Dharchula

Dharchula is a town in the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand, India, at an elevation of about 940 metres in the Himalayas and about 92 kilometres north of the district headquarters at Pithoragarh. The Mahakali River flows through it and divides it into two settlements, one in India and one in Nepal, whose residents share cultural, linguistic and social ties and may cross the river without passports or visas. The population includes Khas, Kumaoni, Dotyali and Rung communities. The municipality had 7,039 residents at the 2011 census. The town lies on the Pithoragarh-Lipulekh Pass Highway and on the route of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, a pilgrimage of Hindus, Buddhists and Jains, and it offers views of the Panchachuli peaks and several trekking routes. The name joins dhar, meaning edge or peak, and chula, a three-stone cooking stove.