Kotgarh - The Apple Valley

In my journey through India I have been amazed at all the produce and crops produced here. From cotton to coffee, sugarcane to tea, to the heaps of fruit - pomegranates, bananas. pineapple, mangoes - just to name a few. I have even learned about a new fruit or two - the awkwardly looking but sweet-tasting jackfruit and the king of fruit the durian. 

Today we have been graced with cherry and apple orchards. I think of New England Fall when apples come to mind. Warm days leading into crisp nights and the changing color of leaves. In India, orchards are found on terraced fields carved out of the steep hillsides. Netting covers the trees to protect from hail, creating a silkworm looking effect across the mountains. In the early 19th century, Samuel Stokes, a missionary from America, introduced apples to Kotgarh and today they are the dominant crop of the region. 

06.14.14

Kotgarh, Himachal Pradesh, India

8:27am

Apple orchard landscape of Kotgarh. 

An evening visit to an apple and cherry orchard. A Nepalese family minds the orchard, sells the fruit to the landowner who then has the it transported overnight to Delhi. 

Freshly picked cherries to eat. 

Freshly picked cherries for delivery. 

A reminder to slow down on the mountain roads of Kotgarh.