Munsiyari-Travelogue
Munsiari or Musiyari is the name of the sub-division headquarters, a conglomeration of revenue villages and it also refers to the entire region as Munsiari/Munsiyari Tehsil and Sub Division in the Pithoragarh District in the hill-state of Uttarakhand, India. It lies at the base of the great Himalayan mountain range, at an elevation of about 2,200 m (7,200 ft) and is a starting point of various treks into the interior of the range. Its name refers to a ‘place with snow‘. Situated on the banks of Goriganga river, it is a fast-growing tourist destination, and mountaineers, glacier enthusiasts, high altitude trekkers and nature lovers commonly use it as their hub or base camp. Munsiari/Munsiyari also falls on the ancient salt route from Tibet and is at the entrance of the Johar Valley, which extends along the path of the Gori ganga river to its source at the Milam Glacier. It is inhabited mainly by people of a few different caste groups including the Shauka tribe, dalits or Scheduled Castes and people categorized in other general castes comprising Kshatriya’s, Pandits with a few Muslim, Sikhs, Christians and Buddhists.
Munsiari/Munsiyari bazaar is a conglomeration of revenue villages and is not categorized as a town. The bazaar area comprises the villages of Malla Ghorpatta and Bunga, while Naya Basti, Sarmoli, Nana Sem, Jainti, Papdi villages form the periphery of the area popularly called Munsiari. The main bazaar area faces east towards the himalayan Panchachuli ranges. The upper part of Munsiari is called Malla Johar, which comprises of 14 trans-humant alpine villages, that are seasonally occupied during the months of May to early November.
