Garsha Eco Pad Yatra Begins in Lahaul, Bringing Climate Action and Buddhist Heritage Together.
Shimla:
The Garsha Eco Pad Yatra, a unique seven-day spiritual and environmental initiative aimed at bringing climate action and Himalayan Buddhist heritage together, began from Darcha in Lahaul and Spiti on Sunday.
Organised by YDA Garsha, the Pad Yatra has brought together more than 1,000 participants from Bhutan, India, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore and Vietnam. The participants are undertaking the journey on foot through the spectacular landscapes of Garsha, covering approximately 15 to 18 kilometres each day.
The pilgrimage is being led by H.E. Gyalwa Dokhampa Rinpoche, along with H.E. Drupon Khamtak Rinpoche and H.E. Somang Rinpoche. The initiative combines the traditional Buddhist practice of walking pilgrimage with a wider message of environmental responsibility, peace, compassion, community participation and preservation of cultural heritage.
The Pad Yatra was formally inaugurated at Darcha Monastery. Lahaul and Spiti MLA, Tribal Congress state president and senior spokesperson of the Himachal Pradesh Congress, Anuradha Rana, flagged off the journey and extended her best wishes to the participants and the YDA Garsha organising committee.
On the occasion, Rana announced financial assistance of Rs. 1 lakh from her discretionary fund for the YDA travel committee to support the organisation of the Pad Yatra.
According to the organisers, the journey is not being viewed merely as a religious pilgrimage. Instead, it seeks to use walking as a means of creating awareness about the environmental and cultural challenges confronting the Garsha valley.
Garsha is known for its deep Buddhist traditions and is regarded as an important pilgrimage landscape in the Himalayan region. The valley has a history of more than 2,000 years of Buddhist heritage, but rapid social and economic changes have raised concerns about the continuity of traditional culture and the growing disconnect of younger generations from their cultural and spiritual roots.
At the same time, the region’s communities live in a fragile high-altitude environment surrounded by glaciers, rivers, mountains and steep slopes. The organisers have highlighted climate change as one of the major challenges facing the valley, with changing environmental conditions and glacier-related concerns increasingly affecting Himalayan communities.
The Garsha Eco Pad Yatra seeks to bring these two concerns—environmental protection and heritage conservation—together. Through the journey, participants are expected to engage in activities aimed at promoting environmental awareness and community participation.
As part of the initiative, participants will plant 108 trees, collect waste along the route and spread awareness about environmental conservation and the need for greater climate action. The organisers say these activities are intended to demonstrate that protecting sacred landscapes also requires practical efforts to safeguard the natural environment.
The Pad Yatra is also designed as an intergenerational initiative, bringing together local residents, young people, Buddhist monks and international participants. Through their participation, the organisers hope to encourage greater dialogue about Garsha’s past, present and future while strengthening connections between the community and its living heritage.
The week-long journey will culminate in the Garsha Drukpa Heritage Festival on September 28. The day-long festival will celebrate the culture, traditions and enduring Drukpa heritage of the valley and is intended to mark the beginning of a community-led effort to preserve and pass on the region’s living heritage to future generations.
With the theme “#WalkingForClimateAndHeritage,” the Garsha Eco Pad Yatra presents walking not simply as a physical journey, but as a form of reflection and collective action—linking Buddhist values of compassion and non-violence with environmental stewardship and the preservation of Himalayan culture.
