Udhampur

Udhampur, town, southwestern Jammu and Kashmir union territory, northern India, in the Kashmir region of the Indian subcontinent. It is situated at an elevation of 2,500 feet (760 metres) in a valley of the Siwalik Range, about 20 miles (32 km) northeast of Jammu, the union territory’s winter capital.

The town is named for Udham Singh, eldest son of Gulab Singh, the founder of the Dogra dynasty, which for most of the 19th and 20th centuries dominated the area that now constitutes Jammu and Kashmir union territory as well as the Ladakh and Baltistan regions. Located on the Pathankot-Uri national highway connecting the city of Srinagar (north-northwest) to the rest of India, Udhampur is an important military cantonment in India’s northern region. The shrine of Vaishno Devi is a major Hindu place of pilgrimage, and Krimchi, a group of four Shiva temples (11th century ce), is situated 6 miles (10 km) north of the town. Other prominent landmarks include the Chenani hydroelectric project and the Ramnagar Fort.

The region in which Udhampur is situated slopes from the Pir Panjal Range of the Lesser Himalayas in the north to the Jammu Siwalik Range in the south and is drained by the Chenab and Tawi rivers. Forests of pine, fir, and spruce cover the hills. Agriculture is undertaken on the terraced hill slopes and small alluvial tracts of river valleys. Rice, corn (maize), jowar (sorghum), and barley are grown. The grassy slopes of the higher elevations are grazing grounds for the sheep and goats of the Gujjar and Bakarwal peoples who move up from the lower elevations in the summer. Livestock, dried milk, raw wool, and hides are local trade items. Local industries include sawmilling, rice milling, metalworking, and ore smelting. Pop. (2001) 56,897; (2011) 35,507.