Uttarakhand (previously known as Uttaranchal) achieved the status of 27th State of the Republic of India on November 9, 2000. Uttarakhand has been carved out of Uttar Pradesh and with 51,125 sq kms it occupies 17.3% of India’s total land area. Uttarakhand has a population of approx 6 million and shares bordes with Tibet, Nepal, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh. Dehradun has been appointed as the state capital.

Uttarakhand has been divided into 13 districts of Pithoragarh, Almora, Nainital, Bageshwar, Uttarkashi, Champavat, Udham Singh Nagar, Chamoli, Dehradun, Pauri, Tehri Garhwal, Rudraprayag and Haridwar.
Major rivers of Uttarakhand are Ganga, Yamuna and Kali. Uttarakhand boasts of mountain peaks like Gauri Parvat, Gangotri, Panchuly, Nanda Devi, Nanda Kot, Kameth, Badrinath, Trishul, Chaukhamba, Dunagiri and many more, which can leave visitor spellbound. There are 4 major passes namely Mana, Nitipass, Lipulekh and LumpiaDhura. The major resources of states earning are Tourism, Water, forest, dairy, woolen, herbs, medicine, fruits and flowers.

Uttarakhand also has plenty of world famous pilgrimage site and the best known amongst them being Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath – collectively known as Char Dham For centuries saints and pilgrims have made their way to these places in search for the Divine. The yatra is traditionally done from West to East i.e. starting from Yamunotri, then to Gangotri and then to Kedarnath and finally Badrinath.

The major places in Uttarakhand which attracts tourists are Nainital, Bhimtal, Corbett National Park, Auli, Bageshwar, Binsar, Chamba, Chaukori, Dehradun, Mussoorie, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Kausani, Ranikhet, Mukteshwar, Pauri, Rudraprayag, Kedarnath and Badrinath.