Dharchula is a town as well as a Nagar Panchayat in the district of Pithoragarh in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is an old trading town meant for thetrade routes of Himalayas and has high mountains in its surroundings. It is located in a valley, on the embankments of river Kali having an elevation of 915 m. Kali has a boundary with Nepal and India in the west. The people of Nepal and India have no restrictions while crossing however as far as the goods are concerned, there lies a customs checkpoint.

Dharchula is located at a distance of 83 km in the north of Pithoragarh on the way to Kailash-Mansarovar pilgrimage.This town got its name from the Hindi words “dhar” i.e. "mountainpeak" and "Chula" meaning stove due to its resemblance with a stove.

The climate of Dharchula in winters is very cold however there is no snowfall found usually. The temperature during summers is similar to that of plains.

Nepal also has a town with a name Darchula which is at a distance of 22km in the north-eastern direction. The people living in both of these towns exhibit similar culture, traditions and lifestyle and are allowed to move across the border with no restrictions of visa or passport. There is a combination of Dotiyali and Kumaouni language, culture and traditions here.

According to the census of 2001, the male population of Dharchula is 54% of the total population whereas females contribute 46%. The mean literacy rate in Dharchula is 75%, which is more than the national rate of 59.5%. there are 80% of the male literates here while literacy rate of females is 69%. One can find 12% of the population to be below 6 years of age in Dharchula.

Dharchula is basically inhabited by the people of Rung tribe famous for their dynamism, culture attachment and resilience. It exhibits its own culture which has unique features and the tribe are have their own pride in their rich culture and heritage.

This town is located in an amazing valley having 915 m elevation while it is 83 km away from the headquarters of the district Pithoragarh. One has to cover a 3 to 3 and a half hour journey while going from Pithoragarh to Dharchula. The River Kali would be found alongside. The major modes of transportation are government buses and private jeeps. One can also arrive at Pithoragarh via Haldwani or via Tanakpur.

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As far as Haldwani is concerned, it is a city close to Bareilly and from here, one can either travel through private jeeps or the buses run by state government. Pithoragarh journey takes around 8 hours. It is advisable to travel during the day time as the risk increases at night for hilly tracks. During the rainy season, there is a fear of landslides which can make one’s journey a bit risky as well as inconvenient.

One can arrive Tanakpur via Lucknow or Bareilly, but there is a need of an overnight journey by train, however the mode of transportation fremains the same from Tanakpur to Pithoragarh as well just like that of Haldwani but the journey is shorter in this case and takes around 6 hours to reach there. People usually suffer from the problem of Nausea while travellig to Dharchula because of the frequent curves on the road that one has to experience on the journey. One should try to visit this place as there are a number of sight-seeing views and immense natural splendor found here.
Dharchula consists of a KMVN i.e. Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam, which is a rest house here. Located on the embankments of Kali river, Dharchula is a distinct place.

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