Kotkhai is a town and a

Nagar Panchayat A nagar panchayat () or town panchayat or Notified Area Council (NAC) in India is a settlement in transition from rural to urban and therefore a form of an urban political unit comparable to a municipality. An urban centre with more than 12,00 ...

Shimla district Shimla district, known as Simla district until 1972, is one of the twelve districts of the state of Himachal Pradesh in northern India. Its headquarters is the state capital of Shimla. Neighbouring districts are Mandi and Kullu in the north, ...

in the Indian state of

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...

.The name Kotkhai is derived from Hindi language where the name "Kot" means Kings Palace and "Khai" means trench, therefore "Kotkhai" means "Kings palace situated in trench". It is a tehsil with around 40 villages under its administration. The whole tehsil is known for quality apple production. Kotkhai is also known for its fairs and traditional values, people of Kotkhai are really devotional towards Devtas where each villages believes in different forms of Devtas (also known as Dev Bhoomi).

History

Initially Kotkhai was a princely state of the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

and was founded around the 12th century AD, by the descendants of Kartar Singh (younger brother of Rana Kirat Singh, "founder of

Kumharsain Kumarsain (; ), also known as Kumharsain, is a town in Shimla District in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Formerly under the British Raj, it was the capital of princely state of Kumharsain, which was one of the several states of the Punja ...

state"). In the beginning, Khaneti, Kotkhai and

Kotgarh Kotgarh is a village and a sub-tehsil in Kumarsain Subdivision (India), subdivision of Shimla district in the States and territories of India, Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Formerly under the British Raj, it was the capital of Kotkhai-Kotga ...

was jointly ruled by the descendants of Kartar Singh for five generations, until Dooni Singh and Shimal Singh divided the territories into Khaneti and Kotkhai-

respectively. Before 19th century AD, Kotkhai was a tributary of Kumharsain State and Princely family of Kotkhai is a junior branch of Princely family of

. Kotkhai was incorporated into

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

in January 1828 and later to

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 ...

in 1947.

Places to visit in Kotkhai

Kiala Forest: This forest is a tourist attraction in Kotkhai. The forest is filled with green vegetation and indigenous animals. The peaceful and cool climate environment attracts visitors throughout the year. Kotkhai Palace: This palace is located in the valley of Kotkhai on hilltop. It was built by King Rana Sahab. Local people popularly call this palace as 'Bussa'. This palace was constructed in a Tibetan architectural style. This palace shows Pagoda style constructions with wooden carvings. Garawog: It is a tourist spot of Kotkhai valley. It is picnic spot center decorated with apple gardens and lush green pastures. Photographers especially enjoy this site for its panoramic views. The river giri ganga flows there. HPCA stadium Gumma: The newly made cricket stadium is near the River Giri Ganga which flows by its side.

Traditional games

''Thoda'' is the traditional game of Kotkhai, which the region has been hosting for a number of years. It is a game of Bow and Arrow, which is played between two 'Khoonds' who belongs to the rajput warrior community.

Geography

Kotkhai is located at . It has an average elevation of 1,881 metres (6,171 feet). It is one of the largest apple growing valley in Himachal Pradesh and also a significant contributor to the per capita income of the state.

Demographics

India census, Kotkhai had a population of 4720. Males constitute 58% of the population and females 42%. Kotkhai has an average literacy rate of 84%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 87%, and female literacy is 80%. In Kotkhai, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age. The native language here is Pahari but Hindi and English are also spoken.

References

{{reflist Cities and towns in Shimla district Tehsils of Himachal Pradesh