Munsiyari ( Kumaoni: ''Munsyār'') is the name of the sub-division headquarters, a conglomeration of revenue villages and it also refers to the entire region as Munsiyari
Tehsil
A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), 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 the North India, northern part of India. It is often referred to as t ...
,
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 ...
.
It is a
hill station
A hill station is a town located at a higher elevation than the nearby plain or valley. The term was used mostly in colonial Asia (particularly in India), but also in Africa (albeit rarely), for towns founded by European colonialists as refuges ...
and lies at the base of the great
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 10 ...
n mountain range, at an elevation of about ''Garhwal-Himalaya-Ost'', 1:150,000 scale topographic map, prepared in 1992 by Ernst Huber for the
Swiss Foundation for Alpine Research
Swiss may refer to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
*Swiss people
Places
*Swiss, Missouri
*Swiss, North Carolina
* Swiss, West Virginia
*Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
* Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports
* Swiss Internationa ...
, based on maps of the
Survey of India
The Survey of India is India's central engineering agency in charge of mapping and surveying. Gram Panchayats attached to the Munsiyari market had also given their consent for this. On 28 February 2014, the Uttarakhand Cabinet decided to grant Nagar Panchayat status to the towns of Munsiyari, Chaukhutia and Naugaon. Shortly afterwards, the then Chief Minister Harish Rawat made an announcement confirming this move while on a visit to the town. The municipal area was to be created by incorporating 5 Gram Panchayats: Mallaghorpatta, Tallaghorpatta, Bunga, Sarmoli and Jainti. An official notification was issued on 7 October 2014, but due to major opposition by the Gram Sabhas, the Nagar Panchayat could not come into existence. In June 2015, several government officials visited the area and tried to initiate talks with local villagers. After all the talks failed, the notification that allowed the formation of Nagar Panchayat was revoked on 22 August 2016.
Overview
In local parlance, the name 'Munsiyari' refers to a 'place with snow'. Situated on the banks of Goriganga river, it is a fast-growing tourist destination, and mountaineers,
glacier
A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such a ...
enthusiasts, high altitude trekkers and nature lovers commonly use it as their hub or base camp. Munsiyari also falls on the ancient salt route from
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
and is at the entrance of the Johar Valley, which extends along the path of the Gori Ganga river to its source at the Milam Glacier. It is inhabited mainly by people of a few different caste groups including the Shauka tribe, dalits or
Scheduled Castes
The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...
and people categorized in other general castes comprising Kshatriya's,
Pandit
A Pandit ( sa, पण्डित, paṇḍit; hi, पंडित; also spelled Pundit, pronounced ; abbreviated Pt.) is a man with specialised knowledge or a teacher of any field of knowledge whether it is shashtra (Holy Books) or shastra (Wea ...
s with a few
Sikh
Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ' ...
s,
Christians
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
and
Buddhists
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and g ...
.
Munsiyari bazaar is a conglomeration of revenue villages and is not categorized as a town. The bazaar area comprises the villages of Malla Ghorpatta and Bunga, while Naya Basti, Sarmoli, Nana Sem, Jainti, Papdi villages form the periphery of the area popularly called Munsiyari. The main bazaar area faces east towards the Himalayan Panchachuli ranges.
The upper part of Munsiyari is called Malla Johar, which comprises 14 trans-humantalpine villages, that are seasonally occupied during the months of May to early November.
Economy
Principally subsistence based
agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peop ...
and
animal husbandry
Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. Husbandry has a long history, star ...
and allied activities. Many families are dependent on forests and natural resources for their livelihoods.
Natural history
Birds
A part of the administrative region of Munsiari is located in the Gori
river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater
Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the ...
basin. As of May 2014 a total of 319 birds have been recorded, constituting a quarter of India's
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...
s.
Species richness
Species richness is the number of different species represented in an ecological community, landscape or region. Species richness is simply a count of species, and it does not take into account the abundances of the species or their relative ab ...
apart, the Gori river basin harbours many rare,
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...
, globally threatened and endangered bird species, including many of the evolutionarily older birds on the Indian sub-continent. The region has been designated by
Birdlife International
BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...
as an
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations.
IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...
.
Lichen Park
The Uttarakhand Forest Department has developed a lichen park in Munsiari, which is spread across 1.5 acres. It is India's first lichen park and its development started in 2019.
Gallery
File:Panchchuli Peaks at Sunset, near Munsiyari, Uttarakhand.jpg, Panchchuli Peaks at Sunset, near Munsyari
File:Hansling Peak Munsyari.JPG, Hansling Peak from Munsyari
File:FelisChausMunsiari3.jpg, Jungle Cat, seen in Sarmoli Village
File:Spotted Laughingthrush.jpg, Spotted Laughingthrush in Sarmoli Village
File:Himalayan Grand Duchess Butterfly ( Euthalia patala patala).png, Himalayan Grand Duchess butterfly