Thal is a small town situated on the banks of

Ramganga Ramganga is a tributary of the river Ganges, originating in Uttarakhand state, India. Ramganga West Ramganga West River originates from Dudhatoli or Doodhatoli ranges Course The Ramganga River originates in the southern slopes of Dudhato ...

river 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. Th ...

in the Indian 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 ...

. It is one of the thirteen

tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a Zila (country subdivision), district including the designated populated place that ser ...

s of district Pithoragarh. Thal has been a centre for local trade for nearby settlements at

Didihat Didihat is a town and a Nagar Palika in Pithoragarh District in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is one of the eleven Tehsils of India, administrative subdivisions of Pithoragarh district and also serves as its administrative headquarter. Wit ...

, Munsiari,

Chaukori Chaukori is a hill station in the Pithoragarh district set among the lofty peaks of the western Himalayan Range in the Kumaon Division of Uttarakhand, India. To its north is Tibet and to its south is Terai. The Mahakali River, running along its ...

and Dharamghar since antiquity. It is also known for a 9th century Shiva temple located on the bank of Ramganga river and the Ek Hathiya Dewal temple - a rock cut temple believed to be crafted by a one-armed artisan. Thal was a

block Block or blocked may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Block programming, the result of a programming strategy in broadcasting * W242BX, a radio station licensed to Greenville, South Carolina, United States known as ''96.3 ...

of the

Almora district Almora is a District (India), district in the Kumaon Division of Uttarakhand state, India. The headquarters is at Almora. It is 1,638 meters above sea level. The neighbouring regions are Pithoragarh district to the east, Chamoli district to the w ...

from 1957 to 1962. Since 30 September 2014, it is a tehsil of the Pithoragarh district, which was constituted from 114 villages earlier part of

Berinag Berinag is a hill station, located 124 km from Pithoragarh, Pithoragarh city in the Pithoragarh district, which is the easternmost Himalayas, Himalayan district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is one of the six Administrative Subdivis ...

and Didihat tehsil.

History

Thal is among the oldest towns in Pithoragarh district. It has been a centre for local trade for nearby settlements at

, Munsiari,

and Dharamghar since antiquity. There is a 9th century Shiva temple located on the bank of the Ramganga river, which was built under the patronage of the

Katyuri kings The Katyuri kingdom also known as Katyuri dynasty was a medieval ruling kingdom that ruled over the regions in Uttarakhand in India and western Nepal from 500 to 1200 CE. or 700 to 1200 CE. The founder of this dynasty, King Vasu Dev was origin ...

. Baleshwar form of Lord Shiva is worshiped in this temple. At the time of Bikhaut Sankranti, an 8-day fair used to be held here, which amassed a gathering of around 15,000 people in 1911. Thal was connected by a motor road with

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 ...

in 1955 and in 1957, the then UP government opened a

Community development block In India, a community development block (CD block) or simply Block is a sub-division of District, administratively earmarked for planning and development. In tribal areas, similar sub-divisions are called tribal development blocks (TD blocks). T ...

office in Thal. There were 600 villages under this development block. The development block continued functioning till 1962, after which the government closed this development block office and divided the villages falling in Thal development block into Didihat and Berinag development blocks. In 1962, a 68 meter long bridge was built over the Ramganga river at Thal. A primary health center was opened here on 11 October 2000.

Administration

Thal is one of the thirteen

s of the Pithoragarh district. The notification for formation of tehsil in Thal was issued on 30 September 2014, but the tehsil started functioning almost a year later from 13 September 2015. 114 villages of several Patwari areas of Berinag and Didihat tehsil were reorganised to form the Thal tehsil.

Economy

The Thal fair used to be frequented by the

Bhotiya Bhotiya or Bhot (, ) is an Indian and Nepali exonym lumping together various ethnic groups speaking Tibetic languages, as well as some groups speaking other Tibeto-Burman languages living in the Transhimalayan region that divides India from T ...

traders, who used to sell utensils and wool for the last time before returning to

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 ...

. Apart from this, clothes from Kashipur and

and oil and chilli products from

Sor Sor or SOR may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * School of Rock, 2003 film starring Jack Black * Shades of Rhythm, a British based rave music group * Son of Rambow, 2008 film starring Bill Milner and Will Poulter * Sor, Serdar Ortaç ...

and Sira were also bought and sold. A market was sanctioned under the scheme of Mandi Parishad in Thal to facilitate the local producers of vegetables, fruits and grains from Thal, Didihat, Munsiyari and Berinag.

Transport

Thal was connected by a motor road with

in 1955, which connected Almora with Munsiari via

Bageshwar Bageshwar ( Kumaoni: ''Bāgshyār'') is a town and a municipal board in Bageshwar district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is located at a distance of 470 km from the National Capital New Delhi and 332 km from the State Capital ...

, Udiyari and Thal.

Education

Haridutt Pant Government Inter College is situated at Thal. In 2017, 350 students were studying here.

References

{{Pithoragarh district Cities and towns in Pithoragarh district