The paradigm shift from conventional mass tourism towards the nature based tourism has provoked world countries to concentrate more on developing sustainable tourism practices especially in nature bound areas. India as part of accomplishing sustainable tourism has developed many strategies and framework which is highly recognized and executed by all states. Uttarakhand being a mountainous state and recognized for its rich untapped natural resources provides right space for developing community based tourism (CBT) as a tool for attaining sustainability in practicing tourism. The present paper attempts to find out the impact of tourism on socio-economic development of community members and review the opportunities and challenges for developing CBT in village Sari in the vicinity of Kedarnath Musk Deer Sanctuary. It is found that there is a positive local community development by having tourism as an important tool. The information was collected through structured questionnaire and direct interaction with the local community members.

Keywords : Community based tourism, Sustainability, Kedarnath sanctuary, Village Sari, Deoriatal.