Overtourism: India’s Top Vacation Spots Are Getting Choked As Tourists Won’t Stop Showing Up
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What’s the worst thing that could happen on a vacation? You sit and plan the trip for months. You consider the peak time and the off-season time of the places you plan to visit. And you make sure that whatever time you pick, you just want the place to be less crowded so that your family and you can enjoy the nature or the views to the maximum. That’s pretty much what vacation needs to be like, isn’t it? You and your loved ones at a beautiful location all by yourselves enjoying every bit of that fresh air and that serene view.
Does this ring anything in your head if you’ve traveled to India before? Let’s give you a hint — where do you head to when you want to escape the scorching heat of the summers? Hill stations, right? If you have a childhood memory of hill stations, you’d recollect magnificent pine and oak trees, beautiful slopes of mountains covered with fog, and a blanket of stars above you as far as your naked eye could see. Decades later, when you’re grown enough to travel alone there, do you find the same beautiful views? Certainly not!
The blanket of stars are covered by sky-high apartments and hotels, even the beautiful glowing river sees a layer of trash on it, and the roads, well, they’re blocked and choked with traffic jams. And why is all this happening? It’s because the tourists at these beautiful hill stations just won’t stop showing up.
Let’s take a look at some of the hill stations that are facing a major threat as a result of tourist onslaught. And every traveler out there, we’re pleading to you to be a responsible tourist and treat your travel destination with love and care. Read on to know more.
1. Mussoorie
Have you ever heard of reverse metamorphosis? If you have, then, that’s exactly what Mussoorie is going through right now. From being a colorful butterfly it’s turning back into a caterpillar now. This former haven of all things colonial that boasted of lush greenery and cool, undulated hills is now nothing of these sorts. It has been seeing a whopping surge in the number of tourists lately.
What has overtourism done to this beautiful hill station?
Mussoorie has been suffering from water shortage for the past two years!
2. Ooty
Did you know that Ooty was a hill station that was planned to house not more than 10,000 people? And right now, it has been hosting a whopping 1,25,000 people! And mind you, these are the numbers of locals residing there to create a living for themselves. The number of tourists who visit there mount up to at least half of these numbers. 17,000 people are reportedly visiting the Government Botanical Garden every day! You can only imagine the shortage of basic resources like water and land here.
What has overtourism done to this beautiful hill station?
To accommodate such a huge population, forests are being cut down on large scales.
3. Mahabaleshwar
This hill station has been a favorite among Indians ever since the British tried to escape from the scorching heat of lowland plains. Now with increasing access to private and public transport, and hotels that have been brewing up in this place; problems like clearance of trash for hotels, increased pressure for better water resources, electricity resources, littering by the tourists, and pollution of air are on a rise.
What has overtourism done to this beautiful hill station?
From being a nature’s abode to relax and appreciate nature, Mahabaleshwar has been turned into an arena of commercial resorts. This transformation is heart-wrenching!
4. Darjeeling
Darjeeling is considered to be one of the most magnificent hill resorts in India. It conjures serene vibrancy of green hills and visions of snowcapped mountains. Its breathtaking beauty looks like it’s crowned by the views of the Himalayas. This beautiful place is, however, is flooded with at least 3.5 lakh tourists annually which is a blow to its lush greenery.
What has overtourism done to this beautiful place?
When you book a hotel to stay here, make sure they don’t have any water shortage!
5. Shimla
Nearly 5000 vehicles enter Shimla on average every single day of the year here. And during weekends this number certainly goes up. The lack of planning in terms of infrastructure, roads, water resources, etc. has hit the locals’ lives most horribly. Traffic jams have replaced the beautiful mountain views while driving through this beautiful place.
What has overtourism done to this beautiful place?
Shimla once regarded to be pollution-free is otherwise now. It has water and electricity shortages every other day.
Yes, we cannot ignore the fact that tourists and their investment in such places is what feeds the towns. But what we need to understand as responsible tourists is that we shouldn’t be enjoying our vacation at the cost of environmental degradation. We think that tourism awareness, tourist taxes, and stricter laws could go a long way in solving such problems. What do you think? Let us know in the comments section below.
