Darma valley is a

Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

n valley situated in the

Pithoragarh District Pithoragarh district is the easternmost district in the state of Uttarakhand. It is located in the Himalayas and has an area of and a population of 483,439 (as of 2011). The city of Pithoragarh, located in Saur Valley, is its headquarters. T ...

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

state of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. This valley is located in the eastern part of Uttarakhand at

Kumaon division Kumaon (; Kumaoni: ''Kumāū''; ; historically romanized as KemāonJames Prinsep (Editor)John McClelland ) is a revenue and administrative division in the Indian State of Uttarakhand. It spans over the eastern half of the state and is bounded ...

. The Darma valley is formed by the Darma River (also called ''Darma Yankti'' and ''Darma Ganga''). It is situated between two other valleys—

Kuthi Yankti Kuti Valley is a Himalayan valley situated in the Pithoragarh District, Kumaon division of the Uttarakhand state of India. Located in the eastern part of Uttarakhand, it is the last valley before the border with Tibet. It runs along a NW to SE a ...

valley to the east and Lassar Yankti valley in the west. The Darma valley links with the Lassar valley by Gangachal Dhura and connects with Kuthi valley by Sinla pass and Nama pass.

Darma River

The Darma River starts near Dawe village on the

Sino-Indian border The Line of Actual Control (LAC), in the context of the Sino-Indian border dispute, is a notional demarcation lineAnanth KrishnanLine of Actual Control , India-China: the line of actual contest, 13 June 2020: "In contrast, the alignment of ...

and flows southwards. At Tidang it joins the Lassar Yankti and is called Dhauliganga until it joins the river

Kali Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hinduism, Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In t ...

at Tawaghat. Darma valley has rich

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

including

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

s. A rivulet called Nyuli Yangti that drains Panchachuli east glaciers flows into Dhauli Ganga at Dugtu-Dantu villages. Mandab river joins Dhauli at Sela.

Habitation

The Darma valley is inhabited by some 12 villages with population less than 1000. The villagers have been

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...

rearers and traders, cultivating land in the valley with common

buckwheat Buckwheat (''Fagopyrum esculentum''), or common buckwheat, is a flowering plant in the knotweed family Polygonaceae cultivated for its grain-like seeds and as a cover crop. The name "buckwheat" is used for several other species, such as '' Fago ...

(''Fagopyrum esculentum'') and

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...

es. After the migration of the 1970s, cultivated land has decreased to 25% of former size, allowing biodiversity to return to Darma Valley.

Major peaks

Panchchuli The Panchachuli (पंचाचुली) peaks are a group of five snow-capped Himalayan peaks lying at the end of the eastern Kumaon region, near the Dugtu village in Darma valley. The peaks have altitudes ranging from to . They form th ...

massif, from *

Om Parvat Om Parvat is a mountain located in Pithoragarh district, Uttarakhand, India. Om Parvat peak elevation is above sea level. Sacred Status It is considered sacred by Hindus and its snow deposition pattern resembles the sacred ' Om' (ॐ). Near Om ...

, * Yungtangto,

Mountaineering and trekking

Trekking in the Darma valley region was formerly restricted, now a days trekking without

inner line permit Inner Line Permit (ILP) is an official travel document issued by the concerned state government to allow inward travel of an Indian citizen into a protected area for a limited period. It is obligatory for Indian citizens from outside those state ...

s is allowed to

Meola Glacier Meola Glacier or Athasi-Balati Glacier is the Himalayan glacier situated in the eastern part of Uttarakhand in the Pithoragarh district of India. Geography Meola Glacier is located at the base of the five peaks of Panchchuli in the Lassar Ya ...

. Additional permits may be required for other areas.

is still sensitive area.

References

External links