Uttarakhand formerly Uttaranchal, is an Indian State in the western
Himalaya. It is the abode of gods and goddesses. There are many natural objects
which are considered sacred such as rivers (Ganga, Yamuna), mountain peaks
(Nanda Devi, Chaukhamba, Trishul, Om parbat), lakes (Roopkund, Kedar tal,
Hemkund) and forest areas.
Uttarakhand has a total area of 53,484 km², of which 93% is
mountainous and 65% is covered by forest. Most of the northern part of the state
is covered by high Himalayan peaks and glaciers.
Uttarakhand lies on the southern slope of the Himalaya range,
and the climate and vegetation vary greatly with elevation, from glaciers at
the highest elevations to subtropical
forests at the lower
elevations.
The prominent
geographical features of Uttarakhand are as follows:
- Mountainous shrub land and plains
- The alpine bushes and pastures of Western
Himalaya
- Moderate coniferous jungles
- Subalpine conifer jungles in the Western
Himalaya
- Moderate broadleaf forests of the Western
Himalaya
- Subtropical pine forests of the Himalayan
mountain range
- Terai-Duar lowlands and savanna
- Humid broadleaf forests of the Upper Gangetic
Plains
Biodiversity of Uttarakhand is rich because of the close relationship
between the religious, socio-cultural beliefs and conventions. The biodiversity
of Uttarakhand includes the sacred groves that exhibit a rich wealth of flora
and fauna.
Uttarakhand has an age-old tradition of having protected
temple forests near villages, where deity / deities are worshipped in a grove
or groups of trees. The trees / vegetation growing in these groves are not
allowed to cut / fell, as it is believed to belong to the deity. Only the dried
parts are sometimes used by them. Even sometimes sudden dying of trees or
plants of these forest are said to be bio-indicator of misfortune for the
villagers. These types of restriction in these forests have helped conservation
of indigenous species of these areas.
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| Bajinath Machhiyal, Bageshwar District |
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| Hadimba Sacred Grove |
In uttarakhand a systematic approach to the study
of scared groves is lacking. Several researchers have
traversed the wilderness of Uttarakhand in search of such sacred groves.
Some of groves already reported and
researched upon include Hariyali Devi in Chamoli district, Chiplakedar in Askot
wildlife sanctuary, Pithoragarh district, Binsar, Tarkeshwar, Tapovan, Nagdeo,
Goldev, Mayavati, Kot, Nandisain, Paabo, Dewal and Chapdon. Infact the list is
endless. Savita Bisht and J.C. Ghildiyal of Government P.G. College Kotdwara
estimate that there may be more than 1000 such groves in Uttarakhand.
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| Haat Kali Sacred Grove |
In addition several other groves like
Thalkedar and Nakuleshwar, and Haat Kali sacred groves of Pithoragarh,
have been reported by researchers from National Botanical Research Institute
(NBRI), Lucknow
A recent addition to the long list has
been made in a paper published in Current Science by Harsh Singh (Research
Fellow), Tariq Husain and and Priyanka Agnihotri of NBRI, Lucknow. They have
described two hitherto lesser known sacred groves of Pithoragarh district in
Uttarakhand. While carrying out biodiversity survey in the area they noticed
relict vegetation and dense forests maintained by the local communities. These
folks have a strong belief that their deity resides in these forests. As such
they protect it with the best of their ability. Grazing, cutting trees and
poaching and collection of non-timber forest products are strictly forbidden.
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| Sacred grove, Pithoragarh District |
The grove at Jakhani has trees more
than 100 years old and is spread over 30 ha land. It has the temple of the
Goddess Vaishno in the thick forest. The community which looks after the forest
and the temple is called ‘Gangola’, so named after Gangolihat the nearby
township.
The Chandika Devi sacred grove has the
temple of Devi at the centre of the grove, surrounded by dense growth. This
temple is known for ‘tantrik’ rituals and goat sacrifices. These groves
are characterized by dense growth of pine, cedar and rhododendron trees. But
the variety of flora is tremendous. There are 112 species of plants in these
groves out of which 56 species are of medicinal plants, report Priyanka. In
addition there are 12 species of fodder and forage plants, six species of oil
yielding plants and four species of timber plants she says.
Source
Potential of Sacred Groves in Promoting Ecotourism in Uttarakhand
Himalayas by Kholiya, Deepak; Rawat, Laxmi; Joshi,
Preeti
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