Kedarnath to turn into a dark tourism destination in the coming days

Kedarnath known for being one of the most sacred Char Dhams, will soon be known for dark tourism destination too. The state government is aiming to promote this revered spot on the lines of 9/11 memorial and Ground Zero in New York, and other similar sites in France, Italy, Czech Republic, and Ukraine.

To promote this site as ‘dark tourism’, tourists will be travelling to places that were particularly affected during the 2013 Himalayan disaster. Recently, State Tourism and Culture Minister Satpal Maharaj announced this development and also mentioned that a ‘Smriti Van’ (memorial forest) will also be developed, which will have details of all those who lost lives during 2013 disaster. Referring to this development, the tourism minister further said that this memorial will be important for the state and people visiting Kedarnath as it will explain to people everything related to the tragedy that took place in 2013. The minister also stated that the state government will also be signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Mauritius Government to promote tourism between the two regions. The decision was made after Jagdish Govardhan, High Commissioner of Mauritius to India, along with Uttarakhand Satpal Maharaj visited the Char Dham earlier this month.

The minister also added that the state government will offer a discount of 50 per cent to Mauritian tourists during the off-season and that they also get a discount of 30 per cent during the peak season. Likewise, people visiting Mauritius from the state will be given special discounts.
The state government is also planning to start direct flights from places like London and New York, to make Char Dham Yatra more accessible to foreign tourists.