GARHWAL, a district of British India, in the Kumiion division, under the juris diction of the lieutenant-governor of the North-western Provinces, situated between 29° 16' and 31°5' n., and 78° 80' 8' e., and bounded on the n. by Chinese Thibet, on the e. by Kumdon district, on the s. by Bijnor district, and on the w. by Independent or Tehri. Garhwal district consists almost entirely of rugged mountain ranges running in all directions, and separated by narrow valleys, which may almost be described as gorges or ravines.- The only level portion of the district consists of a nar row strip of waterless forest, between the southern slopes of the hills and the fertile plains of Rohilkhand. The highest mountains are in the u. of the district, the principal peaks being Nanda Devi (25,661 ft), Karnet (25,413 ft.), Ircoul (23,382 ft.), Dunagiri (23,181 ft.), Badrinath (22,901 ft.), and Kedarnath (22,853 ft.). The Alaknanda, one of the main sources of the Ganges, receives with affluents the whole drainage of the district. The river is regarded as of peculiar sanctity, and is annually resorted to by thousands of devout Hindus. At Deoprayag the Alaknanda joins the Bhagirathi, and thencefor ward the united streams bear the name of the Ganges. .Navigation is impracticable in all the rivers, owing to the velocity of their currents, and the existence of shoals and rapids. Cultivation is principally confined to the immediate vicinity of the rivers, which are employed for purposes of irrigation out of a total estimated area of 5,500 sq.m. in 1872, only 209 were returned as under cultivation. Agriculture, however,
is carried on with great skill and industry, by terracing out the hill-sides. Wheat, rice, and mandu are the staple crops, the surplus produce being exported to Thibet. Tea planting is also carried on under European supervision. Garhwal originally consisted of 52 petty chieftainships, each chief with his own independent fortress (garh). Between 400 and 500 years ago, one of these chiefs, Ajai Pal, ruler of Chanpur, reduced all the minor principalities under his own sway, and founded the Garhwal kingdom. He and his ancestors ruled over Garhwal and the adjacent state of Tehri, in an uninterrupted line till 1803, when the Gurkhas invaded Kiimaon and Garhwal, driving Pridhiman Sah, the Garhwal chief, into the plains. For 12 years the Gurkhas ruled the country with a rod of iron, until a series of encroachments by them on British territory, led to the war with Nepal in 1814. At the termination of the campaign, Garhwal and Kumaon were converted into British districts, while the Tehri principality was restored to Pridhiman Salt, whose grandson still holds it. Since the annexation, Garhwal has rapidly advanced in material prosperity.