Mankind has always been the most important as well as destructive element of biodiversity, but thanks to foresightedness, has practiced worshipping and conserving nature in the past through sacred groves. These are forest areas protected by communities due to social taboos and are dedicated either to a deity or ancestral spirits. India is a land of cultural ethos and Nature worship is a part of its cultural practice. Uttarakhand in the western Himalaya is the abode of gods and goddesses. There are many natural objects which are considered sacred such as rivers (Ganga, Yamuna), mountain peaks (Nanda Devi, Chaukhamba, Trishul, Om parbat), lakes (Roopkund, Kedar tal, Hemkund) and forest areas. These forest areas are known by various names in India. In the Kumaun region of Uttarakhand, they are known as ‘Thans’. Hidimba dan, Teet ki Devi, Banri Devi, Kasar Devi, Hat Kali, Patal Bhubaneshawar (rocks and caves with calcareous tufa), Garanath, Binsar, Jageshwar, Shikhreshwar, Mayadevi Ashram and Narayan Ashram are such examples, which harbour various rare, threatened and endemic flora and fauna. There are about 13,720 sacred groves listed in India so far, out of which only one is reported from Uttarakhand. Hill people of Uttarakhand have an excellent symbiotic relationship with nature. They depend not only on flora and fauna for their living, but faith and belief in sacred groves also give them livelihood options and their cultural ethos protects nature. The present paper is an excerpt from an ongoing study of sacred groves in Kumaun region of Uttarakhand.
