A haunted village 15 -20 kilometres away from Champawat between Tanakpur – Champawat where according to people wander ghosts during night ?

Once the big, prosperous houses of Swala Village, today completely secluded and lonely with shrubs coming up in abundance.

During my recent visit to Pithoragarh, Champawat , Lohaghat from Delhi via Sitarganj, Khatima, Tanakpur though I experienced a lot of bottlenecks on the highway route’s few squeezed points due to the ongoing monsoons but the journey was quite pleasant as compared to the hiccups and bottlenecks on Garhwal routes where Construction of all weather roads, underground railway tunnels on 125 kilometres Rishikesh to Karnaprayag route is going on in full swing with massive rains bringing with them landslides in abundance.

Our 13 to 14 hours long and fatigued journey was a new experience for me as I was on this route for the very first time.

Though roads were good and greenery with cohesive forest on both sides of the road , as we climbed the mountainous route via our car the feeling of fresh cool air not only cleared our lungs accumulated with pollution of Delhi and NCR but the fog gave us the feel of the winter season.

We were fortunate enough to have a very negligible rain thus avoiding the fresh landslides and therefore no blockade of roads except the BRO and other concerned authorities clearing the already existing debris on roads due to earlier landslides making our way clear to commute conveniently.

I have heard and written a lot about ghost villages in Uttarakhand due to massive migration but haven’t ever heard of one Village known as a Ghost village namely ” Swala Gaon” where apart from nobody living there, the ghosts actually roam around during the nights, known as the HAUNTED village.

Situated at a secluded location surrounded by huge mountains conveniently watchable from the national highway ( A Maggie Point) SWALA village is situated approximately 15 to 20 kilometres away from Champawat when we come from Tanakpur or go towards Tanakpur from Champawat.

Those accompanying me casually discussed this village while we were passing through but curiosity led to giving halt to our car.

We took pictures and made a video of this ghost village when someone from behind said that apart from the lonely village it’s haunted too.

According to a real happening – in 1952 an Army vehicle fell down from the top with several soldiers having died brutally crying for help in pain, but it is said that the villagers didn’t come to their rescue and instead ran away with their articles and other important belongings. The soldiers died inside the accidental bus desperately crying for help.Eight men had succumbed to severe injuries during this accident. (Amar Ujala report 2016)

Hence since then the ghosts wander here with the villagers living in extreme fear finally leading to the village becoming completely empty.

Though the other reason given is the village having no connecting road and being quite secluded gradually leading the villagers to leave it becoming a ghost village.

The village comprises old traditional houses where several generations lived and did farming to survive and thereafter too even after leaving the village but finally gave up. The local villagers have confirmed about such ghosts’ sightings during the nights sending fear among the villagers and those living in the surroundings reveal old sayings.

After the 1952 tragic accident of the Army bus which claimed several lives, the SWALA village gradually became a ghost village with today the entire village being empty. Shrubs coming up in the fields and entire village giving a lonely secluded look from the main road and a view/ Maggie Point. The village is situated at the bottom covered with mountains with no connecting main road including no surrounding villages though the entire area gives a lush green look.

In Uttarakhand’s Garhwal and Kumaon region about three thousand villages have become ghost villages but have never heard about the superstitious belief that Ghosts wander there except in SWALA village where several army men had died crying for help when their bus plunged several metres down near the village from the main road with villagers allegedly not helping them but taking away their entire belongings.

( Though the writer personally visited the village and talked to people he doesn’t believe on the village being haunted. The report is based of local peoples’ version and various past news reports. We have no intention to hurt anyone’s sentiments though. We fully respect the sentiment of those hailing from Swala village with no intention to hurt their emotions or sentiments. )