Local Fruits of Uttarakhand :

Uttarakhand travel season draws in hordes of tourists and pilgrims from round the world. The innumerable temples and shrines make it the Land of Gods and the scenic mountain beauty is no less than heaven! Also, numerous adventure sports and water sports too attract a lot of the thrill-seekers out there. Uttarakhand Tourism’s full-fledged promotion of the beautiful state has borne fruit, and even after the devastating deluge in 2012, the state has fought back the calamity well and is again charting up the list of world’s most popular destinations.

 Like the apples of Himachal, or the oranges of Nagpur, there are areas within Uttarakhand known for the quality of specific varieties of fruits. Ranikhet’s Chaubotia Garden is known for apples, Mukteshar for plum orchards, Dhanolti, Ramnagar and Bhowali for the pine nuts and Ramnagar for its sugar free strawberries.

The rocky mountainous terrain of Uttarakhand though looks craggy and bereft of vegetation, yet when the season of fruits arrives, one would be wonder-struck to see the fruity trees out there laden with all kinds of juicy colourful delectable fruits that would actually set your mouth watering. The local fruits of Uttarakhand are :

Strawberry :

Uttakhand is blessed with the perfect climate for strawberry plantation. This fruit is cultivated in the state for commercial purpose. In Nainital district, Ramgarh is known for its strawberry cultivation as well as known for the orchid hub. Chajji district too have caught up with this delicious berry cultivation.

Plum:

This sour-sweet fruit is used for making jams and jellies. It is delicious even when raw. Plums are also eaten as dry fruit. This red berry has delicious juicy pulp and a hard seed at the centre. It is quite a common view in road-side fruit stalls of the hill-stations here. Mukteshwar is known for the best plums.

Hisalu :

It is quite popular amongst the locals. This bright yellow coloured fruit is abundant both in Kumaon and Garhwal regions and it tastes amazingly sweet! It ripens during March-April, available mostly in and around Nainital, Bhimtal, Almora and can be purchased from the fruit-sellers by the road-side stalls.

Walnuts :

Uttarakhand has the temperate climate needed to grow walnuts. For this reason, the Horticulture Department of the state too is taking new measures to cultivate and promote the fruit for commercial cultivation.

Kafal :

This fruit resembles deep-red raspberries but it has negligible pulp as the most space is taken up by the big round seed inside. It is a tasty treat and popular amongst the hilly people. This extremely sour fruit (even when ripe) is taken with a sprinkle of rock-salt and chili powder.

Khumani (Apricot) :

This fleshy and juicy fruit is widely cultivated in Uttarakhand, and it is a popular fruit too. It is rich is beta-carotene, iron, potassium, and anti-oxidants and therefore a healthy choice. The bright yellow-red colour is a treat for the eyes too.

             With abounding diversity on all accounts, the biodiversity of the State is bound to be rich. After the creation of Uttarakhand, as many as 3748 faunal species were inventoried and documented which included 451 species and sub-species, two new Texa, 22 constitute a first record for India. Ten species occurring in the state are endemic to India. The faunal species included 1060 species of vertebrates, 2020 species of Insecta Invertebrates and  4346 invertibrates excluding Insecta.

The present state of the Uttarakhand conforms to its rich heritage status supported by a rich floral diversity, vegetation, forest cover, healthy and pristine ecosystem and tremendous conservation efforts from species level to genetic level and to ecosystem level. Due to its unique bio-diversity, the state is also home to several rare and endangered species of herbal and aromatic plants. Realizing the immense potential of this resource in the state, the state government has declared Uttarakhand as a Herbal State.