Milam (or Meelam) is the last village situated in
Johar valley of
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. Th ...
in the state of
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand (, ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. The state is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the n ...
, India. The river
Gori Ganga originates from
Milam Glacier, flows past the village and through the
Johar Valley inhabited by Shauka and Nitwal people, and meets with
Kali Ganga River at
Jauljibi.
"Munsiari-Bugdiar-Milam Road" (MBMR), being constructed by the
BRO as part of the
India–China Border Roads (ICBRs) with expected completion date of March 2026, provides access to Milam from the district sub-division headquarter
Munsiari.
[इंडो-चीन बॉर्डर रोड के पहले फेज की एक सड़क अब भी पूरी नहीं, जानिए पूरा मामला]
navbharattimes, 22 March 2025.
Historical trade with Tibet
Milam is on a route over high mountain passes (
Unta Dhura
Nanda Gond is the Himalayan mountain peak situated in the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand (, ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territori ...
, Jandi Dhura and Kingribingri Dhura) to Gyanima mandi in
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...
. The border is closed since the
Sino-Indian War
The Sino–Indian War, also known as the China–India War or the Indo–China War, was an armed conflict between China and India that took place from October to November 1962. It was a military escalation of the Sino–Indian border dispu ...
of 1962, and Milam is now a ghost village with very few inhabitants. Before the war, it used to be a trade center bustling with 500 families. As of now all trade with Tibet is stopped and the families have settled in
Munsiyari and other places in the lower ranges. In summer months very few people go there and cultivate medicinal plants, high altitude Buckwheat and Jambhu. Tibetan merchants visited this place and traded in Borax, precious stones,
Pashmina and salt. The inhabitants of Milam too travelled along with pack mules to Tibet. They took rice, cotton clothes, jaggery, sugar, etc. to sell in Tibetan markets. The famous pandit-explorers
Nain Singh and Kishan Singh who mapped Tibet territory belong to this village.
Trekking
The trek to Milam village starts from
Munsiyari a road head that can be reached from
Almora
Almora ( Kumaoni: ') is a municipal corporation and a cantonment town in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Almora district. Almora is located on a ridge at the southern edge of the Kumaon Hills of the ...
or
Pithoragarh
Pithoragarh ( Kumaoni: ''Pithor'garh'') is a Himalayan town with a Municipal corporation in Pithoragarh district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the largest hill town in Uttarakhand.
Etymology
"The district is named after its hea ...
. The trek passes through Lilam, Bogudiar, Rilkot, Martoli, Burfu and Bilju. Prominent peaks situated above the glacier are
Hardeol
Hardeol or 'Temple of God' is one of the major peaks of the Kumaon division, Kumaon Himalaya. It is the highest peak on the northern side of the ring of peaks guarding the Nanda Devi Sanctuary, and lies at the northeast corner of this ring. It ...
, Trisuli,
Nanda Ghoonti etc. Some of the camping places above the glacier are Nitwal dhar, Suraj kund etc.
Nandadevi East base camp can be reached through a side valley from Ghangar and Pacchu villages. The ideal trekking period is from May to October excluding
monsoon
A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...
months. However, as the inhabitants of the upper villages tend to move down the valley for the winter months trekkers may find that food and accommodation is not available especially after the festival of Diwali.
Prominent people
*
Kishen Singh Rawat (1850-1921), honorary titled as
Rai Bahadur
Rai Bahadur (in North India) and Rao Bahadur (in South India), R.B., was a title of honour bestowed during British rule in India to individuals for outstanding service or acts of public welfare to the Empire. From 1911, the title was accompani ...
by
British raj
The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent,
*
* lasting from 1858 to 1947.
*
* It is also called Crown rule ...
, was an Indian explorer and cartographer. He was first to map the
Ramgarh crater on a finer scale of (1 : 63,360).
[BALASUNDARAM, M., DUBE, A. Ramgarh, 1973, "Structure, India", ]Nature (journal)
''Nature'' is a British weekly scientific journal founded and based in London, England. As a multidisciplinary publication, ''Nature'' features Peer review, peer-reviewed research from a variety of academic disciplines, mainly in science and t ...
, 242, 40 doi:10.1038/242040a0.
*
Nain Singh Rawat, honorary titled as
C.I.E by British raj, was an Indian explorer, he was the cousin of the explorer Krishna Singh Rawat. He would later say that Thok Jalung was the coldest place he had ever visited.
[Hopkirk, p. 39.]
See also
*
Kalapani, Uttarakhand
References
{{Pithoragarh district
Villages in Pithoragarh district