About Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand is the 27th state of the Republic of India. (total states being 28) It was formed on 9th Nov 2000 and was carved out of Uttar Pradesh after a long struggle of the Uttarakhandi people. Uttarakhand lies in the Northern part of India amidst the magnificent Himalayas and dense forests. The state is bordering Himachal Pradesh in the north-west and Uttar Pradesh in the South and has international borders with Nepal and China.

The State today with 13 Districts can be grouped into three distinct geographical regions, the High mountain region, the Mid-mountain region and the Terai region. Dehradun is the interim-capital city. Uttarakhand consists of 13 districts:

Almora, Pauri Garhwal, Tehri Garhwal, Bageshwar, Chamoli, Haridwar, Champawat, Nainital, Dehradun, Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarkashi, Pithoragarh, Rudraprayag.
State Capital of Uttarakhand
The city of Dehradun, has been declared as the interim capital of the new state. Though the debate on making Gairsain as the new capital is still on.

Dehradun is situated at the Himalayan foothills in the fertile Doon Valley. The valley is well known for its salubrious climate and natural beauty. It is due to this reason, Dehradun has been one of the favorite residential cities. It is also an important educational centres of the country. Some of the best public schools and convents are housed here.The Indian Military Academy, The Froest Research Institute, the Oil and Natural Gas comission and many more offices of Central and State Govt. are also situated here. Dehradun is one of the most important town in the new state and is well linked with rail, road and air routes to all the parts of the country.


General Information about Uttarakhand
The population of the state is around 7 million. The land area is about 55,845 sq km. The region is mostly hilly (approx 88 percent) and the remaining 12 percent falls in the plains.The state is very rich in natural resources especially water and forests as it has many glaciers, rivers, forests, mountain peaks. The famous peaks of Uttarakhand are Nanda Devi, Kedarnath, Trishul, Bandarpunch and Mt Kamet. The major Glaciers include Gangotri, Pindari, Milam and Khatling. The Ganga, The Yamuna, Ramganga and Sharda are principal rivers of this region.

Uttarakhand is situated in the northwest portion of Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state. Uttarakhand borders Tibet, Nepal, Himachal Pradesh, and the UP plains districts. Dehradun, the Uttarakhand 's largest city is about 255 km away from India's capital, New Delhi, yet upon reaching the hills, the terrain and climate dramatically changes. Though patches of the dusty desert of the plains are encroaching on Uttarakhand, the region is still heavily forested and extremely hilly. The glaciers in the high hills of Uttarakhand are the source of the Yamuna and Ganges. India's highest peaks are in Uttarakhand and so are some of Hinduism's most sacred shrines. The Indian Himalayas are said to be the abode of the gods. Indeed, Shiva, his wife Parvati and her various manifestations, and Vishnu all reside in this breathtaking Himalayan region called Uttarakhand.

Physiology of Uttarakhand
Garhwal and Kumaon, the two main cultural and political divisions of Uttarakhand, can be divided into three physiological zones that span the full breadth of the Uttar Pradesh hills:

Northern Zone in Uttarakhand :
Making up much of Uttar Kashi, Chamoli, and Pithoragarh districts, this range of Uttarakhand begins at 3000 metres and proceeds steeply at places to as high as 7600 metres.

Mid Zone in Uttarakhand :
Proceeding from southern Uttar Kashi through Tehri, Chamoli, Almora, and Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand, here the slope rises to heights of 2000 to 3000 metres.

Southern Zone in Uttarakhand:
Merging with the adjoining Terai, this area in Uttarakhand includes Dehradun, southern Garhwal (Pauri), and Nainital at around 600 to 2000 metres above sea level.

Highest Peaks of Uttarakhand
Nanda Devi (7,816 m)
Chaukhamba (7,138 m)
Satopanth (7,075 m)
Trisul (7,045 m)
Kedarnath (6,940 m)
Kamet (6,883 m)
Neelkanth (6,596 m)

River in Uttarakhand
Yamuna - Tons
Bhagirathi - Bhilangana
Alaknanda - Mandakini / Pindar / Nandakini / Saraswati / Dhauliganga
Ramganga Kosi
MahaKali - Sarju / Gori / Dauli


Turiest Places in Uttarakhand
Mussoorie
Nainital
Ranikhet
Auli
Gaumukh
Valley of the Flowers
Roop Kund (Mystery Lake)
Dodital (Beautiful High Altitude Lake)
Harki Doon
Pindari Glacier (foot of Nanda Devi group of mountains), various Bugyals (lush mountain meadows)
Pilgrimage Spots in Uttarakhand
Badrinath (Vishnu)
Kedarnath (Shiva)
Panch Prayag
Gangotri
Yamunotri
Hemkund (Sikh)
Sirkanda Devi Temple
Haridwar

Economy of Uttarakhand
The state of Uttarakhand has tremendous potential of developing tourism industry due to the beautiful landscape, religious places, trekking trails, national parks, mountain peaks and historical and archeological sites. Apart from tourism, the rural population is engaged in agriculture. Doon Valley, Nainital district, Udham Singh Nagar and Haridwar districts produce large quantities of food grains. The state has immense potential for the development of horticulture crops-apple, orange, malta,pear, grapes peach, plum appricot, litchi,mango, guava etc are widely produced fruits. The region also holds good promises for developing herbal pharmaceutical industry owing to abundant medicinal plants.