What were all the 52 Garh of Garhwal?

Ever wondered about all the 52 Garhs of the Garhwal Kingdom?

Garhwal, known as “The Land of Gods” (Devbhoomi), once had 52 separate territories spread across the region. In 1358, Raja Ajay Pal united all the Garhs and formed the Garhwal Kingdom.

The flag of Garhwal State, Uttarakhand
Ruled by Parmar Rajputs

The flag of Garhwal state was known as 'Badrinathji Ki Pataka' or 'Garuda Dhwaj'. The colour scheme is 2 equal stripes of white & green, horizontally placed and the symbol used was Garuda ( vehicle of Lord Vishnu). pic.twitter.com/LLREd1hoQT

— History Of Rajputana (@KshatriyaItihas) August 1, 2020

The word Garhwal is believed to be derived from “Garh,” which means fort. After uniting all the Garhs, Ajay Pal was known as “Garhwala” (Owner of the forts), hence the name Garhwal.

Narendra Negi, a prominent singer from Uttarakhand, mentioned most of these Garhs in his 2005 song “Biroo Bhadu Ku Desh.” You can listen to the song for a better idea.

Below is the list of all the 52 Garhs.

1) Nagpur Garh (नागपुर गढ़): It was in Jaunpur Pargana. There is a temple of Nagdevta here. The last king here was Bhajan Singh.

2) Kolli Garh (कोल्ली गढ़): The Bachhawan Bisht people lived here.

3) Ravaan Garh (रवाणगढ़): It was on the Badrinath route and the Ravani people were in the majority here.

4) Phalyan Garh (फल्याण गढ़): It was in Phaldkot and was the fort of Brahmins of Phalyan caste.

5) Vagar Garh (वागर गढ़): It was the fort of Nagvanshi Rana caste.

6) Kuili Garh (कुईली गढ): This was the fort of Sajwan caste.

7) Bharpur Garh (भरपूर गढ़): It was also the fort of Sajwan caste.

8) Kujni Garh (कुजणी गढ़): It is also associated with the Sajwan caste, the last Thokdar (village chief) here was Sultan Singh.

9) Sil Garh (सिल गढ़): It was also a fort of the Sajwan caste

10) Mungra Garh (मुंगरा गढ़): This fort was situated in Rawai and belonged to the Rawat caste.

11) Raika Garh (रैका गढ़): It was a fort of Ramola caste.

12) Molya Garh (मोल्या गढ़): This fort was situated in Ramoli and also belonged to the Ramola caste.

13) Upu Garh (उपु गढ़): This fort belonged to the Chauhan caste.

14) Nala Garh/Nalapani/Nalagarhi (नाला गढ़): Located in the Dehradun district, Nalagarh is situated at Khalanga in the present day. In the year 1814, the first Anglo-Gurkha battle was fought here which is known as the “Battle of Khalanga“. This fort oversees Doon Valley to the South West and Song River Valley to the East.

15) Sankari Garh (सांकरी गढ़): This fort situated in Rawai belonged to the Rana caste.

16) Rami Garh (रामी गढ़): It belonged to the Rawat caste.

17) Biralta Garh (बिराल्टा गढ़): This fort belonged to the Rawat caste.

18) Chandpur Garh (चांदपुर गढ़): It was the fort of Suryavanshi King Bhanu Pratap.

19) Chaunda Garh (चौंडा गढ़): This fort of Chaundal caste was in Sheeli Chandpur.

20) Top Garh (तोप गढ़): It belonged to the Topal people.

21) Rani Garh (राणी गढ़): It was established by a queen and hence it came to be known as Rani Garh.

22) Shriguru Garh (श्रीगुरूगढ़): This fort belonged to Padiyar caste.

23) Badhan Garh (बधाणगढ़): People of Badhani caste lived here.

24) Lohbagh (लोहबागढ़): This fort was the fort of Negi caste.

25) Dasholi Garh (दशोली गढ़): This fort was made famous by a king named Manavar.

26) Kandara Garh (कंडारा गढ़): People of Kandari caste lived here.

27) Dhaun Garh (धौना गढ़): It was the fort of Dhoniyaal caste.

28) Ratan Garh (रतन गढ़): People of Dhamada caste lived here.

29) Erasu Garh (एरासू गढ़): This fort was above Srinagar.

30) Idia Garh (इडिया गढ़): People of Idia caste lived here.

31) Langur Garh (लंगूर गढ़): Its traces are still there in Langur Patti.

32) Bagh Garh (बाग गढ़): It was the fort of the Negi people.

33) Garhkot Garh (गढ़कोट गढ़): This fort belonged to Bagdwal Bisht caste.

34) Gartang Garh ( गड़तांग गढ़): It was the fort of Jadh people. They were responsible for securing the border of Garhwal from the Bushahr Kingdom and the Tibet Empire.

35) Vangarh Garh (वनगढ़ गढ़): It was situated close to Vangarh.

36) Bhardar Garh (भरदार गढ़)

37) Chaundkot Fort (चौंदकोट गढ़): Its remains can still be seen on the hill above Chaubatta Khal.

38) Nayal Garh (नयाल गढ़): It was the fort of Nayal caste.

39) Ajmir Garh (अजमीर गढ़): It belonged to the Payal caste.

40) Kanda Garh (कांडा गढ़): It was the fort of the Rawat caste.

41) Savligarh (सावली गढ़)

42) Badalpur Garh (बदलपुर गढ़)

43) Sangela Garh (संगेला गढ़): People of Bisht caste lived here.

44) Gujaru Garh (गुजड़ू गढ़)

45) Jaunt Garh (जौंट गढ़)

46) Dewalgarh (देवल गढ़)

47) Lodgarh (लोद गढ़)

48) Jaunpur Garh (जौंलपुर गढ़)

49) Champa Garh (चम्पा गढ़)

50) Dodrakanra Garh (डोडराकांरा गढ़)

51) Bhuvana Garh (भुवना गढ़)

52) Lodan Garh (लोदन गढ़)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DEszgqrzso&pp=ygUTNTIgZ2FyaCBvZiBnYXJod2FsIA%3D%3D