The Garhwali People of the Sacred Himalaya

In the western Himalaya of Uttarakhand, amid soaring peaks and the sacred sources of the Ganges and Yamuna, live the Garhwali people, a hill community whose homeland is among the holiest landscapes in all of Hinduism. Speakers of the Garhwali language and heirs to a mountain culture of terraced farming, folk song, and profound devotion, they dwell in the very abode of the great Himalayan gods.

From the shrines of Kedarnath and Badrinath to the great pilgrimage of the goddess Nanda Devi, from the jagar invocations of the village gods to the hardy millet cuisine of the hills, the Garhwalis carry a rich and distinctive Himalayan heritage. This article traces their origins, language, homeland, society, religion, and traditions, and the enduring bond between this hill people and their sacred mountains.