Narkanda 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 ...

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

subdivision Subdivision may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Subdivision (metre), in music * ''Subdivision'' (film), 2009 * "Subdivision", an episode of ''Prison Break'' (season 2) * ''Subdivisions'' (EP), by Sinch, 2005 * "Subdivisions" (song), by Rush ...

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 ...

. It is at an elevation of 2708 meters on the

Hindustan-Tibet Road {{Infobox road , country = IND , type = NH , route = 5 , map = {{Maplink, frame=yes, plain=yes, frame-width=290, frame-height=300, zoom=6, frame-align=center, type=line, id=Q25203045, stroke-width=3, title=National Highway 5 , map_custom = ...

( NH 5) in

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 ...

within a fir (''abies pindrow'') forest. It is about 60 km away from

Shimla Shimla, also known as Simla ( the official name until 1972), is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summer capital of British India. After independence, the city ...

and surrounded by the

Himalayan Range 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 peak ...

It is a

skiing resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area–a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North A ...

in winter. It connects

with

and Rampur and a detour also goes to

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 ...

-Thanedhar, the prime apple belt of

where

Satyananda Stokes Satyananda Stokes (born Samuel Evans Stokes, Jr., 16 August 1882 – 14 May 1946) was an American who settled in India and participated in the Indian Independence Movement. He is best remembered today for having introduced apple cultivation to ...

started the apple culture.

Geography

Narkanda is located at . It has an average elevation of 2708 metres (8599 feet). The famous

Hatu peak Hatu Peak is located in the Shimla district of Himachal Pradesh in India. It is one of the highest peaks in the region, standing at an elevation of 3400 meters (11,152 ft) above sea level. The peak is surrounded by a dense forest of conif ...

is 8 km from Narkanda.

, which is 20 km from Narkanda, is the nearest town and Narkanda comes under

and

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 ...

is 15 km from Narkanda and known for apple orchards. Satyanand Stokes brought the apple to this place and helped strengthen the economy of this area. Today Rs 3,000 Crore direct and indirect income is generated through apple production. Presently apple growers are shifting to bring their farm under cherry cultivation to fetch fast money in their pocket as holdings are marginalised d noue to population factor. The grandson of Mr. Stokes is experimenting to develop new variety of apple for better production.

Climate

This town experiences a pleasant weather throughout the year. During the summer time from April to June, the maximum temperature is around 20°C while the minimum temperature is 10°C. While the months of July to September, Narkanda experiences the monsoon season, the months of November till March are the months when this town is covered in the sheets of snow. The maximum temperature during this time are 7-8°C and can drop till - 5to-10°C during the nights .

Flora

The area is dominated by a large temperate forest mostly consist of

Conifer Conifers () are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a sin ...

Oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

Maple ''Acer'' is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the soapberry family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated si ...

Populus ''Populus'' is a genus of 25–30 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. English names variously applied to different species include poplar (), aspen, and cottonwood. The we ...

Aesculus The genus ''Aesculus'' ( or ), with notable species including buckeye and horse chestnut, comprises 13–19 species of flowering plants in the family Sapindaceae. They are trees and shrubs native plant, native to the temperateness, temperat ...

Corylus Hazels are plants of the genus ''Corylus'' of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family, Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, ...

Holly ''Ilex'' () or holly is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...

species. Tree species include: * Conifer: There are several species of conifers growing in the area which cover the substantial part of the forest. These include:

Abies pindrow ''Abies pindrow'', the pindrow fir, West Himalayan fir, or silver fir, is a fir native to the western Himalaya and adjacent mountains, from northeast Afghanistan east through northern Pakistan and India to central Nepal. Description It is a ...

Cedrus deodara ''Cedrus deodara'', the deodar cedar, Himalayan cedar, or deodar, is a species of cedar native to the Himalayas. Description It is a large evergreen coniferous tree reaching tall, exceptionally with a trunk up to in diameter. It has a conic ...

Cryptomeria japonica ''Cryptomeria'' (literally "hidden parts") is a monotypic genus of conifer in the cypress family Cupressaceae. It includes only one species, ''Cryptomeria japonica'' ( syn. ''Cupressus japonica'' L.f.). It is considered to be endemic to Japa ...

Picea smithiana ''Picea smithiana'' is a species of evergreen tree in the family Pinaceae family. It is referred to by the common names morinda spruce and West Himalayan spruce, and is a spruce native to the western Himalaya and adjacent mountains, from northea ...

Pinus wallichiana ''Pinus wallichiana'' is a coniferous evergreen tree native to the Himalaya, Karakoram and Hindu Kush mountains, from eastern Afghanistan east across northern Pakistan and north west India to Yunnan in southwest China. It grows in mountain v ...

and

Taxus contorta ''Taxus contorta'', synonym ''Taxus fuana'', commonly known as the West Himalayan yew, is a species of tree in the genus ''Taxus''. It is native to temperate forests of Afghanistan Northern India, Tibet and Pakistan Pakistan, officially t ...

. * Oak:

Quercus semecarpifolia ''Quercus semecarpifolia'' is an Asian species of oak. It is native to the Himalayas and nearby mountains in Tibet, Afghanistan, India, Nepal, and Pakistan, where it is referred to as kharsu. It is classified in subgenus ''Cerris'', section ''I ...

and

Quercus floribunda ''Quercus floribunda'', called the Moru oak or Mohru oak, Tilonj oak and green oak, is a species of oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed e ...

are native to the area. * Maple:

Acer caesium ''Acer caesium'', the Himalayan maple, is an Asian species of maple found in India, Pakistan, Nepal, and China (Gansu, Henan, Hubei, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Tibet, Yunnan). ''Acer caesium'' is a tree up to tall, with gray bark. Leaves are non ...

and Acer acuminatum are native to the area. * Poplar: Populus ciliata is native to the area. * Aesculus:

Aesculus indica ''Aesculus indica'', commonly known as the Indian horse-chestnut or Himalayan horse chestnut, is a species of deciduous broad-leaved tree in the family Sapindaceae. Description ''Aesculus indica'' is a tree growing to with a spread of about . I ...

is native to the area. * Hazelnut:

Corylus jacquemontii ''Corylus jacquemontii'' (Jacquemont's hazelnut or Indian tree hazel) is a species of hazel, found in Asia, within the Himalayas and from Afghanistan through to W. Nepal. It is a small tree or shrub, with grey bark, ovate or obovate (teardrop-sh ...

is native to the area. * Holly: Ilex dipyrena is native to the area. Apart from these trees, there are various species shrubs like ''

Berberis aristata ''Berberis aristata'', also known as Indian barberry, Mara manjal (மரமஞ்சள்), chutro, sumba, or tree turmeric, is a shrub belonging to the family Berberidaceae and the genus ''Berberis''. ''B. aristata'' is native to the Himalayas ...

'' and flower plants growing in the area. Recently, the forest has been cleared for the apple orchards. Narkanda himachal pradesh India

Demographics

India

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, Narkanda had a population of 2712. Males constitute 62% of the population and females 38%. Narkanda has an average literacy rate of 80%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 85%, and female literacy is 72%. In Narkanda, 15% of the population is under 6 years of age. The native language here is Pahari but

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

are also spoken. Dak Bungalow of Narkanda Village of Shimla District in Indian State of Himachal Pradesh in 1868

References

External links