कैसे पड़ा उत्तराखंड के विभिन्न जगहों का नाम : Dharchula, Pithorgarh Distrct.
===============================================
Dharchula is considered the gateway for the holy Kailash-Mansarovar yatra and the area has always been thought of as blessed by the gods. Many ancient sages and saints chose this as their tapasthali (place of meditation), the most well-known of whom was Byas Muni. In fact, the town derives its name from a legend about the Muni. Dharchula is composed of two words: dhar or edge/mountain and chula or chulah or stove. It is said that when Byas Muni cooked his meals, he used the area between the three mountain ranges surrounding Dharchula to light his stove, so the name.
It is also said that the Pandavs, during their 12-year exile, visited this area.
Another popular myth here is associated with the Kangdali festival, celebrated by the Shauka or Rang Bhotia people, whose largest settlement is based in Dharchula. The myth tells of a boy who died upon applying the paste of the root from a shrub known as Kang-Dali on his boil. Enraged, his widowed mother cursed the shrub and ordered the Shauka women to pull up the root of the Kang-Dali plant out of the ground when it reached full bloom, which happens once in 12 years.