Auli could well end up becoming the crowning glory of Uttaranchal. There was a time when tourism in Uttaranchal meant summers. But in recent times the development of Auli as a tourism destination has opened up a brand new chapter in the field of winter tourism in Garhwal. The Auli Bugyal near Joshimath has been developed as a major winter destination for skiing. Already four National Level Skiing Championships have been held at Auli in the past few years

primarily to promote winter skiing in the state. This year the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam Ltd and Uttaranchal Tourism, under the aegis of the Indian Olympic Association and the Winter Games Federation of India, have geared up to give the desired fillip to winter games in India.

Auli is playing host to the National Winter Games to be held from February 27 to March 2 this year. Technical support will be provided by the Mountaineering & Skiing Institute, ITBP, and Auli. The experience of the Winter Games will equip all the concerned departments to meet the challenges ahead and if all goes well then Auli could surely be on its way to make a bid for the 2008 Asian Winter Games. The natural advantages of Auli slopes, coupled with the state-of-the-art facilities provided by GMVN have made it comparable to the best in the world vis-à-vis winter sports.

Winter Sports have great potential to attract international tourists to the Himalayas in the lean winter months. There has been substantial thinking going on in this direction. All agree that if the tourism industry has to become the bulwark of development in Uttaranchal then it has to be freed from seasonal fluctuation. And with the formation of the new state its preparation time to propel winter tourism in a big way. Till recently the real drawbacks with respect to winter tourism were inadequate promotion and marketing of the numerous winter tourist destinations. With the publicity blitzkrieg launched by the state tourism machinery this drawback has been adequately tackled.

But a destination such as Auli has its limitations as it can attract only the adventurous and cater to just a few. Plans must, therefore, be initiated to develop other destinations for winter sports. The Dayara Bugyal in Uttarkashi and the Darwa Top in Chakrata have been rightly earmarked as destinations of great potential; and Auli slopes are being further extended to Gorson.