The newly formed state of
Uttarakhand is immediately
recognisable because it is home to 4 of the most revered pilgrimage spots of
Gangotri, Yamunotri,
Kedarnath and Badrinath.
Uttarakhand became the 27th state of the Republic of India on the
9th of November 2000. The State is carved out of
Uttar
Pradesh. It occupies 17.3% of India's total land area with
51,125 sq. km. It has a population of about 6.0 million at 94.4 per sq. km.
It shares borders with Tibet and Nepal and with the Indian state of
Himachal Pradesh, and has 13
Districts, split administratively into Garhwal and Kumaon divisions.
With great views of the
Himalayas, apart from the well
known pilgrimages and hill stations, it offers wonderful travel destinations
to lesser known places and offers much in
adventure activities,
like skiing, yachting,
trekking
and mountaineering.
There are excellent ski slopes at
Auli, Dayara Bugyal, Mundali and
Munsiari. Auli, 16 kms from
Joshimath has a
winter resort run by the State government outfit, Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam
(GMVN). The ski slope here is the most popular in the state and one of the
few with ski lifts. The season starts from end December or January and
extends up to March. This is a good place for beginners as GMVN conducts 7
and 14 days skiing courses at subsidised rates.
Water sports such as rafting can be tried out on the Y
amuna,
Alaknanda, Bhagirathi, Bhilangana, Mandakini and the
Mahakali.
There is a sailing club at Nainital. The state offers excellent trekking
terrain and some of the famous treks take you to the Valley of Flowers and
Pindari, Sunderdhunga and Kafni glaciers.
The Government of India has awarded the National Tourism Award in the
Category of Special Award for Efforts in the Development and Promotion of
Tourism to the State Government of
Uttarakhand,
in 2002.
Focused, planned and time bound development of trek routes, yatra routes
and adventure sports such as river rafting, paragliding, skiing,
mountaineering are planned by the state. The State Government is adopting
the master plan approach for development of wayside amenities, new tourist
destinations, development of
Tehri Dam area as a tourist
spot etc. Special emphasis is being accorded to promote cultural tourism and
wildlife in the State.
