Satpuli


Satpuli is a town on Meerut-Pauri highway, located at a distance of approximately 50 kilometres from Kotdwar and 50 kilometers from Pauri, in Pauri Garhwal district of Uttarakhand.

Location

Satpuli is situated on the southern banks of Nayaar river and at a distance of 1 kilometre from the confluence of Nayaar and Nayaar rivers. It is also connected to Banghat, which is where the unified Nayaar river meets Ganga river. Satpuli is one of the blocks ofPauri Garhwal district with its block office at Satpuli town.There is also a hospital by Hans Foundation located at Chamolsain near satpuli.It is main pathway to whole pauri garhwal district. Satpuli block covers 263 villages. It is 52 km from Pauri and 54 km from Kotdwara.

History

It is said that Satpuli got its name from the fact that it has seven bridges on its way from Kotdwara. Until a few decades ago this place used to be a farmland. Gradually, some hut-like shops sprang up at the other bank of river. In the year 1951 Satpuli witnessed a massive flood, leading to loss of life and livestock, many people died that year. Some of the shops and note-worthy buildings such as office of G.M.O.U. Pvt. Ltd. was swept away. Later, shopkeepers resettled at the present location. A memorial has been erected at the hydle power station in the memory of people who died in the great flood of the Nayaar river ralley. Satpuli is famous for its Maaccha Bhaat and as a halting/resting place for travelers where they have lunch and dinner enroute Kotdwar, Pauri, Srinagar or higher reaches of Nayaar valley. Now it is a Town Area.

Infrastructure

At present, the town is growing at a rapid rate and has expanded in an unorganized way leading to garbage, drainage and sanitary problems which are generally very hard to find in mountains. It is hailed as a prime place for shopping by villagers from the nearby villages. They come here for grocery and other consumables. It has four banks namely SBI, Syndicate Bank, Zila Sahkari Bank and Utarakhand Grameen Bank. Syndicate Bank opened in 2014 and since then, has been the main financial organization for Satpuli and all the nearby villages. Over the last couple of decades a lot of Army veterans & their families as well as old people have settled here after transferring their pension accounts to the nearby banks. Satpuli is also emerging as a new institutional area in the district after the establishment of Government Polytechnic College, Degree College, Navodaya Vidyalaya-Khairasaim, Sriverm ITI,Swami Ram Polytechnic-Toli and some public schools. Besides this a handful of clinics and hospitals serve the town and the surrounding rural areas like Sri Hans Hospital.

Attractions

Satpuli is an ideal place for angling and fishing as both the Nayaar and Nayaar rivers are teeming with different fishes. The variety and number of fishes further increases after the confluence of these two rivers. Besides a multitude of aquatic animals, Freshwater Eel, a local variety of spotted Catfish and Anchhyaal are the famous ones. Crabs, river snakes, otters, water birds and periwinkles can also be seen. Other than exploring the surrounding terrain, rivers, and enjoying the sights of nature, there is virtually nothing that can be done here. Besides this, nearby tourist destinations can be visited. Lansdowne, which is perhaps the calmest, cleanest and the least crowded hill-station, is only 30 kilometers away from here. It is an enjoyable journey of 1 hour by winding hilly roads and as you climb up from 2200 feet at Satpuli to 6000 feet at Lansdowne, you can feel a drastic change in the climate. Lansdowne is also known for its jungle safari. Yet, there is one thing that far exceeds the others in number, i.e. temples. There is no shortage of temples in Uttarakhand and Pauri district is no different. One can visit Jwalpa Devi Temple, Bhuveneshwari Devi Temple, Bhairav Garhi. Satpuli celebrates Ramleela, Grishmotsava, Sharadotsava and many festive occasions which are visited by multitudes of people.Jwalpa Devi Temple is the Famous Temple of Satpuli which is located on the road of pauri which is about 19.2 km far from satpuli.

Geography and Climate

At an elevation of 657 metres above sea level, Satpuli has a warm temperate climate similar to Srinagar and Dehradun. Under the Köppen climate classification, Satpuli has a combination of Subtropical Monsoon and Subtropical Highland climates. Temperature can range from the lowest of -1 to maximum of 45 degrees Celsius. March & November are the most pleasant months, January is the coldest whereas June is the hottest. During summer days, owing to its altitude, it is just a few degrees cooler than the national capital.

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