Every holiday leaves a footprint. In the mountains of India, that footprint is becoming hard to ignore. It can be seen in trash left by tourists, snack wrappers among rocks and plastic bottles thrown on mountain paths. Not only this, in recent years it has become common to see headlines about landslides, road accidents, overcrowding at tourist places and hours-long traffic jams. But in all this, a difficult question often remains unresolved, is overtourism causing all this? Or is the reason for this not being able to manage tourism properly? Environmentalists believe the issue goes beyond tourist numbers. There are no lines to define the boundaries of our ecosystem. The real challenge is not tourism, but the gap between the popularity of these sites and the need to protect them.

mountain under pressure

When landslides occur or roads collapse after heavy rains, there is a tendency to blame nature alone. But it is not always appropriate to view it only as an environmental crisis or human intervention. “It’s not a one-or-two situation, both contribute to it,” says Ishan Shanavas, author, environmentalist and founder of Eco-Inspire, a national environmental education enterprise. “Of course, you have large-scale climate change that is certainly affecting the environment. And you have deforestation. So, I think it’s wrong to characterize it as either-or-both, which is affecting the disasters that we see from our understanding.“ The Himalayas are one of the youngest mountain ranges in the world and are naturally prone to erosion and geological instability. Along with this, the risk may increase manifold due to changing weather patterns, road construction, deforestation and increasing tourism related infrastructure.

Is overtourism the real problem?

Image Credit: Sneh Rishav

The term “overtourism” has become a catch phrase for everything from traffic congestion to environmental degradation. But environmentalists believe the discussion should be more nuanced.In the interview, Shanawas says, “Trying to manage the amount of tourism and trying to manage the waste that is generated. That’s a challenge we’re facing.”Their observation highlights an important difference. Tourism itself is not the enemy. In fact, mountain economies in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh depend heavily on visitors for livelihood.The question is whether these tourist destinations have the systems and infrastructure to handle the increasing tourist numbers. If a destination sees heavy footfall of tourists but lacks adequate waste management or awareness, the consequences become visible over time. Plastic bottles, snack wrappers, disposable packaging and single-use products are increasingly becoming part of mountain landscapes that were once pristine natural beauty. However, unlike cities, mountains do not have the same capacity to absorb and process waste. “In cities you have active municipal bodies and they should be active in cleaning all this. But in some of the deep interiors of the mountains it is very difficult to remove garbage.” We can say that the problem is less of geography and more of behavior. Remote villages, high altitude routes and rough terrain make waste collection expensive and logistically difficult. A bottle discarded in a city may eventually enter the collection system. A bottle thrown into a remote valley may remain there for years.

Trekking trails that require attention

While overcrowded hill stations often make headlines, trekking trails, remote campsites and interior mountain passes are fast becoming repositories of discarded waste.“Without this ethos it only takes 10 tourists to go there and permanently damage that place because it only takes 20 pieces of trash to change that ecosystem forever because there is no one to take it back,” Ishaan says. Concerns extend even further as many trekking routes pass through wildlife habitats and ecologically sensitive areas, impacting local communities and animals depending on that ecosystem.

What will happen if nothing changes?

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The future that environmentalists envision is not necessarily one of dramatic collapse, but of gradual decline.Referring to Delhi’s mountain of garbage, the environmentalist says, “If we don’t pick it up, it will become such an eyesore that we will end up as a landfill.” If waste production continues to increase without suitable disposal systems, even the most beautiful landscapes will be affected. “I visited Shimla for the first time exactly 10 years ago. By now we have read enough news articles about how the hills have become hotter now. Half in despair and half in hope, I went to Shimla only to realize that the joy of reaching cool, breezy Shimla was snatched away from me. A three-hour long traffic jam ruined the hill-station for me. After that disappointment I never wanted to go to Shimla again.” says Precious Rongmei, an avid traveler and bird lover. The irony in the story of mountain tourism is that people go to mountains to enjoy the clean air, peaceful environment and beautiful landscapes, but their growing footprint can gradually harm the places they come to visit. Therefore, tourism will become a victim of its own success. But apart from this, there are some people who are conscious tourists and there are also organizations who are trying to help. That balance is important. Across India, local communities, volunteers, environmental groups and responsible travelers are already working to reduce the impact of tourism. The challenge is in scaling up those efforts.

What can be done to improve the situation?

Part of the solution lies in changing the behavior of travelers even before they reach the mountains. “I would like travel agencies to encourage tourists to be more aware,” says Ishan.Travel operators, trekking companies and even airlines serving mountain destinations can play an important role in promoting responsible tourism. Simple actions like encouraging travelers to carry reusable water bottles, reducing disposable packaging and recycling their waste can collectively make a significant difference.Another idea is to create incentives for responsible behavior. “If you can pool trash in a certain area there will be some incentive. I think that’s an interesting thing to think about.”Interestingly, this idea is already being tested in Himachal Pradesh. The state government has launched the Himachal Pradesh Deposit Refund Scheme 2025, under which consumers will have to pay a refundable deposit on selected non-biodegradable packaging. The deposit is refunded when empty packets are returned to the collection systems. The scheme is based on the idea of ​​”the polluter will pay” to improve waste recycling. Although these measures may not solve the problem immediately, they take an important step towards change through prevention.

Collective action is a means of power

While governments, local authorities and travel operators all have a role to play, small behavioral changes and a sense of responsibility are also essential. A small action by thousands of people can have a cumulative impact on the environment. Simple changes in behavior can go a long way. Carrying reusable water bottles, avoiding excessive plastic packaging, disposing of waste responsibly and ensuring that waste is brought back from tracking routes are small steps that can collectively reduce the pressure on the fragile ecosystem.“We need to start to reverse the situation,” says Ishan. The aim is not to discourage people from exploring the mountains, but to encourage them to do so more responsibly. The future of India’s mountains will depend on a collective effort, on officials who create better systems, businesses who promote responsible travel and tourists who recognize that every bottle, wrapper and piece of trash has an impact. Because in fragile mountain ecosystems, the true measure of responsible tourism is not the photos people take home, but what they leave behind