->John of Reading: Typo/general fixes, replaced: lessor known → lesser known, in 17th century → in the 17th century, ’s → 's

2021-11-09T13:28:15Z

Typo/general fixes, replaced: lessor known → lesser known, in 17th century → in the 17th century, ’s → 's

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{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2017}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Nelang
| native_name = नेलांग
| native_name_lang = hi
| other_name =
| nickname =
| settlement_type = village
| image_skyline =
| image_alt =
| image_caption =
| pushpin_map = India Uttarakhand#India
| pushpin_label_position =
| pushpin_map_alt =
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Uttarakhand, India
| coordinates = {{coord|31|06|45|N|79|00|17|E|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = {{flag|India}}
| subdivision_type1 = [[States and territories of India|State]]
| subdivision_name1 = [[Uttarakhand]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[List of districts of India|District]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Uttarkashi]]
| established_title = 
| established_date =
| founder =
| named_for =
| government_type =
| governing_body =
| unit_pref = Metric
| area_footnotes =
| area_rank =
| area_total_km2 =
| elevation_footnotes =
| elevation_m = 3819
| population_total =
| population_as_of =
| population_rank =
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_demonym =
| population_footnotes =
| demographics_type1 = Languages
| demographics1_title1 = Official
| demographics1_info1 = [[Hindi]]
| timezone1 = [[Indian Standard Time|IST]]
| utc_offset1 = +5:30
| postal_code_type = 
| postal_code =
| registration_plate = UK 10
| website = {{URL|uk.gov.in}}
| footnotes =
}}
[[File:Bhagirathi river map.JPG|right|thumb|300px|Jadh Ganga]]
[[File:Map India and Pakistan 1-250,000 Tile NH 44-1 Chini.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Map including Nelang ([[Army Map Service|AMS]], 1954)]]

'''Nelang''' or '''Nilang''' is a river valley of [[Himalayas]], with a small eponymous village, in [[Uttarkashi District]] of [[Uttarakhand]] state of India. It is close to disputed Sino-India [[Line of Actual Control]] (LAC), hence also claimed by China as part of [[Zanda County]] of [[Ngari Prefecture]] of [[Tibet]].

Some of the nearby villages are [[Dhumku]] in the west, and [[Sang, Uttarakhand|Jadhang]] ([[Sang, Uttarakhand|Sang]]) and [[Pulam Sumda]] in the northeast, all of which lie in the Jadh Ganga valley.<ref name=lac4>{{Cite web |url = https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/indias-border-dispute-with-neighbors/1859854 |title = India's border dispute with neighbors |website = aa.com.tr |access-date = 2020-07-18 }}</ref>

== Geography==
{{ anchor | Geo | Geography }}

[[Jadh Ganga]], an important tributary of the [[Bhagirathi River]], flows through a narrow gorge flanked by steep cliffs. The gorge is called [[Jadh Ganga]] valley, and part of this valley near Nelang is called ''Nelang Valley''.

{{anchor | Pagal Nala | Pagal nala | Hawa Bend | Hawa bend | Hindoli Ghat | Hindoli ghat }}
Uttarkashi to India-China LAC route: 
[[National Highway 34 (India)|NH-34]] from ''Uttarkashi'' city in south to ''[[Bhaironghati]]'' (west of ''[[Gangotri]]'') in north via ''[[Harsil]]'' is 90 km which runs along the ''Bhagirathi River'' in ''Bhagirathi valley''. The ''Bhagirathi River'' and its tributary ''[[Jadh Ganga]]'' confluence at ''Bhaironghati''. The limits of ''Jadh Ganga valley'' and ''Jadh Ganga river'' are ''Bhaironghati'' in southwest and ''[[Naga, Uttrakhand|Naga]]'' in northeast. The ''Bhaironghati'' to ''Naga'' 32 km long road, along the ''Jadh Ganga river'' in ''Jadh Ganga valley'', goes via ''[[Dhumku]]'', ''Hawa Bend'' (~4 km from ''Bhaironghati'', named so because of strong winds, notorious for land slides as it is flanked by a sandy steep vertical cliff on one side and deep river gorge on the other), ''Pagal Nala'' (literally the ''Crazy Stream'' - the local name of ''Jadh Ganga river'', named so as it is prone to sudden flash floods whenever it rains upstream), ''Hindoli Ghat'' (named so due to feeling of ''hindola'' or ''swing'' experienced by passengers on the zigzag [[Ghat#Mountain ghats|mountain ghat]] route), ''Nelang'' village, ''[[Mana, Gadh Ganga|Mana]]'' bridge over the ''Jadhang river'', and ''Naga'' (~6 km east of Nelang).

{{anchor | Jadhang | | Nilapani Jadhang river | Jadhang River | Jadhang Gad | Jadhang gad | Nilapani river | Nilapani River | Nilapani Gad | Nilapani gad }}
Naga - fork roads to Pulam Sumda / Sumla and Mendi Gad Glacier: 
Naga, where road forks into two, is confluence of two tributaries of Jadh Ganga, the ''Jadhang river'' (''Jadhang Gad'') which originates from a glacier near ''[[Sumla]]''/''Pulam Sumda'' in north and ''Nilapani river'' (''Nilapani Gad'') which originates from a glacier north of near ''[[Mana Pass]]'' in east. Mana pass is not reachable via this road as this route lies in the north of the mountain and glacier which blocks it from the Mana Pass in the south.

{{anchor | Rangmach river | Rangmach River | Rangmach Gad | Rangmach gad | Mendi river | Mendi River | Mendi Gad | Mendi gad }}
Naga to Sumla road: 
''Naga'' to ''Sumla'' ~34 km long motorable road in ''Jadhang river valley'' goes via ''[[Dosindhu]]'' (literally ''two rivers'', ~ 3 km from ''Naga'', a spur road from here goes towards ''Jadhang village'' in the northwest along the ''Jadhang'' rivulet while the main road along ''Jadhang Gad'' continues northeast to ''Pulam Sumdo''), ''[[Jadhang peak]]'' (5290 m to the west of road) and ''[[Sonam peak]]'' (5262 m to the east of road), ''[[Tirpani]]'' (~20 km from Naga, has confluence of ''Rangmach river'' (''Rangmach Gad'') from northwest and ''Jadhang Gad'' from northeast), ''Pulam Sumda'' (~25 km from Naga), confluence of ''Jadhang Gad'' from north and ''Mendi Gad'' (another fork route goes ~2 km to east to ''[[Tsangchok]]'' base camp of BSF), and ''Sumla'' near LAC.

{{anchor | Nilapani river | Nilapani River | Nilapani Gad | Nilapani gad | Gull river | Gull River | Gull Gad | Gull gad | Mendi river | Mendi River | Mendi Gad | Mendi gad | Mana river | Mana River | Mana Gad | Mana gad }}
Naga to Mendi Gad Glacier road: 
''Naga'' to ''Mana Pass'' ~25 to 30 km long road in the Nilapani and Mendi Gad (also called ''Mana Gad'') valleys goes east via ''Nilapani-Mendi confluence'' (~5 km from Naga, confluence of ''Nilapani Gad'' from north and ''Mendi Gad'' from east), ''Mendi-Gull confluence'' ~13 km from Naga (''Mendi Gad'' from east and ''Gull Gad'' from a glacier in the south), and along the ''Mendi Gad'' river towards Mendi Gad Glacier near LAC. Mendi Gad Glacier lies north of Mana Pass, but remains unconnected with it due to the high mountain peaks.

ICBRs by BRO: 
[[NHAI]] is responsible for maintaining NH-34, which goes till goes till Bhaironghati and [[Gangotri]]. Rest of the motorable
roads to Sumla/Pulam Sumda and Mana Pass at LAC, have been constructed by India's [[Border Roads Organisation]] (BRO) under the phase-I of [[India-China Border Roads]] (ICBR).

== History ==

=== Indo-Tibet Silk route ===

Salt and silk were traded on this silk route. Pathan traders supposedly paid for the construction of this stairway in the 17th century. It was also a lesser known secret route of Hindu-Buddhist [[yatra]] (pilgrimage) to [[Mount Kailash]].

=== Territorial dispute ===

The valley of the Jadh Ganga is also [[Sino-Indian border dispute|claimed by China]].<ref name="info.cndsi.com">{{cite news|author=采编|title=中印边境自卫反击作战史|url=http://info.cndsi.com/html/20051126/1747142842.html|accessdate=2005-11-26|website=中国国防资讯网|date=2005-11-26|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090626012530/http://info.cndsi.com/html/20051126/1747142842.html|archivedate=26 June 2009|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

== Gartang Gali stairway ==

'''Gartang Gali cliff-side hanging-stairway''' or '''Gartang Gali bridge''', a 500 m long narrow wooden stairway hanging high at a height of 11000 ft on the side of a vertical ridge, lies in the narrow Nelang river valley of Jadh Ganga river canyon. After cutting a narrow horizontal U-shaped passage on the side of monolith cliff, the wooden structure was built inside it in the traditional native style. It offers great views of Nelang valley and its ecology. It was initially supposedly constructed by the [[Pathan]] traders from [[Peshawar]]. Gartang Gali, a narrow and steep gorge, was [[Silk Road]] trade route between [[Tibet]] and India. After the [[Sino-Indian War|1962 Sino-Indian War]], the access to the area was prohibited by [[Indian Military]], consequently the bridge fell in disrepair. In 2015, after India opened these areas for the tourism, the wooden stairway was repaired in the native traditional style and reopened in August 2021 for the tourism after a gap of 59 years.<ref name=t1>[https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/travel/travel-news/uttarkashis-ancient-gartang-gali-bridge-opens-to-tourists-after-59-years/as85457497.cms Uttarkashi's ancient Gartang Gali bridge opens to tourists after 59 years!], Indian Express, 19 Aug 2021.</ref>

== Culture==

Nelang and Jadhang villages are inhabited by the ''Char [[Bhutia]]'' tribe who practice Buddhism. During the 1962 Sino-Indian War, India evacuated these villages.

==See also==

* [[India-China Border Roads]]
* [[Line of Actual Control]]
* [[List of disputed territories of India]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Cities and towns in Uttarkashi district]]

Nelang - Revision history

->John of Reading: Typo/general fixes, replaced: lessor known → lesser known, in 17th century → in the 17th century, ’s → 's