Nelang
Nelang or Nilang is a river valley of Himalayas, with a small eponymous village, in Uttarkashi District of Uttarakhand state of India. It is close to disputed Sino-India Line of Actual Control (LAC), hence also claimed by China as part of Zanda County of Ngari Prefecture of Tibet. Some of the nearby villages are Dhumku in the west, and Jadhang (Sang) and Pulam Sumda in the northeast, all of which lie in the Jadh Ganga valley. Geography. Jadh Ganga, an important tributary of the Bhagirathi River, flows through a narrow gorge flanked by steep cliffs. The gorge is  called Jadh Ganga valley, and part of this valley near Nelang is called "Nelang Valley". Uttarkashi to India-China LAC route: NH-34 from "Uttarkashi" city in south to "Bhaironghati" (west of "Gangotri") in north via "Harsil" is 90 km which runs along the "Bhagirathi River" in "Bhagirathi valley". The "Bhagirathi River" and its tributary "Jadh Ganga" confluence at "Bhaironghati". The limits of "Jadh Ganga valley" and "Jadh Ganga river" are "Bhaironghati" in southwest and "Naga" in northeast. The "Bhaironghati" to "Naga" 32 km long road, along the "Jadh Ganga river" in "Jadh Ganga valley", goes via "Dhumku", "Hawa Bend" (~4  km from "Bhaironghati", named so because of strong winds, notorious for land slides as it is flanked by a sandy steep vertical cliff on one side and deep river gorge on the other), "Pagal Nala" (literally the "Crazy Stream" - the local name of "Jadh Ganga river", named so as it is prone to sudden flash floods whenever it rains upstream), "Hindoli Ghat" (named so due to feeling of "hindola" or "swing" experienced by passengers on the zigzag mountain ghat route), "Nelang" village, "Mana" bridge over the "Jadhang river", and "Naga" (~6 km east of Nelang). Naga - fork roads to Pulam  Sumda / Sumla and Mendi Gad Glacier: Naga, where road forks into two, is confluence of two tributaries of Jadh Ganga, the "Jadhang river" ("Jadhang Gad") which originates from a glacier near "Sumla"/"Pulam Sumda" in north and "Nilapani river" ("Nilapani Gad") which originates from a glacier north of near "Mana Pass" in east. Mana pass is not reachable via this road as this route lies in the north of the mountain and glacier which blocks it from the Mana Pass in the south. Naga to Sumla road: "Naga" to "Sumla" ~34 km long motorable road in "Jadhang river valley" goes via  Dosindhu (literally "two rivers", ~ 3 km from "Naga", a spur road from here goes towards "Jadhang village" in the northwest along the "Jadhang" rivulet while the main road along "Jadhang Gad" continues northeast to "Pulam Sumdo"), "Jadhang peak" (5290 m to the west of road) and "Sonam peak" (5262 m to the east of road), "Tirpani" (~20 km from Naga, has confluence of "Rangmach river" ("Rangmach Gad") from northwest and "Jadhang Gad" from northeast), "Pulam Sumda" (~25 km from Naga), confluence of "Jadhang Gad" from north and "Mendi Gad" (another fork route goes ~2 km to east to "Tsangchok  base camp of BSF), and Sumla" near LAC. Naga to Mendi Gad Glacier road: "Naga" to "Mana Pass" ~25 to 30 km long road in the Nilapani and Mendi Gad (also called "Mana Gad") valleys goes east via "Nilapani-Mendi confluence" (~5 km from Naga, confluence of "Nilapani Gad" from north and "Mendi Gad" from east), "Mendi-Gull confluence" ~13 km from Naga ("Mendi Gad" from east and "Gull Gad" from a glacier in the south), and along the "Mendi Gad" river towards Mendi Gad Glacier near LAC. Mendi Gad Glacier lies north of Mana Pass, but remains unconnected with  it due to the high mountain peaks. ICBRs by BRO: NHAI is responsible for maintaining NH-34, which goes till goes till Bhaironghati and Gangotri. Rest of the motorable roads to Sumla/Pulam Sumda and Mana Pass at LAC, have been constructed by India's Border Roads Organisation (BRO) under the phase-I of India-China Border Roads (ICBR). History. Indo-Tibet Silk route. Salt and silk were traded on this silk route. Pathan traders supposedly paid for the construction of this stairway in the 17th century. It was also a lesser known secret route of Hindu-Buddhist yatra (pilgrimage) to  Mount Kailash. Territorial dispute. The valley of the Jadh Ganga is also claimed by China. Gartang Gali stairway. Gartang Gali cliff-side hanging-stairway or Gartang Gali bridge, a 500 m long narrow wooden stairway hanging high at a height of 11000 ft on the side of a vertical ridge, lies in the narrow Nelang river valley of Jadh Ganga river canyon. After cutting a narrow horizontal U-shaped passage on the side of monolith cliff, the wooden structure was built inside it in the traditional native style. It offers great views of Nelang valley and its ecology. It was  initially supposedly constructed by the Pathan traders from Peshawar. Gartang Gali, a narrow and steep gorge, was Silk Road trade route between Tibet and India. After the 1962 Sino-Indian War, the access to the area was prohibited by Indian Military, consequently the bridge fell in disrepair. In 2015, after India opened these areas for the tourism, the wooden stairway was repaired in the native traditional style and reopened in August 2021 for the tourism after a gap of 59 years. Culture. Nelang and Jadhang villages are inhabited by the "Char Bhutia" tribe who practice Buddhism. During the 1962 Sino -Indian War, India evacuated these villages.