Go beyond the conference hall and witness landslide research in action. We are excited to offer delegates the unique opportunity to extend their WLF-7 experience with specialized post-forum field visits. These excursions are designed to provide practical insights into landslide mitigation and monitoring in some of India’s most critical geological regions.
Once registrations officially open, participants will be able to select from one of our three curated field visit options.
Please note that these field visit activities are scheduled to take place from November 28th to December 2nd post the event.
This field excursion takes participants through the Kerala and Western Ghats region, visiting key landslide disaster sites, active early warning systems, and a world-class landslide research laboratory. The route combines scientific inquiry with firsthand exposure to one of India’s most landslide-vulnerable landscapes.
The Amrita Landslide Laboratory, established by Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, is a dedicated research and testing facility for studying landslide behaviour, slope stability, and early warning technologies. The facility enables the creation of artificial landslides under fully controlled conditions — with adjustable parameters including slope angle, particle size distribution, rainfall intensity, rainfall duration, and soil moisture content.
The laboratory also serves as a platform for testing wireless sensor networks, signal processing systems, geotechnical instruments, and monitoring devices used in landslide-prone areas. Researchers and students use the facility to simulate real-world landslide conditions, evaluate sensor performance, and develop innovative disaster mitigation solutions. The laboratory has made significant contributions to landslide science, disaster management, and sustainable development across the Western Ghats.
The Munnar Landslide Early Warning System is an advanced real-time monitoring network developed by Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham to detect slope instability in vulnerable hillside terrain. The system integrates wireless sensor networks, rainfall sensors, soil moisture sensors, tilt meters, and machine-learning-based analytics to identify potential landslide activity before failure occurs.
Deployed in the landslide-prone areas of Munnar in Idukki district, the system continuously collects environmental data and issues alerts to local authorities and communities. It represents one of India’s pioneering efforts in IoT-based disaster risk reduction, aiming to reduce casualties and minimise infrastructure damage during extreme rainfall events.
The Chooralmala–Mundakkai landslide in Wayanad was one of the most catastrophic landslide disasters in Kerala’s recorded history. On 30 July 2024, following sustained and intense monsoon rainfall in the Western Ghats, massive debris flows and flash floods devastated Chooralmala and several surrounding villages — destroying homes, roads, bridges, and community infrastructure, and resulting in heavy loss of life and large-scale displacement.
The disaster highlighted the extreme vulnerability of ecologically sensitive hill regions to the combined effects of extreme rainfall, deforestation, slope instability, and unplanned development. It also reinforced the critical need for scientific hazard mapping, community-level disaster preparedness, and effective early warning systems in landslide-prone areas.
This excursion explores the tectonically active and rainfall-intensive North-Eastern Himalayan region, focusing on recurring landslide corridors and urban slope monitoring.
Kalimpong has experienced several major landslide events over recent decades, with many failures concentrated along National Highway 10 (NH-10) and other steep slope corridors. One of the most significant was the large Setijhora landslide in 2019, which blocked this strategic highway and severely disrupted traffic along the Sevoke–Sikkim–Kalimpong stretch.
In late 2025, extreme rainfall triggered multiple large-scale landslides along NH-10 and its alternative route, NH-717A — particularly near the Reshi border — cutting off vital road links to Sikkim, causing casualties, and resulting in prolonged road closures. An earlier cluster of significant landslides occurred in 2015 around the Relli River belt, where torrential rains caused a dense concentration of slope failures. These recurring events highlight the fragility of Kalimpong’s slopes and the persistent hazard posed to key transport corridors during the monsoon season.
The Chandmari Landslide Early Warning System in Gangtok represents a significant initiative in urban landslide risk reduction within the Eastern Himalaya. The site is characterised by recurring slope instability driven by intense rainfall, fragile geology, and anthropogenic disturbances associated with rapid urban expansion.
Developed and deployed by Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, the monitoring system integrates geotechnical instrumentation, geophysical investigations, rainfall threshold analysis, and real-time sensor networks to track slope movement and subsurface changes. The project demonstrates the practical application of advanced early warning technologies for improving disaster preparedness and community safety in vulnerable Himalayan settlements, and serves as a valuable case study linking geomorphology, hydrology, and landslide dynamics.
This excursion through Uttarakhand — one of India’s most disaster-prone hill states — visits landmark landslide-mitigation projects, critical hydropower infrastructure, and recent catastrophic-disaster sites in the Garhwal Himalaya.
The Varunavat landslide mitigation project is located at Varunavat hill in Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand. In September 2003, following heavy monsoon rains, a large landslide struck the area, causing extensive damage to residential properties, road infrastructure, and public facilities, and posing a serious risk to local communities.
In response, the Government of Uttarakhand and relevant geological authorities undertook a comprehensive set of mitigation measures, including slope stabilisation, retaining wall construction, rock bolting, wire mesh installation, surface drainage improvement, and afforestation to control soil erosion. Scientific slope movement monitoring and early warning systems were also established as part of the disaster risk reduction strategy. The Varunavat Landslide Mitigation Project is widely cited as an important example of disaster risk reduction in the Indian Himalayas, having helped restore slope stability and protect the town of Uttarkashi.
The Dharali Disaster refers to a major natural calamity that struck the village of Dharali in Uttarkashi district, Uttarakhand, on 5 August 2025. The event was triggered by extreme rainfall leading to flash floods and multiple landslides that devastated the fragile Himalayan terrain. Rivers burst their banks and slope failures destroyed roads, buildings, bridges, and agricultural land, causing severe hardship to local residents.
The incident underscored the heightened vulnerability of Himalayan communities to the compounding effects of climate change, deforestation, and unregulated development — particularly under conditions of extreme weather. Government agencies, emergency response teams, and local volunteers undertook rescue and relief operations. Post-disaster efforts have focused on slope stabilisation, drainage improvement, early warning system installation, and improved land-use planning. The Dharali disaster is now recognised as an important case study in mountain disaster preparedness and climate-resilient development.
Organising Secretariat
7th World Landslide Forum (WLF7)
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Faridabad Campus
Mata Amritanandamayi Marg, Sector 88
Faridabad, Haryana – 121002
Delhi NCR, India
