Recently, Indiahikes carried out two large-scale Green Sweeps in Osla and Gangad — villages nestled deep within the Har Ki Dun Valley. These are among the remotest settlements we encounter across all our treks.

The idea came from Manoj, our Slope Manager at Indiahikes’ Kotgaon Basecamp, along with Rajesh Ji and Umesh Ji, our Trek Coordinators. The thought was simple, but urgent:
Before the Har ki Dun season wraps up, let’s leave the mountains better than how we found them.

From there, the shift was immediate — from intention to action.

Osla Green Sweep | 4th & 5th December 2025

The Green Sweep at Osla was carried out over two days. To make this happen, a few of our team members even travelled all the way from Kotgaon to Osla, simply to be part of the effort.

A day before the drive, Trek Leader Sandeep and our guide Kanhaiya Ji visited the local school in Osla and invited the students to join us.

Over 45 students turned up. Curious. Energetic. Ready to help.

Along with cleaning the village, there was another intention at play — awareness. If done right, these children could become the change the village needs in the years to come.

The next morning, a large group came together: 12 trekkers, around 12 Indiahikes team members, and more than 45 school students.

What followed wasn’t symbolic participation. It was a full-fledged, hands-on village clean-up.

On the very first day, we collected 85.73 kgs of waste. All 85 kilos were then laid out on a ground sheet. That moment became the starting point for an honest conversation with the children about waste segregation, and about how waste could actually be managed within their own village.

Sandeep led this discussion. He spoke about Indiahikes’ sustainability practices, and the small lifestyle changes the children could begin with.

At one point, we asked them, “Toh ab yeh saara waste ka hum kya karein?”

Their immediate answer was: “Jalaa denge.”

And honestly, that’s all they’ve ever seen. That’s all they’ve known growing up.

We then introduced them to simple methods of segregation — hoping that, at the very least, they would go back and start separating dry and wet waste at home. We also spoke about reducing waste at the source itself.

For them, this was entirely new. No one had ever spoken to them about waste like this before.

We truly hope these conversations travel back home with them — and turn into small, but meaningful steps.

Day Two at Osla: Taking the Effort Further

On day two, we carried the same energy forward. This time, the Green Sweep was carried out with 22 trekkers from the final Har ki Dun team of the season, along with the Indiahikes base team and our mule-men team.

We went into every corner of the village that we possibly could.

Most of the waste we found was soft plastic — and there was a lot of it. On day two alone, we collected 74.8 kgs.

Green Sweep in Gangad | 23rd & 24th November

A similar Green Sweep was carried out in Gangad on 23rd and 24th November. This effort involved Indiahikes staff, trekkers, trek coordinators, guides, and the children of trek coordinators.

Here, we collected around 90 kgs of waste.

The Larger Picture

With the Green Sweeps in Gangad and Osla, we have collectively removed 250 kgs of waste from the Har ki Dun valley.

As proud as we feel to carry this legacy forward, it is also sobering to realise that changing mindsets is not easy. The change doesn’t come in a day. It comes from countless small efforts, repeated every time we step into the mountains.

Still, our responsibility remains the same — to keep showing up.

All the trekkers who participated deeply appreciated the effort. They knew it wasn’t easy. But we did it anyway. And we can’t thank them enough for their participation.

They saw that we don’t shy away from getting our hands dirty. And they could clearly connect this action with the sustainability and Green Trails practices their Trek Leaders speak about on the trail.

A Pause Worth Taking

I want to pause here and make a point.

What happened here was not just another clean-up. It went deeper.

The Green Sweep isn’t an activity we add to our itinerary. It is a reflection of who we are on the mountain — mindful, responsible, and deeply connected to the land we walk on.

We often say, “We leave the mountains better than we found them.” This is what that promise looks like — when it moves beyond words and into action, bag by bag, conversation by conversation, village by village.

And as long as we walk these trails, this is a responsibility we will continue to carry.

Information Source: Manoj Ammoga and Faizan Devdiwala