Nanda Devi Raj Jat

The Raj Jat honors Nanda Devi in her form as a married daughter of the hills being ceremonially escorted back to her husband Shiva's abode in the high Himalayas — mirroring the real send-off given to a Garhwali bride leaving her parental home. Nanda Devi, after whom India's second-highest peak is named, is worshipped across Kumaon and Garhwal as a guardian goddess of the region.

Because the Yatra is held only once every twelve years, it draws a surge of pilgrims, journalists, and researchers to otherwise sparsely visited high-altitude routes, giving a temporary but significant boost to local guides, porters, homestays, and mule operators along the route through Chamoli district.