High-altitude bridge on the ancient Indo-Tibetan trade route was renovated and has been turned into a new skywalk.
Chandigarh: You are at 11,000 feet above sea level, on a brand new but defile wooden bridge stuck to mountain sides over the roaring Jadh Ganga River. The high-altitude bridge on the ancient Indo-Tibetan trade route has turned into a new skywalk. Welcome to Gartang Gali of Nelong Valley at Uttarkashi of Uttarakhand. A route that has a hugely important space in the pages of history, reopened last week after a wait of 59 years.
The historic over 150-year-old Gartang Gali wooden bridge had to wait for 59 years to reopen. The Gartang Gali wooden bridge, located at a height of 11,000 feet in the Nelong Valley in Uttarkashi district near the Indo-China border, reopened following renovation. The bridge, on the ancient trade route to Tibet, is believed to have been built by the Peshawar Pathans. It was damaged over the years after it fell into disuse following the Indo-China war in 1962. It is the same Gartang Gali bridge through which Austrian climber Heinrich Harrer had also escaped to Tibet from the British internment camp at Dehradun where he was housed during World War II. He later recounted his escape in his book “Seven Years in Tibet” which later became the basis of a Hollywood film of the same name starring Brad Pitt as Harrer.
The pedestrian bridge was built by Pathan laborers from the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) over a century ago and was mainly used by mainland traders and the tribal Bhotia community to trade with their Tibetan counterparts before 1962. At the time of its construction, the Pathan laborers did a marvellous task by cutting the granite stone on a vertical wall to make an architectural masterpiece. The bridge stands next to a vertical wall, with the Jhad Ganga (Jhanvi) river flowing about 400 meters below.
It was open only for restricted tourism in 2015. The pathway was cut into the hard rock face of a vertical cliff a few hundred meters above the Jadh Ganga river and was large enough to accommodate fully-laden yaks. The route greatly helped reduce both travel time and the riskof loot during trade at that time. Uttarkashi district magistrate Mayur Dixit issued an order in this regard on 18 August. He said, “The bridge has been renovated by the public works department at a cost of Rs 65 lakh. Those interested in visiting the Gartang Gali bridge will have to register themselves at the Bhairav Ghati outpost and follow all Covid guidelines.” Dixit said the repair and renovation of the bridge was started in September last year and completed in July this year. “It was very challenging to renovate this bridge at such a height, given the extreme weather and high-velocity winds. The labourers were tied with safety ropes while they worked on the bridge,” he said. The bridge is located inside the Gangotri National Park and is 90 km from the Uttarkashi district headquarters. The bridge is 136 metre-long and 1.8 metre-wide.
R.N. Pandey, Deputy Director, Gangotri National Park, said: “From the security point of view, only 10 visitors will be allowed at a time and they will have to maintain a distance of one metre from each other. Movement of groups or any other activity, such as jumping, dancing, drinking liquor, or carrying inflammable substances are prohibited on the bridge,”
“The opening of the Gartang Gali trek has added a new dimension to adventure tourism activities in the state. The bridge has historical and strategic importance and demonstrates the cordial trade relations of the country with its neighbours since ancient times. Gartang Gali is in line to promote rural tourism with better expedition facilities and generate local employment and business opportunities in the associated areas,” Pandey said.
The local hotel association had been demanding the opening of this bridge since 2017. Now, they are hoping people from across India will come to see it. This skywalk is a reason why localities are so excited to visit this place. Everyday, the Gangotri National Park allows 10-15 people to use this skywalk. They are watching wildlife and dolphins after enduring the Covid-19 induced quarantine stress. This is an initiative of the Government of India and the stakeholders who participated in this included the PWD, and Forest Department, to make this skywalk of ancient importance a reality again in present times, Pandey said.