2018 declared as Year of Adventure Tourism by Ministry of Tourism #AdventureBulletin

Hello Mountain Lovers,

Wish you guys a very happy and prosperous new year 2018!

2018 opened up with a golden moment for us adventure fanatics as year 2018 will be recognized as the ’Year of Adventure Tourism’, thanks to Ministry of Tourism and the efforts of ATOAI (Adventure Tour Operators & Association of India).

To celebrate the ‘Year of Adventure Tourism’, ATOAI will organize roadshows in 7 Indian major cities and trade shows will be organized in various parts of the country.

They have even come up with a unique logo to mark the year of adventure. It is one of its kind initiative. Watch out for the activities in your city.

And, now updates from the treks.

From the Trail

The year in the mountains ended with gaiety and celebration. The Christmas and New Year long weekends received a marathon of treks. From Kuari Pass to Brahmatal, Kedarkantha to Nag Tibba, the trails were all adorned with snow and happy faces of trekkers.

Before the onset of winter treks, all our trek leaders were brought up to date with first-aid lessons and rescue operations so that our participants feel safe. Safety has always been a foremost priority at Bikat and we leave no stone unturned when it comes to safety.

Kuari Pass and Kedarkantha Trek was abundantly covered in snow. The views of Nanda Devi, Chaukhamba, Hathi Ghoda were all very clearly visible on Kuari Pass. Our participants build a snowman. They even got caught in a jesty snowball fight. There were no casualties. Lol!

Our participants on Kedarkantha Trek spotted clear views of Black Peak and Swargarohini from the top. The temperature in the night fell down to -5 degrees celsius. Juda ka taal was a frozen beauty.

The participants on Nag Tibba and Brahmatal treks were lucky to see patches of snow on the trek. With temperatures plummeting, the treks will soon be covered in loads of snow.

Har ki Dun Trek has been cancelled officially by the authorities of Govind National Park in Dehradun tentatively due to heavy snowfall in the region. No trek operator has been able to carry out the trek. Those who had booked the trek with us were given an option to opt for either Kuari pass or Brahmatal.

Coming Up Next 

Early Bird Treks

Made any new year resolutions? Rather make big adventure plans this year.

If you are an avid biker, set you eyes on the biggest cycling challenge in the Himalayas- Manali-Leh Cycling Expedition. Why wait for half a year when you can start preparing NOW and even get an early bird discount? This year, Raid de Himalayas!

For the mountain-lovers who like to go remote and explore offbeat, Kedar Taal is hands-down a great choice for you. The mysterious alpine lake, the rugged trails, ambitious challenges, the trek has got all the ingredients for an adventurous recipe. This should be your ultimate #MountainGoal in 2018.

Bikat Blogs

A lot of people ask us about the safety equipment we use on our treks and expeditions. Since it is a legit concern from the participants, we have shared all the details about the equipment. Our motto is to provide our participants with a feeling of thrill and adventure remaining in the safety bounds. Therefore, we take no chances in the quality of our equipment.

A lot of times we come across this question from trekkers about why we don’t set fixed camps on our treks like some of the trek operators have been doing. We have settled it for once and for all that fixed camps are not the way to roll.

Trek leaders are to trekking industries what software engineers are to IT industry. This is why having highly experienced and ambitious trek leaders is important in trekking industry. (FYI, we are looking for such people.)

Contest Alert

The results of "The Adventure Blog Contest" has been announced. Congratulations to all the winners and a big thank you to all the participants for taking part in the contest.

But it doesn’t end here.

Now it is time to take out your best photographs from your adventures in the mountains for we are coming up with Photo Contest.

Just follow @bikatadventures on Instagram and post your best trek pics using #bikatadventures. The contest will continue till 5 February 2018.

1st Prize: Voucher of Rs 10000

2nd Prize: Voucher of Rs 6000

3rd Prize: Voucher of Rs 4000

Viewer's choice prize: Voucher of Rs 5000

In Other News

Legendary mountaineer Krzysztof Wielicki and his team has set off to Pakistan to attempt the winter summit of K2, world’s second highest peak. If they successfully succeed to climb this savage mountain peak, they will be the first ones to achieve this. We wish him and his whole team all the very best for the expedition!

Nepal Government has recently made amendments to the Mountaineering Expedition Regulation under the Tourism Act as proposed by Department of Tourism. Effective from this year, foreign climbers will be banned from making a solo attempt on Mt. Everest. The blind and double amputees will also be barred from making bids on mountain peaks from now on. All these amendments have been done to ensure safety of climbers and decrease the number of accidents on Mt. Everest.

Stay tuned for more updates.

Ciao!