Miyar Valley belongs to the division of

Western Himalaya The Western Himalayas refers to the western half of the Himalayas, in northern Pakistan and northwestern India. It is also known as the Punjab Himalayas. Four of the five tributaries of the Indus River in Punjab (Beas, Chenab, Jhelum, and Ravi) r ...

. It is a part of the Lahaul Range, located between

Pir Panjal The Pir Panjal Range (Kashmiri: ) is a group of mountains in the Lesser Himalayan region, running from east-southeast (ESE) to west-northwest (WNW) across the Indian territories of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir and then Pakistan's ...

and

Zanskar Range Zanskar, Zahar (locally) or Zangskar, is a tehsil of Kargil district, in the Indian union territory of Ladakh. The administrative centre is Padum (former Capital of Zanskar). Zanskar, together with the neighboring region of Ladakh, was brie ...

. The valley is nearly 75 km long and stretches between Udaipur (2649 m) and Kang La Pass (5468 m). More than 50% (568 km²) of area of the Miyar Valley (975.7 km²) is covered in glaciers Kang La at the head of Miyar valley is one of the

extreme points of India The extreme points of India include the coordinates that are further north, south, east or west than any other location in India; and the highest and the lowest altitudes in the country. The northernmost point claimed by India is in territory disp ...

Administration

Administratively valley belongs to the district of Lahaul and Spiti (

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...

). Temperatures and precipitation in the Miyar Valley vary widely. The annual average values are respectively: at the mouth of the valley – Udaipur (2649 m) 9.4°C and 1057 mm; in its middle part – Sucto village (3448 m) 5°C and 605 mm; and in higher parts (alpine and nival level) average annual temperature always stays below 0°C.

Demography

According to Saini the soil cover of the Miyar Valley can be classified into three types: Himalayan Alluvial Soils (Group B), Mountain and Hill Soils, High Altitude Meadow Soil. The valley is inhabited by Tharanga people which are influenced by Tibetan Buddhism. Only a few hundred people live concentrated in 16 villages – among others in Urgos (226), Tingrat (171), Ghumpa (45) Khanjar (48) and Sucto (37) – excluding Udayapur. Inhabitants are engaged in mainly farming and pasturing. Due to the belief and influence of Tibetan Buddhism, the population feeds on vegetal products and remaining lacto-vegetarians.

Economy

The economy of the valley is dominated by extensive farming. A short period of vegetation (May-September) and low-quality soils make limited production due to poor climatic and soil productivity. Among the main crops are peas, barley, buckwheat, seed potato, and also used in medicine: kuth (''Saussurea lappa'') and mannu (''Inula racemosa''). Agriculture is accompanied by typical pastoralism breeding (sheep, goats) and also mixed pastoralism and cattle breeding (cows, horses, donkeys).

Tourism

From few decades, the valley is under the influence of small size tourism. Recently

Mountaineering Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, a ...

activity is becoming more popular in the valley. For example, in 2012 Michal Apollo, Phil Varley and Marek Zoladek made the first ascent on an unclimbed peak - they named the summit Forgotten Peak. Still, some of the peaks haven't been climbed yet.

References

{{coord missing, Himachal Pradesh Valleys of Himachal Pradesh Geography of Lahaul and Spiti district

Administration

Demography

Economy

Tourism

See also

References