Mana is a village in the district of Chamoli in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, located at an altitude of 3,200 meters {10,500 feet}.[1] It is located on the northern terminus of National Highway 7 (new numbering system),[2] Mana is the first village before the Mana Pass and is 26 kilometres from the border of India and Tibet. The village is at a distance of about 3 km from the Hindu Pilgrimage Badrinath and the two places are culturally connected with each other.[1]
Demography
As per Census 2011 the village had about 558 households and a population of about 1214.[3] The people belong to Marchhas and Jads or Bhotias.[1] During winter months, the entire populations comes down to lower places, as the area is covered under snow.[1] Many coffee shops here tell people that their shop is the last coffee shop on the Indian border.[4]
Cultural identity
The villagers of this village are culturally associated with activities of Badrinath temple and annual fair of Matha murthi.[1] They used to trade with Tibet in earlier days.[1] There is a small cave in Mana, named Vyas Gufa and it is believed that Maharshi Vyas composed Mahabharat in this cave.[1] One more cave is called Ganesh Gufa and tourists visit both caves regularly.
