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Mud (also known as Mudh and Muth) is a small village in the cold desert region of
Spiti Spiti (pronounced as Piti in Bhoti language) is a high-altitude region of the Himalayas, located in the north-eastern part of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The name "Spiti" means "The middle land", i.e. the land between Tib ...
in
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 peak ...
,
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 ...
. Located at an altitude of on the left bank of the Pin River, a right bank tributary of the
Spiti River Spiti (pronounced as Piti in Bhoti language) is a high-altitude region of the Himalayas, located in the north-eastern part of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The name "Spiti" means "The middle land", i.e. the land between Tibe ...
, the village nestles at the base of the Parbati range that towers almost vertically above. Mud is near the boundary of the Pin Valley National Park and is a convenient base for treks in the park, and to the neighbouring districts of Kullu and Kinnaur. It is the last village on the Spiti side of the Pin Parbati trek to
Kullu Kullu is a municipal council town that serves as the administrative headquarters of the Kullu district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It is located on the banks of the Beas River in the Kullu Valley about north of the airport at Bh ...
and the Pin Bhaba trek to Kinnaur. Mud village became famous among geologists in the 1860s when the Moravian geologist
Ferdinand Stoliczka Ferdinand Stoliczka ( Czech written Stolička, 7 June 1838 – 19 June 1874) was a Moravian palaeontologist who worked in India on paleontology, geology and various aspects of zoology, including ornithology, malacology, and herpetology. He died of ...
discovered a major geological formation in the Himalayas that he named the ''Muth Succession'', after Mud village. This spurred many geologists to do fieldwork in the Pin Valley. The Muth Formation, as it is now known, has a thickness of . Consisting of white quartz arenite, it is resistant to weathering and readily visible to the geologists.


History

Mud village was mentioned by
Ferdinand Stoliczka Ferdinand Stoliczka ( Czech written Stolička, 7 June 1838 – 19 June 1874) was a Moravian palaeontologist who worked in India on paleontology, geology and various aspects of zoology, including ornithology, malacology, and herpetology. He died of ...
in a paper in the ''Memoirs of the Geological Survey of India'', 1866. Stoliczka was a Moravian palaeontologist who joined the Geological Survey of India in 1862. He made Mud village the base for his fieldwork on the geology of the Western Himalayas. He named an important geological rock layer stretching from Kashmir through
Spiti Spiti (pronounced as Piti in Bhoti language) is a high-altitude region of the Himalayas, located in the north-eastern part of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The name "Spiti" means "The middle land", i.e. the land between Tib ...
to
Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...
in the Western Himalayas as the Mudh (Mud) Series. This remote village at the upper end of the Pin River Valley, surrounded by inhospitable mountains, thus attained prominence. Spurred by Stoliczka's publication, other geologists visited Mud for fieldwork during the remainder of the 19th century. These included C. L.Griesbach (1880s), C.Diener (1890s) and H. H. Hayden (1899). Their research and publications confirmed the prominence of Mud village in geology. Hayden renamed the Mudh Series to the Mudh Formation, a name that is still in use today. G. Fuchs wrote: "The pioneering work by Stoliczka, Griesbach, Von Krafft, Dlener, and Hayden has made Spiti famous as a classical geological area of the Himalaya, particularly of the Tethys or Tibetan Zone." After a gap of many decades from Hayden's 1899 visit, in July - September 1978, an Indo-Austrian expedition led by G. Fuchs ( Geological Survey of Austria) and D.K. Bhatt (
Geological Survey of India The Geological Survey of India (GSI) is a scientific agency of India. It was founded in 1851, as a Government of India organization under the Ministry of Mines, one of the oldest of such organisations in the world and the second oldest survey ...
) did fieldwork on the Mudh Formation in Mud and nearby places. In 1997-98, Erich Draganits, a PhD student at the
University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich h ...
did his fieldwork in Mud. Subsequently Indian geologists, Parcha and Pandey from the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun visited in about 2011. These recent studies succeeded in firmly establishing the origins and age of the Mudh Formation.


Geography

Mud is located on the left bank of the Pin River, which is a right bank tributary of the
Spiti River Spiti (pronounced as Piti in Bhoti language) is a high-altitude region of the Himalayas, located in the north-eastern part of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The name "Spiti" means "The middle land", i.e. the land between Tibe ...
. The village nestles at the base of the towering Pin Parbati range that separates Spiti from
Kullu district Kullu is a district in Himachal Pradesh, India. It borders Rampur district to the south, Mandi and Kangra districts to the west, and the Lahaul and Spiti district to the north and east. The largest valley in this mountainous district is the ...
. It is the first inhabited place encountered by travelers coming from Kullu valley via the Pin Parbati Pass and from Kinnaur via the
Pin Bhaba Pass Bhaba Pass, also known as Bhawa Pass, is a high mountain pass (elevation ) situated in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh in the Indian Himalayas. Himachal Touris. ''Himachal Tourism''. Accessed 5 September 2019. It is located on the bo ...
. The village is at a distance of from
Kaza, Spiti Kaza, also spelled Kaze, Karze, Karzey, is a town and the subdivisional headquarters of the remote Spiti Valley in the western Himalayas in the Lahaul and Spiti district of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Spiti is a high al ...
. This is the route on NH-505 from
Manali Manali may refer to: Places in India * Manali, Himachal Pradesh, * Manali, Chennai, a locality of Chennai * Manali New Town, a locality of Chennai * Manali, Gummidipoondi, a village in Tamil Nadu * Manali River, a river in Kerala People * ...
. From Tabo, en route on NH-505 from
Shimla Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, List of renamed Indian cities and states#Himachal Pradesh, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the States and union territories of India, northern Indian state of Himachal Prade ...
, the distance is . The village covers an area of .


Climate

Spiti is a cold desert region with an annual rainfall of about . The weather is mild from April to October. During May - June, the temperatures range between . During the winter, the temperature may drop to .


Geology

Spiti Spiti (pronounced as Piti in Bhoti language) is a high-altitude region of the Himalayas, located in the north-eastern part of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The name "Spiti" means "The middle land", i.e. the land between Tib ...
is a high-altitude semi-desert. Over millennia, the
Spiti River Spiti (pronounced as Piti in Bhoti language) is a high-altitude region of the Himalayas, located in the north-eastern part of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The name "Spiti" means "The middle land", i.e. the land between Tibe ...
and its tributaries such as the Pin River, have cut deep gorges in the sedimentary strata uplifted during the formation of the
Himalayas 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 ...
. With little rain or snow there is not much of weathering of the steep valley sides. As vegetation is sparse, the rock strata in the steep cliffs are easily visible to the geologist, without excavation or drilling. These favourable conditions for observation attracted geologists to the Pin Valley starting with
Stoliczka ''Stoliczka'' is a genus of Pakistani nursery web spiders that was first described by Octavius Pickard-Cambridge in 1885. it contains only two species, found only in Pakistan: '' S. affinis'' and '' S. insignis''. See also * List of Pisauridae ...
in the 1860s. In the mountain sides near Muth (Mud) village, Stoliczka identified a number of layers or successions, one of which he named as the ''Muth succession''. This was later renamed as the ''Muth System'' by Hayden (1908) and as the ''Muth Formation'' by Srikantia (1981). Other formations, visible near Mud village, that occur above and below the Muth Formation are given in the Table. The Muth Formation is readily observed in the Farakah Section, north-west of Mud village. It is also very well exposed in
Zanskar 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 ...
,
Lahaul The Lahaul and Spiti district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh consists of the two formerly separate districts of Lahaul () and Spiti (; or ). The present administrative centre is Kyelang in Lahaul. Before the two districts were merge ...
,
Spiti Spiti (pronounced as Piti in Bhoti language) is a high-altitude region of the Himalayas, located in the north-eastern part of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The name "Spiti" means "The middle land", i.e. the land between Tib ...
, Kinnaur, Garhwal and in the Nepal Himalayas. It consists mostly of hard, white or slightly greenish quartz arenite 258-300m thick, with an 11-15m thick layer of dolomite near the top. The white colour and resistance to weathering make it easy to observe. It exhibits
current bedding In geology, cross-bedding, also known as cross-stratification, is layering within a stratum and at an angle to the main bedding plane. The sedimentary structures which result are roughly horizontal units composed of inclined layers. The original ...
, ripple marks and burrows. These indicate that it originated from coastal sediments deposited in a wave-dominated
barrier island Barrier islands are coastal landforms and a type of dune system that are exceptionally flat or lumpy areas of sand that form by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything from a fe ...
system in the
Tethy's Sea The Tethys Ocean ( el, Τηθύς ''Tēthús''), also called the Tethys Sea or the Neo-Tethys, was a prehistoric ocean that covered most of the Earth during much of the Mesozoic Era and early Cenozoic Era, located between the ancient continent ...
. The sedimentary rock was transformed by metamorphosis into quartz during the
tectonic Tectonics (; ) are the processes that control the structure and properties of the Earth's crust and its evolution through time. These include the processes of mountain building, the growth and behavior of the strong, old cores of continents ...
collision. The quartz arenite rock strata were formed under high temperatures and/or pressures. Hence, body fossils did not survive. Only inchnofossils (i.e. fossil traces such as burrows and tracks), are found. The neighbouring formations, Pin (lower, i.e. older) and Lipak (upper, i.e. younger), have body fossils that are accurately dated. The trace fossils in the Mudh Formation and the dates of the neighbouring formations have been used to approximately date the Mudh Formation to the
Early Devonian The Early Devonian is the first of three epochs comprising the Devonian period, corresponding to the Lower Devonian series. It lasted from and began with the Lochkovian Stage , which was followed by the Pragian from and then by the Emsian, whi ...
(419 - 393 mya).


Demographics and amenities

The population as of the 2011 Census was 213 (females: 113 (53%), males: 100 (47%)), with 45 households. The literacy rate among females is 54% and among males is 81%. The majority of the population are Scheduled Tribes comprising 96.2%, while Scheduled Castes comprise 1.88%. The language spoken in Spiti is
Bhoti The Ladakhi language is a Tibetic language spoken in the Indian union territory of Ladakh. It is the predominant language in the Buddhist-dominated district of Leh. Though a member of the Tibetic family, Ladakhi is not mutually intelligible w ...
. Mud is a village in the Sagnam
Gram Panchayat Gram Panchayat () is a basic village-governing institute in Indian villages. It is a democratic structure at the grass-roots level in India. It is a political institute, acting as cabinet of the village. The Gram Sabha work as the general bo ...
. A government primary and middle school caters to children of the village. The village has a branch post office. The nearest full-service sub post office including international speed post is located at Sagnam, a distance of .


Places of interest

Mud is a convenient base for visiting the Pin Valley National Park. Trails from Mud head north and west to the National Park, west to
Kullu district Kullu is a district in Himachal Pradesh, India. It borders Rampur district to the south, Mandi and Kangra districts to the west, and the Lahaul and Spiti district to the north and east. The largest valley in this mountainous district is the ...
via the
Pin Parbati Pass The Pin Parbati Pass (also written Pin Parvati Pass) is a mountain pass in Himachal Pradesh, India, at . It was first crossed in August 1884 by Sir Louis Dane in search of an alternate route to the Spiti valley. This pass connects the fertile and ...
, and south to
Kinnaur district Kinnaur is one of the twelve administrative districts of the state of Himachal Pradesh in northern India. The district is divided into three administrative areas ( Kalpa, Nichar (Bhabanagar), and Pooh) and has six tehsils. The administrative ...
via the
Pin Bhaba Pass Bhaba Pass, also known as Bhawa Pass, is a high mountain pass (elevation ) situated in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh in the Indian Himalayas. Himachal Touris. ''Himachal Tourism''. Accessed 5 September 2019. It is located on the bo ...
. The Pin Valley is a cold desert with alpine pasture or dry alpine scrub forest. Located at a high altitude with the upper reaches being largely unexplored, the area is home to several endangered species including the snow leopard. About 20 species of birds and animals are found in the National Park, some of which may be seen in the Pin valley near Mud. These include Ibex, Chhumurthi horse,
Bharal The bharal (''Pseudois nayaur''), also called the blue sheep, is a caprine native to the high Himalayas. It is the only member of the genus ''Pseudois.'' It occurs in India, Bhutan, China (in Gansu, Ningxia, Sichuan, Tibet, and Inner Mongolia ...
, Red fox,
Marten A marten is a weasel-like mammal in the genus ''Martes'' within the subfamily Guloninae, in the family Mustelidae. They have bushy tails and large paws with partially retractile claws. The fur varies from yellowish to dark brown, depending on ...
,
Weasel Weasels are mammals of the genus ''Mustela'' of the family Mustelidae. The genus ''Mustela'' includes the least weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets and European mink. Members of this genus are small, active predators, with long and slender ...
,
Pika A pika ( or ; archaically spelled pica) is a small, mountain-dwelling mammal found in Asia and North America. With short limbs, very round body, an even coat of fur, and no external tail, they resemble their close relative, the rabbit, but w ...
, Snow Cock, Bearded vulture, Chukor,
Golden Eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known birds ...
, Griffon, Yellow-billed Chough, Raven etc. Mud has two Buddhist nunneries, meditation caves and shelters. These belong to the
Nyingma Nyingma (literally 'old school') is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. It is also often referred to as ''Ngangyur'' (, ), "order of the ancient translations". The Nyingma school is founded on the first lineages and transl ...
pa school, the oldest of the four major schools of
Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in maj ...
. These are located on the Killung Nala, a small stream that meets the Pin River at Mud. Mud is the last village on the trekking trails to the Kullu valley and to
Kinnaur district Kinnaur is one of the twelve administrative districts of the state of Himachal Pradesh in northern India. The district is divided into three administrative areas ( Kalpa, Nichar (Bhabanagar), and Pooh) and has six tehsils. The administrative ...
. Both routes start along the left bank of the Pin River. After about the trail reaches Chhochhden Camp at the confluence of 3 nallahs. The ruins of Lyungti Khar, a fort built by the Kullu Rajas, is nearby. One trail heads west towards the
Pin Parbati Pass The Pin Parbati Pass (also written Pin Parvati Pass) is a mountain pass in Himachal Pradesh, India, at . It was first crossed in August 1884 by Sir Louis Dane in search of an alternate route to the Spiti valley. This pass connects the fertile and ...
(elev. and down the Parbati valley to Manikaran and
Kullu Kullu is a municipal council town that serves as the administrative headquarters of the Kullu district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It is located on the banks of the Beas River in the Kullu Valley about north of the airport at Bh ...
. This trek usually takes 5-7 days. The other trail continues south from Chhochhden Camp to the
Pin Bhaba Pass Bhaba Pass, also known as Bhawa Pass, is a high mountain pass (elevation ) situated in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh in the Indian Himalayas. Himachal Touris. ''Himachal Tourism''. Accessed 5 September 2019. It is located on the bo ...
(elev. and on to Kaphnu in Kinnaur, a total distance of . Kaphnu is from NH 5 which runs along the Satluj River to
Shimla Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, List of renamed Indian cities and states#Himachal Pradesh, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the States and union territories of India, northern Indian state of Himachal Prade ...
. This trek takes 4-5 days for the distance. Harish Kapadia reported that local people traveling to Shimla for business or studies would prefer the short trek over the Pir Bhaba Pass to the uncertain road journey via Tabo.


Transport

During the summer, public buses and private vans ply regularly from
Kaza A kaza (, , , plural: , , ; ota, قضا, script=Arab, (; meaning 'borough') * bg, околия (; meaning 'district'); also Кааза * el, υποδιοίκησις () or (, which means 'borough' or 'municipality'); also () * lad, kaza , ...
to Mikkim and Mud villages in the Pin valley. During the winter, buses do not ply to the Pin valley. Then, the approach to Mud is via private vehicle and foot from Attargo bridge off NH-505, a distance of . In early 2022, the Government of Himachal Pradesh approved construction of a new road connecting the Satluj Valley,
Kinnaur district Kinnaur is one of the twelve administrative districts of the state of Himachal Pradesh in northern India. The district is divided into three administrative areas ( Kalpa, Nichar (Bhabanagar), and Pooh) and has six tehsils. The administrative ...
to the Spiti Valley via Mud village. The new road will run from Kafnu ( NH-5) in Kinnaur to Mud, connecting to NH-505 near Atargu Bridge on the
Spiti river Spiti (pronounced as Piti in Bhoti language) is a high-altitude region of the Himalayas, located in the north-eastern part of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The name "Spiti" means "The middle land", i.e. the land between Tibe ...
. The new bypass will reduce the distance from
Shimla Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, List of renamed Indian cities and states#Himachal Pradesh, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the States and union territories of India, northern Indian state of Himachal Prade ...
to
Kaza A kaza (, , , plural: , , ; ota, قضا, script=Arab, (; meaning 'borough') * bg, околия (; meaning 'district'); also Кааза * el, υποδιοίκησις () or (, which means 'borough' or 'municipality'); also () * lad, kaza , ...
by . This will open up the Pin Valley National Park, Mud village and the Spiti valley to tourism.


Accommodation

There are a few home stays in Mud, the oldest being Tara House Home Stay.


Gallery

File:Road Mudh Pin Spiti Himachal Jun18 D72 7071.jpg, Road from Kaza entering Mud File:Nyingma Monastery Mudh Spiti Himachal Jun18 D72 7065.jpg, Nyingma monastery, Mud File:Pin Valley Spiti Himachal Jun18 D72 7092.jpg, View down the Pin valley to Mud File:Right Bank Pin Mudh Spiti Himachal Jun18 D72 7114.jpg, Right bank of Pin river looking towards Mud, Jun '18 File:Hikers Pin To Mudh Spiti Himachal Jun18 D72 7183.jpg, Hikers approach Mud on left bank of Pin File:Horses in a field in Mudh, Himachal Pradesh, India.jpg, Chhumurthi horses near Mud File:Yellow Wildflowers Pin Spiti Himachal Jun18 D72 7097.jpg, Sparse alpine vegetation, Jun '18 File:White Wildflowers Pin Spiti Himachal Jun18 D72 7109.jpg, Sparse Alpine vegetation, Jun '18 File:Brandts Mtn Finch Pin Spiti Himachal Jun18 D72 7179.jpg, Brandt's Mountain finch, Jun '18 File:Pea Plants Mudh Spiti Himachal Jun18 D72 7222.jpg, Field of peas in Mud village, Jun '18 File:Map Passes Trails Kullu Spiti Himachal Jun18 D72 7078.jpg, Trail from Mud to Kullu via the Pin Parbati Pass


See also

* Pin Valley National Park *
Pin Parbati Pass The Pin Parbati Pass (also written Pin Parvati Pass) is a mountain pass in Himachal Pradesh, India, at . It was first crossed in August 1884 by Sir Louis Dane in search of an alternate route to the Spiti valley. This pass connects the fertile and ...
*
Pin Bhaba Pass Bhaba Pass, also known as Bhawa Pass, is a high mountain pass (elevation ) situated in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh in the Indian Himalayas. Himachal Touris. ''Himachal Tourism''. Accessed 5 September 2019. It is located on the bo ...
* Spiti Valley


References

{{reflist Villages in Lahaul and Spiti district