Phitoragarh The Pithoragarh District was carved out of the Almora District of Kumaon in the 1960s as a result of the Sino-Indian border dispute. The upper parts of this district lie in the rain- shadow of the main Himalayan range. This region includes the upper valley of the Goriganga (Malla Johar), the upper valley of the Dhauli (Darma and Chaudan) and the upper Kuti (Byans) valley.

The Kumaon Himalayas, from the Panorama by Serbjeet Singh. Credit: Karamjeet Singh

This tract has an average elevation of over 3,000 m. The terrain is extremely rugged with a poor vegetative cover. The people depend on animal husbandry for their livelihood.

Dharchula
The Bhotias of the Dharchula area inhabit the extreme northeastern part of Pithoragarh District. This tract is bounded in the north by the Indo-Tibetan border and in the east by the Kali River, which forms the Indo-Nepal border. To the west lies the Panchchuli range, which separates it from the Johar tract.

A large part of this tract is desolate, barren and made up of glaciers, snowy wastes and high mountain peaks that remain under a thick cover of snow for most of the year. Human settlements are confined to the three valleys of the Darma, Byans and Chandans rivers.