HAFESHWAR VILLAGE
- 991 villages from 30 states and union territories applied, including Hersil-Gunji in Uttarakhand.
Hersil village, which rose to fame four decades ago with the shooting of the film 'Ram Teri Ganga Maili', has been included among the best tourist villages in the country. On the other hand, Gunji village situated on the Indo-Tibet border at the last camp of the Kailas Mansarovar Yatra is also included in this list. Along with Harsil and Gunji, 36 villages of the country have been selected this year as well. 991 villages from 30 states and Union Territories applied for selection in 8 phases. Hersil and Gunji have been selected in the Vibrant Village category.
Virasat Village (5) : Hafeshwar of Chhota Udepur is the best heritage village. People come here to see the half-submerged Shiva temple. Andro village of Manipur, has also been selected. There are Pura Mahadev (Bagpat), Maphlang and Keeladi villages.
Responsible Village (5): Ladpura Khas near Orchha and Sabarwani near Panchmarhi in Madhya Pradesh have been selected in this category. The other three are Kadlundi in Kerala's Kozhikode district, Tar and Dadra in Leh district, Dudhani village in Nagar Haveli.
Socially Based Village (5): Chitrakot village of Bastar, famous for the 'Niagara of India', has been selected in this category. Alpana village in Tripura is also known for Alpana art. 55 thousand tourists come here every year. The range also includes Devmali in Ajmer, Minkoy Island in Lakshadweep and Sialsuk in Mizoram.
Shilp Village (5): Manibandh making the khandua pata worn by Lord Jagannath, Pranpur in Madhya Pradesh famous for Chanderi sarees, Nirmal famous for wooden toys in Telangana, Sualkuchi famous for Mooga silk are also in this category.
Spiritual Village (5) : Five villages have been selected in this category including Ahobilam village of Nandyal (Andhra Pradesh) dedicated to Lord Nrisimha, Bandora village of North Goa famous for Nageshi and Mahalakshmi temple and Antruj Mahal of Ponda and Rikipeeth village of Devghar (Jharkhand).
Agritourism (5) : Tourists are offered paddy planting, crop harvesting in Badanagar village called Varanasi of Bengal. In this category, Hansal from Punjab has been selected for reducing the incidence of stubble burning in fields by 50%. Karade from Ratnagiri, Kumarakom from Kottayam, Soupi from Bageshwar.
Adventure Tourism Village (4) : Aru village in Anantnag, Dhudhamaras in Bastar, Jakhol in Uttarkashi and Kutlur village in Dakshina Kannada have been selected in this category.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
