SUDIPTA DEV – Mumbai
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| Thinlas Chorol |
With the increasing popularity of Ladakh as a tourism destination, there is a segment of the local populace who have probably benefitted the most – the Ladakhi women. With homestay treks becoming an integral part of the international tourist itinerary, women in villages along the trekking routes of areas like the Hemis National Park, have opened their homes to travellers, and have started earning an income. Thinlas Chorol, a trained mountaineer and guide founded the Ladakhi Women’s Travel Company in 2009. It is the first travel company in Ladakh that is owned and operated by women and provides tourists with women guides and porters for conducting treks and tours.
While the Ladakhi Women’s Travel Company offers trekking, cultural, scenic and monastery sightseeing, the most popular are the homestay treks. Homestays provide a real experience of the Ladakhi culture – travellers on multi-day treks and tours have the option of staying in a home, eat the traditional food and get to know the locals. An initiative of the NGO Snow Leopard Conservancy, these homestays are all run by women as the men are engaged in work outside. “We highly recommend these homestays as it gives visitors a better insight into Ladakhi life than camping,” stated Chorol. Homestays are considered the most eco-friendly system of exploring Ladakh, in comparison to camping as it has the least impact on the environment. Chorol acknowledged that there is great potential in the homestay system, “Generally, Ladakhis are very friendly and welcoming. And it also gives the villagers a better chance to get income from the tourism industry.” She feels that it is important for the government to support the women running the homestays and help them in getting trained to ensure that visitors have a good homestay experience at every village. “They should also inform the people visiting Ladakh of the benefits of the system,” she added. Treks in most areas of Hemis National Park and the Sham region can be done using homestays. Winter treks allow tourists to see the elusive snow leopard.
The target clientele being the international tourists, Chorol does not do much marketing, but people come to know about her agency through word of mouth. “Since we have only a limited number of guides, and without much marketing, we are still fully booked, we don’t need to do much. What we do is mostly making small posters and flyers which we put up around Leh,” she mentioned.
The initiative of women’s groups to set up tea tents along the trekking routes has also enabled many local village women to earn a living by selling tea, snacks and handicrafts to visitors.
