Uttarakhand has a unique charm, and has an appealing factor that attracts travellers from far and near. Same goes for its villages, some of which are remote, and some of which have been a hit in the tourism radar. Likewise, high in the remote folds of Uttarakhand, the village of Martoli sits, but in near silence today. Roofless stone houses, crumbling walls, and empty lanes tell the story of a settlement that once pulsed with life. It’s nestled deep inside the Johar Valley, which is now largely abandoned, while its ruins stand as a quiet record of a lost Himalayan way of life. Surrounded by towering peaks of the Himalayas, the village lies beneath dramatic mountain peaks, with views that stretch toward Nanda Devi, once believed to be the tallest mountain in the world. Long before borders hardened and maps were redrawn, this isolated northern Indian settlement thrived as a vital node in cross-border trade. Martoli was not remote in spirit then; it was connected by commerce, migration, and seasonal movement.
For generations, the people of Martoli built their lives around trade. Sugar, lentils, spices, and cloth were carried across high mountain passes and exchanged for salt and wool from Tibetan communities. The rhythm of life followed the seasons. Winters were spent in the plains, where families gathered supplies and goods. Summers meant returning to the high valley, reopening homes, tending land, and preparing for long trading journeys across the border.Read more: Which country is home to the world’s most poisonous Golden Dart Frog? Why you should know this But in 1962, this rhythm abruptly collapsed. The border was sealed as a result of the armed battle between China and India, shutting off centuries-old trade routes virtually overnight. The high-altitude communities of the Johar Valley lost their purpose after losing their economic sustenance. When livelihoods disappeared, there was little reason to put up with hard winters, loneliness, and scarce supplies. One by one, families departed, and the majority never came back. At its height in the early 1960s, Martoli was home to around 500 people. The Johar Valley’s largest village held nearly 1,500 residents, while many smaller settlements had just 10 or 15 houses each. Today, Martoli sees only three or four people return each summer.Read more: 5 stunning national parks to explore without fear of venomous snakes A slow, tentative return is also visible in nearby villages such as Laspa, Ghanghar, and Rilkot. A recently built unpaved road now allows vehicles to reach within a few kilometres of these settlements, making seasonal return possible for some families. Martoli remains more isolated, but change has arrived even here in a small way. Moreover, among the scattered remains of stone homes, a new guesthouse has emerged, which caters to the occasional trekker passing through on the route to the Nanda Devi base camp.Today, Martoli is neither fully alive, nor entirely forgotten. It continues to exist, although in a fragile in-between state, sustained by memory, seasonal labour, and the endurance of a few individuals, who refuse to let the village disappear completely. The ruins do not simply mark abandonment; they preserve the outline of a life shaped by mountains, movement, and a border that changed everything.
