to the climate of India through rains, temperature and winds. Himalayas are rich in natural environment as they have many forest regions, waterfalls, plains, valleys, hills and many lakes. The Himalayas are part of the politics, arts, culture and economic issues in India. Tourism in the Himalayas Mountains started many years ago and has widely brought major developments in India. There are many tourist attraction sites in the Himalayas both physical, natural and activities carried out that appeal local and international tourists. The reserves created 9in the Himalayas host birds and animals, which greatly contribute to the high rate of tourism. The traditional architecture also plays a huge role in tourism in the area, as it is the most visited site especially by global tourist. The tourists who visit the area do not have to leave for other areas to find hotels for accommodation during their stay in the Himalayas. This is because. Tourist resorts are in plenty in the area and can carry a large capacity of visitors. The specific use of these resorts is to house the tourist not permanent residential area. The other tourist attraction sites found in the Himalayas include the many villages that residents inhabit, old temples and Hindu sanctuaries. These represent the religion culture of the people around and are worship centers for all Hindus in the region. Tourism in the Himalayas globally known, receives many visitors and the management has rules that help them in governing the area. They have rules to ensure maximum security of the area. For instance, thorough inspection of local tourists occurs at all the entrances. There are police at every station equipped with inspection devices. The management also gives a set of general rules for tourist to abide by while in the site. Various activities attract tourist to the Himalayas Mountains. The main ones are skiing and mountaineering. Mountaineering is major in the region due to great adventurous peaks of the mountain. Most people who practice mountaineering always choose to do it in the Himalayas. This is because it gives them challenges and trains them new ways of mountaineering due to its physical state. Studies on mountaineering being a famous activity in the Himalayas, improve by the day. The sport involves climbing and walking up the mountains. Skiing in the Himalayas is another major tourist attraction activity. Specialists in skiing conduct their prowess to entertain the tourist. The tourists also get a chance in skiing and the presence of electric lifts makes it more exciting and classy. However, the electric lift is in only one slope that is the Auli of the Gharwal Himalayas. Most locals ski in the other slopes to pave way for the tourist in this slope with an electric lift. Camping is also an activity that tourists enjoy in the Himalayas. In a bid to improve the camping conditions, the management of the Himalayas set aside areas specifically for camping purposes. The areas are mostly near lakes. This is because most international tourists prefer camping in areas of high altitude. In addition, areas around the lakes in the Himalayas are the safest and approved camping site by the management in Himalayas. The best safe place for camping is the Glacier found in ladakhi-Manali area. Trekking is also another activity that takes place in the Himalayas. There are certain specific routes that the management has placed for trekking. The treks are different depending on what the tourists decide to venture. There are certain routes easy and others are hard and rocky to trek. There are different distances that tourists can trek. These include long and short distances. Tourists find trekking an interesting adventure and enjoy the many sites they see as they trek. The known trekking routes include Kumaon, Garhwal, Himachal and Ladakh. Among the many sports, activities that occur in the Himalayas, tourists also enjoy rock climbing especially when the weather is good and favorable. Canoeing and kayaking is also one of the activities and specialists to ensure their safety accompany the tourists. Bungee jumping though not so common, is also another leisure activity. Its risky nature is the reason why it is not common. Tourists engage in all these activities for fun and enjoyment. Mountain biking is another sport that takes place in the Himalayas and only the people who know how to do it ride their bikes. With the many sites and interesting areas in the Himalayas, some tourists go to these mountains for sightseeing. Others also go to specific areas of the Himalayas for their honeymoons. There are many comfortable houses built in the area and are good for the people who need a great time on their honeymoon. The most common place in the Himalayas for honeymoons is Manali. It is at the base of the mountain, serves as a cozy place for couples, and has quality services. Tourists also engage in photography as the region has many beautiful sites. The religious centers especially the old temples serve as the best sites for photo shoots. Modeling agencies view the Himalayas as one of their most benevolent work areas. The tourists also leave their footprints and finger prints in the areas their desire. It is one of the activities the tourists consider fascinating, it serves as evidence of their visit. There are also areas that are specific to religion in the Himalayas. Certain rivers are common for religious purposes such as river Ganges. These rivers serve as worship places for Hindus. Pilgrims exist for the Hindus to conduct their worship. Old temples that existed long time ago for the people who inhabit the areas near the Himalayas Mountains. The Hindus who live in other areas come to visit the holy rivers and worship in the temples. The Hindus call the Himalayas their god known by the name Himavat. Cave sanctuaries and other lakes serve as worship centers that are still open today for the Hindus. Different peaks of the Himalayas symbolize different terms of worship. The Everest for example, being the highest peak, is the holiest part of the mountain. Other religions exist in the Himalayas such as Sikhism, Jainism and Buddhism and their worship places attract tourists of these religions to visit and worship there. Military activities take place in uninhabited areas of the Himalayas. The military have carried out their training activities for many years and still do it. The British discovered the Himalayas and it became primarily for military activities. As the years passed, the mountains acquired new activities. The military troops strive to better their skills in these mountainous regions. However, due to tourism, military activities no longer exist in the Himalayas. The management of the Himalayas has set certain rules for the many tourists who visit the sites of the mountains. The rules of the areas include respecting the culture of the inhabitants of the area. The tourists are strictly to respect the culture and religions of the people who live in the Himalayas. The tourists are also to avoid polluting the areas through damping. In case of any travels, tourists should rent horses from the management. They should ensure to save as much fuel as possible and protect the wildlife in the reserves. Tourism in Himalayas has many positive effects that improve the area around the mountains. The major merit associated with tourism in Himalayas is the improvement of the economy of the area around and the country at large. Tourists bring in foreign exchange to the country, as there are numerous attraction sites. There is major development of infrastructure in the Himalayas area since tourists always flock the mountain area. The businesses created in the area to cater for several needs of both local and global tourists make huge profits. Due to the increase in the profit margins of most businesses, tourism in the Himalayas leads to improvement of the living standards of most residents around the area. This on the other hand increases the gross domestic product of India. Tourism in the Himalayas contributes the highest economic value of Indian resources. The people access services of high quality since those are the same services given to the tourists. Generally, people living in the areas around the Himalayas are the above average citizens as they have the best lifestyle. The education standards, health standards and other sectors of the economy are better. Creation of job opportunities has come about due to tourism in the Himalayas Mountains. Most have employment within the mountain area as it calls for high labor force. The entire residents’ workforce in the Himalayas comprises of different sites with specific employees. The work sites are many ranging from the management, resort workers, tour guides, security personnel, medical staff and even local business owners residing nearby. Generally, job opportunities are wide in the mountain area due to tourism. Tourism in the Himalayas improves the social life of the residents. They learn to accommodate tourists from different parts of the world. Tourists never cease to visit the Himalayas hence more interactions between the locals and the tourists take place. Consequently, most residents are socially free with the tourists, as they have learnt new languages thus communication barrier is rare. The learning of new languages helps individuals in self-development takes. Tourism in the Himalayas has had a great effect on the countries the mountains exist. It is notable that many people live in towns and cities that are not far from the mountains. This is because the areas are more developed and have many job opportunities. In addition, different customs adopted by residents from the international tourists especially, have improved their lives. People also learn many languages as there are many people who visit the areas in the Himalayas. However, tourism in the Himalayas has several negative effects to the geographical setting of the mountain area. Maintenance of trails used for trekking is poor hence, the trails become impassible when weather is not favorable. Thereafter, tourists create new routes and paths around the vegetation thus destroying the vegetation cover. Soil erosion therefore follows and the soils become poor in nutrients. Efforts to grow new vegetation bear no fruit, as the soil is already poor. This contributes to rugged landscape in the Himalayas. Deforestation is another negative impact of the tourism in the Himalayas. Due to the many resorts built for tourists who remain in the Himalayas for days, cutting down of forests takes place leading to deforestation. In addition, other campers cut down trees for firewood illegally in order to camp and cook. Gradually, the forests reduce and the initial nature of the Himalayas ruins with time. The much businesses taking place have led to people residing more in the area hence building of houses has contributed to deforestation. Another issue that comes up due to tourism is damping of wastes by some of the tourists in areas that should be pollution free. During trekking especially, tourists dump wastes that are not decomposable hence leading to pollution in the mountain areas. This is a serious problem as not all times the management realizes the extent of pollution. Human wastes also pose a great risk if not buried deep in the soil and far from water sources to avoid water contamination. Therefore, the management controls the risk of water contamination and pollution in the Himalayas by introducing environmental specialists who keep things in check. However, the positive effects outdo the negative effects of tourism in the Himalayas Mountains. The management does all it can to ensure that the disadvantages minimize to avoid destruction of the mountains. Codes that govern all sites that the tourists’ access ensures that the Himalayas Mountain and its nature remain protected. The safety of the tourists is maintained as there are areas that pose a risk, especially due to wildlife and bad weather. The tourists also register before they tour any area to avoid losses such as some people getting lost. This helps the management to keep in check, the number of outsiders in the area and to cater for their needs. In conclusion, tourism in the Himalayas is more advantageous than disadvantageous. Therefore, from the above it is clear that mountain culture is beneficial and specifically at the Himalayas Mountains, creates jobs and attracts many tourists due to its sites and religious areas that serve a great purpose to specific religions such as the Hindus. Work cited Jayal, N D. Conservation, Tourism & Mountaineering in the Himalayas. Dehra Dun: Natraj Publishers, 1986. Print. Stevens, Stanley F. Claiming the High Ground: Sherpas, Subsistence, and Environmental Change in the Highest Himalaya. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993. Print. Nadda, Vipin. Adventure Tourism in the Central Himalayas: An Exploratory Approach. Saarbrücken: VDM Verlag Dr. Müller, 2009. Print. Sharma, Vidhya S. Ladakh and Himalayas: Tourist and Spiritual Profile. New Delhi: Anmol Publications, 2001. Print. Negi, Jagmohan, Ritushka, and Gaurav Manohar. 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