Details:
Villages: Grahan, Pulgi & Thunja
District: Bhuntar
Province: Himachal Pradesh
Area: Parvati Valley
Region: Northwest India
Appellation: Grahan
Country: India
Regional Planting: Spring
Regional Harvest: October to November
Height: 1-4 metres
Classification: NLD type Landrace population
 
General Info:
Grahan Valley stretches east to west perpendicular to Parvati Valley with the Saar Pass (4100m) at the northwestern end of the valley leading to Pulga, Tosh and Kheerganga. There is a road which stretches halfway along the bottom of the valley from Kasol to the trailheads for Thunja, Grahan and Pulgi.

The villages of Grahan valley are relatively remote and difficult to access compared to the nearby alternatives of Rasol, Choj and Chalal giving the area a somewhat more tranquil and beautiful atmosphere. Since the advent of mass tourism to Parvati - the main income sources and the lifestyles of many of the locals revolve around tourism and the charas trade.

Grahan, Pulgi and Thunja are somewhat damp and dark owing to the position of the villages and the valley itself within the larger mountain range but the higher fields of the Grahan ‘Kutla’ ‘Upper’ and ‘Top’ along with most of the Thunja fields benefit a lot from their altitude in terms of catching sunlight.

Plants in the valley are most prized by locals when exhibiting ‘mango’ aromas although a spectrum of terpene profiles is found in the fields. Given their location and relatively dense planting - the lower fields are filled with very resistant plants able to put up with a lot of humidity right in the middle of flowering - as is often the case due to the local monsoon. Upper fields contained a lot of purple and black coloured plants compared to the lower fields with those plants often sporting a bright, fruity profile with a strong herbaceous fennel-like character. 
 
Three villages produce all of the charas in Grahan Valley:
 
Grahan - South Facing (2400m)
Pulgi - South Facing (2400m)
Thunja - Southwest Facing (2500m)

 
Accession info:
Please see our guide to how the accessions are classified and named here.
The following accessions were made from September to November 2022.
 
Grahan Village General Population
Type: Open Pollinated Domesticate Landrace
Lieux-dit: N/A
Altitude: 2100-2500m
Height: 1.5-3 metres
 
Grahan Village Selection
Type: Open Pollinated Domesticate Landrace
Lieux-dit: N/A
Altitude: 2100-2500m
Height: 1.5-3 metres
 
Grahan ‘Riverside’ Selection
Type: Open Pollinated Domesticate Landrace
Lieux-dit: ‘Riverside’
Altitude: 2100-2350m
Height: 1.5-3 metres
 
Grahan ‘Upper Terraces’ Selection
Type: Open Pollinated Domesticate Landrace
Lieux-dit: ‘Upper Terraces’
Altitude: 2400-2700m
Height: 1.5-3 metres
 
Grahan ‘Kutla’ Selection
Type: Open Pollinated Domesticate Landrace
Lieux-dit: ‘Kutla’
Altitude: 2700-3000m
Height: 1.5-3 metres
 
Grahan Feral Selection
Type: Open Pollinated Feral Landrace
Lieux-dit: N/A
Altitude: 2100-2400m
Height: 1.5-4 metres
 
Pulgi General Population
Type: Open Pollinated Domesticate Landrace
Lieux-dit: N/A
Altitude: 2300-2400m
Height: 1.5-3 metres
 
Pulgi Village Selection
Type: Open Pollinated Domesticate Landrace
Lieux-dit: N/A
Altitude: 2300-2400m
Height: 1.5-3 metres
 
Thunja General Population
Type: Open Pollinated Domesticate Landrace
Lieux-dit: N/A
Altitude: 2400-2700m
Height: 1.5-3 metres
 
Thunja Village Selection
Type: Open Pollinated Domesticate Landrace
Lieux-dit: N/A
Altitude: 2400-2700m
Height: 1.5-3 metres
 
Thunja Feral Selection
Type: Open Pollinated Feral Landrace
Lieux-dit: N/A
Altitude: 2100-2400m
Height: 1.5-4 metres