High-altitude bridge on former Indo-Tibet trade route to be turned into Skywalk

The 105-metre long wooden bridge, popularly known as Gartang Gali, is located on a mountain connecting the Uttarkashi district with Tibet. The bridge was frequented by locals and traders before the Sino-India War of 1962. The local villagers had to be relocated elsewhere after the war due to security concerns and none was allowed to the enter the Nelong valley.

Now, the Union Government has allowed movement of tourists to Nelong valley.

The Gartang Gali is located at an altitude of 11,000 feet above the sea level and falls under the Gangotri National Park in Uttarkashi.

Uttarakhand Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj recently announced that Gartang Gali wooden bridge would be converted into a major tourist attraction, expressing hope that a large number of tourists would visit it in coming years. On directions of the tourism minister, the Uttarkashi district administration has asked the wildlife board to grant permission to repair the bridge.

The pedestrian bridge was built by Pathan labourers 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 labourers 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 Jhanvi river flowing about 400 meters below.

Sarvan Kumar, Deputy Director at the Gangotri National Park, said that efforts were on to get the approval of the forest department for repairs and start the limited tourists activity from September 27 on the World Tourism Day.

The bridge was also used by Heinrich Harrer, an Austrian mountaineer who was a Second World War in Dehradun en route his escape to Tibet in 1944. He also wrote a book, Seven Years in Tibet.