Geographically, Garhwal lies between the latitudes 29^o26' - 31^o28' N  and longitudes 79^o49' - 80^o6' E in the Central Himalaya with many towering peaks covered with age-old snow, forming the Indo-Tibetian border in the north, Kumaon to the east, and Himachal Pradesh to the west.  The snow tops form the catchments of the rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Nayar, their drainage pattern criss-crossing the region.  The term Garhwal came about in the fifteenth century, when king Ajai Pal began the unification of the principalaties, in the region forging the fifty two different Garhs (literally, fortresses) into one kingdom.  The king shifted his capital from Chandpurgarhi to Joshimath, then to Dewalgarh and  finally invaded to Srinagar, to commemorate the completion of the unification.  The Gorkhas invaded Garhwal and ruled it till 1815 when they were ousted with thehelp of the British.  Consequently, however, the Garhwal raja had  to give up Pauri and Chamoli to Britishin payment.  The capital of Garhwal was then established at Tehri.  A year after the independence of India, the mother of Tehri Raja joined the Indian union and made way for the reconsideration of the five hill districts of Uttar Pradesh into the present Garhwal Division. 

Garhwal has a prehistory hidden beneath the heavy veil of times.  Recent archaeological finds date some of the settlements as 800 B.C.  It was formerly known as Kedarkhand - where the Shiva was traditionally worshipped.  There are also strong suggestions of Buddhism and Jainism; the Siddh and Nath cult and Naga worship have had there days here.  Tantra too had a strong following in the region but gradually lost ground with the consecration of the Badrinath temple in the 9th century A.D.,  when the worship of Lord Vishnu gained a foothold.  It is generally accpeted that Sankaracharya, a Namboodri brahmin from Kerala, the great social reformer established the Vishnu image in Badrinath between 815-20A.D. 

The Vedas (the books of knowledge of the Aryans), were composed in Garhwal (the best known to the Garhwalis being the Atharvaveda) and they make telltale refrences to various geographical features of this region.  The practice of horoscopy and astrology, offshoots of Vedic knowledge flourished, and Deoprayag remains an important centre for the production of astrological charts and calenders.  The area of Badri-Kedar is also called Devbhumi, or the Land of the Gods.

 Deoprayag, at the confluence of the Alaknanda and the Bhagirathi, where the Ganga (by name) begins, is the most important of the panch prayags (five confluences).  The other four confluences, all on the Alaknanda, are Rudraprayag, Karanprayag, Nandprayag, and Vishnuprayag. Hardwar, where the Ganga enters the plains, is the gateway to Garhwal.  Other entry points are Kotdwar, and Kalsi, where the Yamuna enters the plains.

Under the influence of the British, both the Garhwals improved in education, communication, health, sanitation etc.  Slave trade initiated by the Gorkahas was also stopped.  The British were interested to control Garhwal mainly because it provided the easiest mountain passes at Niti and Mana to Western Tibet.  The attitude of the British Government towards Tibet was that it had no desire of aggresion or annexation.  They were however interested to ensure that Russia should not bring Western Tibet within its sphere of influence as that could endanger India's security.  Therefore they never interfered with the local traditions of the people of Garhwal and maintained friendly relations throughout.  For the same reason they evacuated any encroachments from the Tibetan side whenever they received a complaint. 

With the independence of India in 1947, British Garhwal automatically became a part of free India and the native state of Tehri also was amalgamated. However, Rajah Manavendra Shah of Tehri Garhwal continured to administer the state till 1st August 1949 when it was converted into the district of Tehri Garhwal of Uttar Pradesh.

Garhwal now has five districts and is administered through the district authorities answerable to the State Government at Lucknow.  For development purposes, a separate Hill Developmnet Board was set up in 1967.  Now another body has been formed named Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam Pvt. Ltd. with headquarters at Dehradun to expedite planned development in the area.