Pithoragarh

Pithoragarh (Kumaoni: Pithor’garh) is a Himalayan city with a Municipal Board in Pithoragarh district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the fourth largest city of Kumaon and the largest in Kumaon hills, larger than Almora and Nainital.The town has all the facilities including an airport. It has become an education hub of the hilly region as the town has Laxman Singh Mahar Govt.P.G.College, Seemant Institute of Technology, now known as Nanhi Pari Seemant Engineering Institute and a nursing college catering to the needs of all the nearby towns as well.

Etymology

“The district is named after its headquarters town, Pithoragarh. Tradition has it that during the reign of the Chand Rajas of Kumaon, one Piru, also called Prithvi Gosain, built a fort here and named it Prithvigarh which, in the course of time, got changed to Pithoragarh.”[2]

History

Pithoragarh city and its surrounding areas were part of the Manaskhand region, which extended from the Kailash Mountain in the north to Bhabar & Terai in the south, as mentioned in the Skanda Purana.[3]: 12  The Asuras and Nagas appear to be the earliest inhabitants of the region, who were later superseded by the Kiratas, Khasas and the Kunindas.[3]: 13  The Kuninda Kings of the region may have become the feudatories of The Kushana Kings, who held their sway over the region in the last quarter of the 1st century AD.[3]: 16  The region subsequently came under the Kurmanchal kingdom, which had its capital first at Jyotirmath and then at Karikeyapura (Modern day Baijnath) in the Katyur Valley.[4]

Upon the disintegration of the Katyuris and fall of kingdom in 13th century, Pithoragarh came under the rule of Bam kings of Saur. The Bam kings were feudal to the Raikas of Doti and was a branch of katyuri kings, and had their capital at Udaipur near Pithoragarh, However, the Rajas used to come down to Rameshwar and Bailorkol during the winter months.[3]: 24  The Bam kings, who ruled over Saur were:[5]: 216 

Geography
Himalayan view from Pithoragarh

Pithoragarh is located at 29.58°N 80.22°E.[6] in the district of Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand, India. It lies in the revenue Division of Kumaon[7] and is located 188 km northeast of Nainital, the administrative headquarters of Kumaon. It has an average elevation of 1,627 metres (5,338 feet).[2][8] It is situated in the centre of the western half of the Saur Valley. The valley is spread across around 50 square kilometers. According to the Bureau of Indian Standards, on a scale ranging from I to V in order of increasing susceptibility to earthquakes, the city lies inside seismic zone V.[9] It lies in the Moderate damage risk (B) area in Wind & Cyclone Zone and is declared a No Flood Zone.