Darma valley is a

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 Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than 100 pea ...

n valley situated 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 ...

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 ...

state of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. This valley is located in the eastern part of Uttarakhand at

Kumaon division Kumaon (; , ; historically romanised as KemāonJames Prinsep (Editor)John McClelland ) is a List of divisions in India, revenue and administrative division in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It spans over the eastern half of the state and is b ...

. The Darma valley is formed by the Darma River (also called ''Darma Yankti'' and ''Darma Ganga''). It is situated between two other valleys— Kuthi Yankti valley to the east and Lassar Yankti valley in the west. The Darma valley links with the Lassar valley by Gangachal Dhura and connects with Kuthi valley by Sinla pass and Nama pass.

Darma River

The Darma River starts near Dawe village on the Sino-Indian border and flows southwards. At Tidang it joins the Lassar Yankti and is called Dhauliganga until it joins the river Kali at Tawaghat. Darma valley has rich

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

including

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Eart ...

s. A rivulet called Nyuli Yangti that drains Panchachuli east glaciers flows into Dhauli Ganga at Dugtu-Dantu villages. Mandab river joins Dhauli at Sela.

Habitation

The Darma valley is inhabited by some 12 villages with population less than 1000. The villagers have been

livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...

rearers and traders, cultivating land in the valley with common

buckwheat Buckwheat (''Fagopyrum esculentum'') or common buckwheat is a flowering plant in the knotweed family Polygonaceae cultivated for its grain-like seeds and as a cover crop. Buckwheat originated around the 6th millennium BCE in the region of what ...

(''Fagopyrum esculentum'') and

potato The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

es. After the migration of the 1970s, cultivated land has decreased to 25% of former size, allowing biodiversity to return to Darma Valley.

Major peaks

* Panchchuli massif, from * Om Parvat, * Yungtangto,

Mountaineering and trekking

Trekking in the Darma valley region was formerly restricted, nowadays trekking without inner line permits is allowed to Panchchuli or Meola Glacier. Additional permits may be required for other areas. Sino-Indian border is still sensitive area.

References

External links