Jaiharikhal (Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand) - A Tourist Destination

LOCATION

Village Jaiherikhal is a separate revenue village and comes under Gram Pancyat Jaiherikhal. Village lies in Lansdone Tehsil in Pauri Garhwal District of Uttarakhand State, India. It is located 70 KM towards South from District head quarters Pauri and 165 KM from State capital Dehradun. Jaiherikhal is surrounded by Ekeshwar tehsil towards East, Dhumakot tehsil towards East , Yamkeshwar tehsil towards west , Pokhra tehsil towards East . 

Jaiherikhal is middle Himalayan village situated close to a well known tourist destination Lansdowne which is surrounded by dense vegetation mainly oak on the slopes. This village is located at a height of about 1700 meters from sea level in block Jaiherikhal at a distance of about 30 km from the Kotdwar town. This serene village lies at slope with the geographical coordinates of Latitude 29.8377 N and Longitude 78.6871 E. Weather of Jaiherikhal stays cold and pleasant throughout the year. The maximum temperature during summer ranges from 25 ºC to 5 ºC. The months of winters begins from October and extend to April. Maximum temperature reaches to 10 ºC and goes down to 0 ºC or below during winter season, it also receives a particular amount of snowfalls. The densely forested slope receives adequate rainfall generally commencing from mid-June and extending till mid-September. Adequate rainfall is also recorded in winter.

The rich forest area adjacent to the village is basically an Oak forest with a certain proportion of pine, pine, bushes and grasslands. At the higher elevation cedar species is also found in the reserve forest. The inhabitations of local people meet the need of fuel, fodder, small timber and thatch grass from this forest. 

The main wild animal of this area include the black bear, dear, common leopard, etc. The rich and exotic avifauna of in and around village makes it a birdwatcher’s paradise. Its colorful avifauna comprises, inter alia, several species of thrushes, woodpeckers, barbets, flycatchers, swifts, tits serow, golden eagle, bearded vulture, snow cock, steppe eagle black eagle and the one mustn't forget the peculiar -- and ubiquitous – jet black jungle crow.

The Jaiherikhal and adjoining Lansdowne cantonment area is visited by thousands of tourist from across the country. Though, summer is major tourist season in the area but good number of tourist also visit in winter season to experience snow fall and bright sun during the day   At present, major inflow of tourists at this place starts from April to June and September to October.

SOCIO ECONOMIC FEATURES

Jaiherikhal is a medium size village with total 398 families residing. The Jaiherikhal village has population of 1666 of which 833 are males while 833 are females as per Population Census 2011.

In Jaiherikhal village population of children with age 0-6 is 147 which make up 8.82 % of total population of village. Average Sex Ratio of Jaiherikhal village is 1000 which is higher than Uttarakhand state average of 963. Child Sex Ratio for the Jaiherikhal as per census is 861, lower than Uttarakhand average of 890. Jaiherikhal village has higher literacy rate compared to Uttarakhand. In 2011, literacy rate of Jaiherikhal village was 93.29 % compared to 78.82 % of Uttarakhand. In Jaiherikhal Male literacy stands at 95.36 % while female literacy rate was 91.24 %. Aswal, Aggarwal, Dhasmana, Rana, Shah, Maindola, Rawat, etc and some schedule caste are main inhabitants of the village. 

Agriculture combined with livestock, horticulture and to some extent tourism is main source of the economy of Jaiherikhal village. There are still 45% families who come below poverty line. The total agricultural area of the village is 41.14 hectare. The irrigated land area is only 0.15 hectare which is negligible and remaining cultivable area is rain fed. 

As per the focus discussion with the village, 70% families have less than half hectare land. A large cultivable area in village is under marginal holdings, which too is fragmented and scattered. This has impeded the task of making agriculture a profitable occupation. However, the experience of Himachal Pradesh with a similar land holdings pattern shows that agriculture could be made remunerative through its focused development by providing incentives like inputs, extension, developing infrastructure, etc. The main Khariff crops are rice, Jhangora, mandua, Urd, Moong and till, and the Rabi crops are wheat, barley, Gram, Masoor, Mustard, etc. Mixed cropping is common in village which helps in maintaining the crop diversity and reduces the risk of environment uncertainty. Productivity of agriculture almost remained stagnant in the village over the past one decade except increase in the case of cash crops.

Most the agriculture land of the village is barren because of high migration of working population and damage by wild animals to the crop. In recent year the crop damage by wild animals has become a serious problem in the hills. The income from agriculture is negligible; families completely depended on market for their good grain supply.  

Agriculture in village is closely interlinked with animal husbandry and forestry to form a production system.  Marginal and small farmers are heavily dependent on the livestock sector as it is not only a source of milk and draught power, but its by-products such as manure help in supplementing farm income. These animals, in turn largely depend on forests for their feed. There has been a decline in the growth of population of sheep, which could be attributed to the reduction in grazing lands. Also, the village observed continuous decline in the growth of cattle population.

ATTRACTION FOR TOURIST IN AND AROUND THE VILLAGE

The key attractions for tourist in and around the village are following.

S.N	Attraction	Description
1	Lansdowne	Jaiherikhal is just 2 km away from the Lansdowne town. Being a cantonment town, there is almost ban on new construction or up gradation of existing facilities in Lansdowne. Therefore, entrepreneurs have no option except developing tourism infrastructure at Jaiherikhal village. Lansdowne now well known on tourist map of Uttarakhand due to following characteristics. ·     Headquarter of Garhwal Rifle, established by British Govt ·     It’s quiet, less crowded, not over developed and relatively undiscovered · It’s much cleaner and well maintained because its management by the Garhwal Rifles Cantonment Board ·     It has become a melting pot of the Kumaoni, Garhwali and Marwari cultures, which exist here as an exemplary symbol of communal harmony · Has several excellent examples of British colonial architecture  and military history that have been kept remarkably well preserved ·     Its also one of the closest hill stations for people travelling from or through Delhi ·     View of snowcapped mountain and snowfall during winter
2	Tarkeshwar Temple	It is an ancient temple dedicated to Lord Shiva surrounded by thick Cedar forest. It is located 38 km from Lansdowne at an altitude of 1800 m to the north east of Lansdowne. Tarkeshwar temple is one of the most visited tourist place in district Pauri.
3	Himalayan view	The tourist can enjoy view of snowcapped Himalayan range from village itself. The different shades of the valley has its own unique feature, and brings out the charm of the Himalayas in a distinctive way, with snow-clad slopes, green valleys, gushing streams, and an endlessness where tourist can lose yourself, any day.
3	Bhullla Tal	Bhulla means younger brother in Garhwali language. Bhulla tal is an artificial lake in Lansdowne dedicated to the Garhwali youth of Garhwal rifles. Tourists enjoy the lovely gardens, boating, trekking around the lake and the soothing environment of park at the lake side just 4 kms away from Jaiheri
4	Darwan Singh Museum	The Museum established by Garhwal Rifle is named after Darwan Singh Negi, the first Indian recipient of the Victoria Cross. Tourists can see the rare collection of Garhwali rifles in the regimental museum, which is 4 kms away from Jaiheri.
5	Cultural life of local community	The villages of Uttarakhand are culturally very rich. The peculiar traditional housing pattern, costumes, fair festival, food, folk music and dances, agriculture practices and animal husbandry practices can attract visitors across the world. Villages has a very simple, yet delicious cuisine. The food is nutritious as well as tasty. Coarse grain with high fiber content is very common in Uttarakhand cuisines. Music is an integral part of the Uttarakhand culture. The calm and serene ambiance of this place surrounded with hills and mountains has inspired many musicians to compose great tones. Some of the popular folk songs are `Mandals`, `panwaras` and somber `khuded`, `thadya` and `jhoda`.these folk songs are composed on the beats and nodes of Dhol, damoun, turri, ransingha, dholki, daur, thali, bhankora and masakbhaja. Though, many traditional practices are gradually disappearing from the village. Promotion of rural tourism may revive the traditional culture of the villages.
6	Bhairav Garhi/ Hanuman Garhi	Bhairav Garhi temple dedicated to lord Shiva in his Bhairav (dangerous) form is situated at hill around 12 Km from Jaiheri . Hanuman Garhi is 2 Km from Bhairav Garhi temple dedicated to lord Shiva in his Hanuman form. Bhairav Garhi temple is a siddh peeth. One month long local festival is organized at Bhairav Garhi every year during monsoon.