A new initiative in a Himalayan wildlife sanctuary is attracting birdwatchers and hikers to the remote foothills, and offering vulnerable villages a lifeline
ith the morning sun on her face, Kamla Joshi sits outside her house in Dalar village peeling potatoes with her bare hands, preparing a celebration dish for Holi. I ponder whether I should pitch in, but there are constant distractions: the toddler being chased by her grandad, the buffalo shifting listlessly in the yard, and not least the view of Trisul – a snow-smothered Himalayan knife-edge that rears above the oak trees and mustard flowers of Kamla’s garden in the Kumaon Hills.
Among Binsar’s treasures are the oak trees known as ‘green gold’ because of their precious role in the forest ecosystem My three-day mini-itinerary has been designed to take in the area with the highest concentration of birdlife, focusing on the villages of Dalar and Risal. “Birds are like good gardeners in nature. They have a big role in the forest because they scatter seeds and help pollinate,” says Hem, as we head out of Dalar, his ears always open and his head always up, scanning for wildlife.