Trekking when? How? After COVID19
We are back with some Good News finally!
Firstly, we are excited to share with you all that after 81 days of strict lockdown we have opened our office in Rishikesh. With full sanitation and safety, we have resumed office work with partial staff. This has filled us with new enthusiasm. After a series of cancellations, we now have hopes that treks be operational soon.
Coming straight to the point. Many of you are curious to know when will treks start, how will they start, what new precautions will be taken etc. So, today we are answering all your questions. Until now we ourselves we were not sure of where this pandemic is taking the world. Now, with the world coming back to the normal routine, we have made our predictions. Please note that these are our assumptions and they may keep changing as per new Government announcements. So, let’s start with the bigger question,
When will treks start again?
From 8th June most of the Red Zones also have opened. While full-fledged transport is not yet started, we are hoping by the start of July everything will start to function. Based on the current Corona situation we think that treks will start in August or September at the most. We have opened batches of Monsoon and Post-Monsoon treks from August. You can check them on our website.
Uttarakhand is already planning to open many tourists places like Char Dhaam, Valley of Flowers trek. Leh and Himachal Pradesh had already announced that they will open as soon as the situation gets better. Sikkim Government has so far not shown any such intentions.
Which treks will open?
As of now, this is an ambiguous point. We still cannot surely say which State or treks will open first. There is a hope that Uttarakhand and Leh might open soon. But, as the situation gets under control we are sure all of the Himalayan States will begin Tourism soon.
The Post-Corona season is a wonderful time. We have seen the wonderful pictures of clear Himalayas from cities, imagine how amazingly bloomed they are. According to us the best treks this year specially after long break will be,
We have opened batches for these treks and many other treks from August. The bookings have already started.
As a responsible organization, we stand with every State Government. We promise that whichever treks open first we shall be fully armed with the Safety weapons. We are also prepared with new guidelines to make trekking Corona-proof!
Our Guidelines to keep treks safe from Corona
It is now our Individual responsibility to get back the routine while keeping ourselves safe. Whenever the treks might open of course we expect full coordination from you all to make trekking Corona-proof. We have decided our guidelines and we promise to follow them. We shall also keep them modifying as per the future dynamics.
Once you have registered for the trek, thefollowing are the mandatory precautions we all shall implement,
Medical Condition of trekkers
- Trekkers should be carrying medical certificate + COVID19 Test Report when they come for the trek.
- Trekkers must carry sufficient amount of sanitizer, masks, gloves and a personal medical kit for the respective days of the trek.
Medical Condition of our Staff
- We shall make sure that each and every person of our team you interact with is Medically checked and healthy.
- All our staff including porters and local guides will undergo thorough training and screening for the treks.
Examination at the Pickup Point
| Every trekker’s temperature and symptoms will be examined by our attendant. The medical certificate will be checked there itself with social distancing. Sanitization of every trekker and their belongings will be done.Our Pickup vehicles for trekkers will be with half seating.There shall be plastic separators between seats in the transport vehicle for more safety. |
Precautions from Pickup point to the Base Village
| Restaurant or Dhabas will be properly sanitized by the restaurant owner.No gathering of trekkers in the restaurant will be allowed. The table will have 2 chairs. Good quality sanitizer will be provided.Food will be served in Use and Throw Utensils. Trekkers should make sure they dispose their utensils after they finish their food. |
Precautions at the Base Camp
- On arriving at the base camp trekkers and their belongings will be sanitized again.
- Accommodation: Double bedroom sharing for family or couples and Single bedroom for solo trekkers (with additional costs)
Precautions while trekking and until the drop point
- We shall do proper sanitization of all the equipment after every batch.
- We will also provide training to the locals and our team about the necessary measures to be taken.
- Kitchen staff will take care of the hygiene in Kitchen.
- Toilet tent will be sanitized with more care. There will be a pump or sanitizing machine. Once a trekker comes out of the toilet tent the whole tent will be sanitized by the pump.
- Trek leader will provide immunity-boosting exercises.
- One trekker in one tent.
- The whole batch will be walking 1-2 meters distance between themselves.
- During steep and slippery sections our local guide shall assist by keeping a safe distance.
- Food will be served in the trekker’s tent. There will not be a dining tent.
- Campsite games will be played with Social Distancing.
- There will not be a common garbage bin at the campsites. Trekkers must be responsible for their individual waste disposal.
- Hotel, rooms, utensils, vehicles will be sanitized on a regular basis.
- The same system followed during pickup will be followed for drop-down.
- Once the trek is over the trekkers shall follow the measures taken earlier until they safely reach their homes.
Immediate Response in case of symptoms
With all the thorough safety rules above, there will be no chance of Corona penetrating. However, we all must be prepared for the unexpected.
- During any time if anybody shows Corona symptoms they shall be immediately transported to the nearest Hospitals following all the Social Distancing norms.
- We shall make sure that the entire batch gets tested for Corona before they leave.
- It is trekker’s responsibility to inform us about any discomfort or signs of Corona.
Other precautions
- We might stop renting of equipment based on the number of requests for the rental.
- The number of trekkers in a batch will be reduced and be decided when treks start.
- Any trekker failing to abide any of the safety rules will not be allowed to continue.
- Trekkers should follow hygiene while the travel to-from the pickup point.
Trekking with COVID19
Living with Corona is the new normal. We must learn to take care of ourselves. It is our responsibility to keep ourselves and our Nation safe from Corona. While doing that we must follow our dreams too.
We are sure there are things we might have missed some points. We want ideas from all of you to develop new protocols. Feel free to reply to this mail or message us on Social Media. We are together in this! Notes: Please keep in mind that we shall change our policies and procedures based on Government regulations in future. As you know, there can be last-minute announcements and we will have to follow them. However, we shall try to abide by the Government rules keeping in mind the welfare of our trekkers.
Written By:-
Nutan Shinde
TTH Official Content Writer