Kumaon, like neighboring Garhwal, lies right on the main axis of the Great Himalaya range. From the eastern ramparts of Nanda Devi, 25,645 feet, on through Nanda Kot and the Panchchuli group, both twenty two thousanders, finally meeting up with the Nepalese Api group along the gorge of the Mahakali, the Great Himalaya rises in a gentle sweep from the plains of Uttar Pradesh.