Nain Singh, also known as Nain Singh Rawat, was one of the first Indian explorers employed by the British to explore the Himalayas and Central Asia. He came from the Johar Valley in Kumaon. He surveyed the trade route through Ladakh to Tibet, determined the location and altitude of Lhasa in Tibet, and surveyed a large section of Brahmaputra. He walked "1,580 miles, or 3,160,000 paces, each counted."
Rai Bahadur Kishen Singh or Krishna was a native Indian explorer, termed a pundit by the British, who was employed by the Survey of India.
Pithoragarh district is the easternmost district in the state of Uttarakhand. It is located in the Himalayas and has an area of 7,110 km2 (2,750 sq mi) and a population of 483,439. The city of Pithoragarh, located in Saur Valley, is its headquarters. The district is within the Kumaon division of Uttarakhand state. The Tibet plateau is situated to the north and Nepal is to the east. The Kali River which originates from the Kalagiri Mountain flows south, forming the eastern border with Nepal. The Hindu pilgrimage route for Mount Kailash-Lake Manasarovar passes through this district via Lipulekh Pass in the greater Himalayas. The district is administratively divided into six Tehsils: Munsyari; Dharchula; Didihat; Berinag; Gangolihat; and Pithoragarh. Naini Saini Airport is the nearest civil airport, but it does not have a regular scheduled commercial passenger service. The mineral deposits present in the district are magnesium ore, copper ore, limestone, and slate. There are 11 tehsils.
Milam Glacier is a major glacier of the Kumaon Himalaya.
Munsyari is the name of the sub-division headquarters, a conglomeration of revenue villages and it also refers to the entire region as Munsiyari Tehsil and Sub Division in the Pithoragarh District in the hill-state of Uttarakhand, India.
Pindari Kanda Traill's Pass is a mountain pass through the Himalayas located between Nanda Devi and Nanda Kot peaks in the Uttarakhand state in the districts of Pithoragarh and Bageshwar in India.
Kalabaland Glacier of Himalaya is situated in the eastern Kumaun of the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand state of India.
Chiring We is the Himalayan peak situated in eastern Kumaun of the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand state in India. The altitude of the peak is 6,559 m. Chiring We is the highest peak above the Kalabaland Glacier. Chiring We massif, which include peaks like Bamba Dhura (6,334 m), Suli Top (6,300 m), Trigal (5,983 m), Suitilla (6,373 m), separates Lassar Yankti valley from Kalabaland valley. The peak literally means 'Mountain of long life'. The route is through glaciers of Kalabaland, Sankalpa and Yankchar, icefall, crevasses, ice-pinnacles, ice walls and sharp ridges. First ascent to this peak was made in 1979 by an Indian team led by Harish Kapadia via northeast ridge.
Darma valley is a Himalayan valley situated in the Pithoragarh District of Uttarakhand state of India. This valley is located in the eastern part of Uttarakhand at Kumaon division.
Kuti Valley is a Himalayan valley, an area administered by India and also claimed by Nepal, is situated in the Pithoragarh district of Uttrakhand state of India. It is the last valley before the border with Tibet. It runs along the Limpiyadhura Pass & Adi Kailash in northwest to Gunji in southeast axis, formed by the river Kuti Yankti, which is one of the headwaters of the Kali River. It is reached by the Pithoragagh-Lipulekh Pass Highway (PLPH).
Nanda Pal is the Himalayan mountain peak situated in the eastern part of Uttarakhand state in Pithoragarh district, India. The altitude of the summit is 6,306 m. Nanda Pal is situated on the eastern flank of Milam Glacier on north south massif. Other nearby peaks on the ridge are Ikualari (6,059 m), Nanda Gond (6,315 m), Nital Thaur (6,059 m). Unta Dhura pass lies north to this peak. The peak was climbed in 1974.
Bamba Dhura is a Himalayan mountain peak situated in the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand, India. With a summit altitude of 6,334 metres (20,781 ft), Bamba Dhura is situated on the north west ridge over the end of the Kalabaland Glacier in the eastern part of the district, left of the Milam Glacier. Kalabaland Dhura (6,105 m) is situated to the west of this peak and Chiring We (6,559 m) is on the same massif. Bamba Dhura massif is the part of divide between Kalabaland and Lassar valley. This peak was first climbed to the summit in 1977 from south by col between Bamba Dhura and Chiring We. The peak has since been climbed through the southeastern and western ridges between the two peaks.
Burphu Dhura is a Himalayan mountain peak situated in the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand, India. The altitude of the summit is 6,334 m. It is situated at the end ridge over the Kalabaland Glacier in the eastern part of the district, left to the Milam Glacier. Kalabaland Dhura (6,105 m) is situated to the west of this peak on the same massif. Burphu Dhura massif is the part of divide between Kalabaland and Goriganga valleys. This peak was first of all climbed to summit in 2000 from south on 27 September 2000 by Loveraj Dharmashaktu, Balwant Singh Kapkoti and Ramesh by an Indian team led by Wing Cdr S S Puri. The peak has two approaches—one from the Kalabaland glacier above the icefall and another from Burphu village in the Milam valley.
Gori Ganga is a river in the Munsiari tehsil of the Pithoragarh District, part of the state of Uttarakhand in northern India. Its principal source is the Milam Glacier, just northeast of Nanda Devi along with the Glaciers of the Ralam River, and the Pyunshani and Uttari & Dakshini Balati Glaciers that lie on the western face of the Panchachuli Peaks.
Shekhar Pathak is a historian, editor, publisher, activist, and traveller from Uttarakhand, India. He is known for his extensive knowledge of the history of colonial and postcolonial social movements and contemporary environmental and social issues in Uttarakhand, and colonial exploration in the Himalayas and Tibet. He has also been engaged in activism for various social and environmental causes since the 1970s.
Johar Valley is a valley located in Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand, India, along the Gori Ganga river. The valley used to be a major trade route with Tibet. The best known villages in the valley are Martoli and Milam.
Bhotiyas are people of presumed Tibetan heritage that live along the Indo-Tibetan border in the upper reaches of the Great Himalayas, at elevations ranging from 6,500 feet (2,000 m) to 13,000 feet (4,000 m). In Uttarakhand, they inhabit seven river valleys, three in the Garhwal division and four in the Kumaon division. They follow Hinduism with Buddhism and traditionally speak West Himalayish languages related to the old Zhangzhung language. Their main traditional occupation used to be Indo-Tibetan trade, with limited amounts of agriculture and pastoralism. The Indo-Tibetan trade came to a halt following the 1962 Sino-Indian war, and was resumed only in the early 1990s under state-regulated mechanisms. Their major livelihood at present is the collection of medicinal and aromatic plants in the Himalayas. Many have also migrated out of their traditional habitats to towns at lower elevations. The traditional transhumance and pastoralism have also drastically reduced.
Gunji is a small village in Uttarakhand of India. The village is on the traditional Indian route to Kailas–Manasarovar. Gunji is near the borders of Tibet and India and at the east end of the Kuthi Valley, the confluence of the Kuthi Yankti and Kalapani River.
The Sarju, also known as Sarayu, is a major river draining Central Kumaon region in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Originating from Sarmul, Sarju flows through the cities of Kapkot, Bageshwar and Seraghat before joining Mahakali at Pancheshwar. The Sarju is the largest tributary of the Sharda River. The river forms the South-eastern border between the districts of Pithoragarh and Almora. Temperate and sub-Tropical forests cover the entire Catchment area of the River.
Barahoti, also called Wu-Je or Wure, located in the 'middle sector' of the disputed Sino-Indian border, is a 1.5 square miles (3.9 km2) sloping plain situated in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, Chamoli district. It is disputed by China, which also disputes a 750 square kilometres (290 sq mi) area surrounding it. The entire disputed area also goes by the name "Barahoti", or sometimes "Barahoti–Sangchamalla–Lapthal disputed area". The entire area is on the Ganges side of the Sutlej–Ganges water divide, which is also the current Line of Actual Control between India and China.
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