देहरादून · Dehradun, Garhwal
Khukri making
The curved blade of the Gorkha soldier, shaped and finished by hand in a city with a long Gorkha history.
देहरी · The threshold
Come in. Uttarakhand's heritage is still being made.
Copper is still beaten in Almora and Aipan is still drawn on doorsteps. Find a craft, catch a festival, or walk with one of INTACH's four chapters.
शिल्प · The atlas
Thirteen districts, one atlas of living craft
Choose a district on the map to meet its signature craft, or pick a craft to see every district that makes it.
- Crafts recorded
- Being recorded
- Makes the chosen craft
Photo from INTACH coming soon
हरिद्वार · Haridwar, Garhwal
Crafts being recorded
Haridwar's heritage lives in its ghats and temples, among them the Ganga Mandir that INTACH is conserving. Its crafts are still being documented.
INTACH is recording this district's crafts now. If you know a maker here, tell the State Chapter.
उत्तरकाशी · Uttarkashi, Garhwal
Temple woodcarving
Carved doorways and brackets of the Rawain and Yamuna valley temples, cut from deodar.
Crafts of Uttarkashi
Photo from INTACH coming soon
टिहरी गढ़वाल · Tehri Garhwal, Garhwal
Bhimal fibre
Bast fibre stripped from the bhimal tree, long twisted into rope and now spun into cloth.
Crafts of Tehri Garhwal
पौड़ी गढ़वाल · Pauri Garhwal, Garhwal
Ringal basketry
Baskets, mats and winnowers woven from ringal, the slender hill bamboo of the Garhwal forests.
Crafts of Pauri Garhwal
रुद्रप्रयाग · Rudraprayag, Garhwal
Mask making
Wooden masks carved for village ritual. Rudraprayag is also home to Ghimatoli's Pandav Nritya, which INTACH has recorded on film.
Crafts of Rudraprayag
चमोली · Chamoli, Garhwal
Ramman masks
Masks carved in Saloor-Dungra for Ramman, the ritual theatre on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage.
Crafts of Chamoli
Photo from INTACH coming soon
अल्मोड़ा · Almora, Kumaon
Tamta copperware
Copper vessels hammered by the Tamta coppersmiths of Almora, a craft that goes back to the court of the Chand kings.
Crafts of Almora
नैनीताल · Nainital, Kumaon
Ringal craft
Baskets and lampshades woven from ringal in the villages around the lakes.
Crafts of Nainital
Photo from INTACH coming soon
ऊधम सिंह नगर · Udham Singh Nagar, Kumaon
Tharu grass craft
Baskets and mats coiled from moonj grass by the Tharu community of the Terai.
Crafts of Udham Singh Nagar
Photo from INTACH coming soon
बागेश्वर · Bageshwar, Kumaon
Mandalsera embroidery
Needlework from the Mandalsera cluster near Bageshwar town.
Crafts of Bageshwar
चम्पावत · Champawat, Kumaon
Stone carving
Stone carving from Kali Kumaon, the old name for the hills around Champawat.
Crafts of Champawat
पिथौरागढ़ · Pithoragarh, Kumaon
Bhotia wool weaving
Thulma blankets, chutka rugs and dan carpets from the Bhotia looms of Munsiyari and Dharchula.
Crafts of Pithoragarh
Every craft on the atlas, A to Z
- Almora
- Uttarkashi, Tehri Garhwal, Chamoli, Bageshwar, Pithoragarh
- Dehradun
- Uttarkashi, Tehri Garhwal
- Pithoragarh
- Nainital
- Nainital
- Pauri Garhwal
- Chamoli
- Dehradun
- Dehradun
- Nainital
- Chamoli, Almora, Bageshwar, Champawat
- Bageshwar
- Rudraprayag, Chamoli, Pithoragarh
- Dehradun
- Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Pithoragarh
- Pithoragarh
- Tehri Garhwal, Pauri Garhwal, Rudraprayag, Chamoli, Almora, Nainital, Bageshwar, Pithoragarh
- Champawat
- Almora
- Udham Singh Nagar
- Udham Singh Nagar
- Dehradun
- Dehradun
- Uttarkashi
- Uttarkashi, Tehri Garhwal
- Uttarkashi, Tehri Garhwal, Pauri Garhwal
ऋतु · Seasons
A year of living heritage
Crafts and rituals come out into the open at fairs and festivals. Plan a visit around them.
Uttarayani Melaउत्तरायणी मेला
Bageshwar, where the Saryu meets the Gomti
A week-long fair on the river banks at Bageshwar, held at Makar Sankranti.
Months: January.
Phool Deiफूलदेई
Villages across Kumaon and Garhwal
Children go from house to house leaving fyoli and buransh flowers on each doorstep, a blessing for the year.
Months: March.
Rammanरम्माण
Saloor-Dungra, Chamoli
Masked ritual theatre for the village deity, Bhumiyal Devta. On UNESCO's list of intangible heritage since 2009.
Months: April.
International Museum Dayसंग्रहालय दिवस
The Uttarakhand Museum Community
The state chapter brings together the small museums of the Uttarakhand Museum Community.
Months: May.
Nanda Devi Melaनंदा देवी मेला
Nanda Devi temple, Almora
A procession carries the dola of Nanda Devi through Almora, with nights of singing and a market of local crafts.
Months: August and September.
Aipan for Diwaliदीपावली के ऐपण
Homes across Kumaon
Thresholds and courtyards are drawn afresh in red geru and white rice paste, the two colours of Aipan.
Months: October and November.
Jauljibi Melaजौलजीबी मेला
Jauljibi, where the Kali meets the Gori, Pithoragarh
A trade fair since 1914, long tied to the Shauka traders of the high valleys. Woollens are still sold there.
Months: November.
Latest from the chapters
World Museum Day with the Museum Community
Ten small museums presented their newest collections to the Secretary, Culture, in an online session.
Gaja Utsav
Two days on elephants, forest corridors and culture with WWF, the Wildlife Institute of India and Doon University.
Tree of Life
100 students from 10 schools painted the heritage trees of Rangers College, from where forestry in India began.
Lansdowne Cemetery restored
A cemetery from the early 1900s, repaired with the Garhwal Rifles Regimental Centre and the British Association for Cemeteries in South Asia.
Stories of Landour Bazaar
Anthropologist Joyce Burkhalter Flueckiger read from her years of recording the shopkeepers of Landour.
A river morning at Saneh
Bird-watching where the Kohlu and Khoh rivers meet, one of the new Kotdwar chapter's first walks.
FRI heritage walk
Members walked the Forest Research Institute campus as part of the Historic Cities Series, Dehradun edition.
The Himalayas through a sadhu's lens
A rare 35mm slide show of Swami Sundaranand's photographs, from high passes to the 1986 Kumbh Mela.
Food and folktales from the hills
Author Prachi Raturi Misra on recipes gathered from Garhwal, Kumaon and Jaunsar-Bawar, with songs from the women who shared them.
शाखाएँ · The chapters
Four chapters across the state
Uttarakhand State Chapter
The state chapter runs the work that crosses districts: the Uttarakhand Museum Community, Gaja Utsav, the restored Lansdowne Cemetery and the proposed conservation of Shore's Well.
- Anjali Bharthari, chapter in-charge
Dehradun Chapter
Heritage quizzes for forty schools, teacher workshops with the Forest Department, a city photography competition, and the Historic Cities Series discussion on Dehradun's heritage.
- Bharti P Jain, convener
- Apurva Gour, co-convener
Mussoorie Chapter
Walks from Landour Bazaar to Benog Hill, the Landour Lecture Series with the Mussoorie Heritage Centre, and a walk with Geological Survey of India scientists past the fossils of Gun Hill.
- Surbhi Agarwal, co-convener
Kotdwar Chapter
The newest chapter, formed in 2025: forest trails through Saneh and Hanumangarhi, the Old Cart Road towards Lansdowne, and third place in the state heritage quiz in its first year.
- Shambhavi Padukone-Rana, convener
- N.K. Agarwal, co-convener
कार्य · The work
What INTACH Uttarakhand has restored, recorded and published
संरक्षणConservation
Restored
Lansdowne Cemetery
Graves from the early 1900s, restored with the Garhwal Rifles Regimental Centre and BACSA.
LansdowneDecember 2025 to January 2026
Proposed
Shore's Well
Visited by INTACH's Architectural Heritage Division for its proposed conservation.
Dehradun
Conserved
A 1973 certificate from the President of India
Conserved with INTACH's Material Heritage Conservation Division.
Uttarakhand
Project
Nainital Lake
Nainital
Project
Nainital Lake Library
Nainital
Project
Ganga Mandir
Haridwar
अभिलेखDocumentation, research and books
Documentary
Pandav Nritya of Ghimatoli
A documentary on the dance performed in the village's panchayat courtyard, funded through INTACH's Intangible Heritage Division.
Rudraprayag
Book and exhibition
Shri Guru Ram Rai Darbar Sahib
An illustrated storybook for children, and an online exhibition.
Dehradun
Research
Architectural Heritage of Dehradun
Dehradun
Research
Ramlila of Kumaon
Kumaon
Book
Forest Fire
Uttarakhand
कार्यक्रमProgrammes
Ongoing
Uttarakhand Museum Community
Ten small museums, from the Rung Museum in Darchula to the Soham Himalayan Centre in Mussoorie, working as one community.
Across the state
2025
Historic Cities Series
Dehradun at the national symposium, and four Dehradun themes in the Our Cities Speak exhibition at the India Habitat Centre.
Dehradun
सदस्यता · Membership
Cross the threshold. Become a member of INTACH.
Membership is open to anyone who cares for Uttarakhand's heritage. Members join the walks and talks, volunteer at events, and support conservation across the state.