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320 homestays in HP’s Spiti open doors for tourists from Feb 17
Hotels will function from April as they are facing water scarcity due to sub-zero temperatures, heavy snow spells
Almost a year since the nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of Covid-19, the Himachal Pradesh government has decided to open the 320 homestays for tourists in the tribal Spiti region.
The state government issued orders on Wednesday that the 250 homestays in Spiti and 70 in the valley headquarters at Kaza will be open for tourists from February 17. However, hotels in the region will open in the second week of April once the valley tides over its water scarcity due to sub-zero temperatures.
“We decided to open up the homestays as we found that tourists visiting the tribal region, particularly those from outside the state, are facing inconvenience. All homestay owners will have to follow the Covid-19 standard operating procedure (SOP),” said Kaza-based additional district magistrate Gian Sagar Negi.
“The sub-zero temperatures and intermittent heavy snow spells have disrupted the water supply in hotels so they will open in April,” he said.
The tourists will need to undergo the Covid-19 test 72 hours before entering the Spiti valley and will need to follow the SOPs.
Snow leopard habitat at Kibber out of bounds
“The snow leopard habitat at Kibber will be prohibited for tourists,” said Lara Tsering, the general secretary of Spiti Tourism Society.
There were four deaths due to Covid-19 in Kibber after which villagers decided to close their village to tourists, he said.
Tourists visit Kibber mainly for sighting the elusive snow leopard.
No new Covid-19 case has been reported from Spiti valley in a fortnight.
The local administration recently organised a winter festival in Spiti, which was a big draw. “Most tourists stayed at government rest houses but it has limited accommodation. We felt bad when we saw tourists sleeping inside their vehicles,” said Pema Tandup, who owns a homestay in Kaza.
