Details:
Village(s): Nirang, Malana, Wailing, Atolang & Waichin
District: Bhuntar
Province: Himachal Pradesh
Area: Parvati Valley
Region: Northwest India
Appellation: Malana
Country: India
Regional Planting: Spring
Regional Harvest: October to November
Height: 1-4 metres
Classification: NLD type Landrace population
 
General Info:
The famous Malana valley runs northeast from the Parvati valley and until a few years ago was inaccessible by vehicle with a trip to the charas fields requiring a multi-day trek from Jari or as was more common - from Naggar over the Chanderkhani pass.

The valley has five main settlements: 
 
Malana Village at 2600m is the most famous of all the villages and the main, permanent settlement in the valley. The Tosco and Malndr fields nearby are renowned for their quality producing gorgeous examples of the local landrace genepool in tall healthy plants glistening with trichomes. Top quality charas produced in Malana village can go for up to 10-15,000INR per 10g compared to the 1-5,000 usual in the rest of Parvati these days.

Nirang is a settlement on the other side of the valley level with Malana that is the main jumping off point for visitors to Malana village. From the lower reaches of Nirang the trailhead to Malana village proper begins. The fields stretch up the mountain and valley in both directions on this side with the famous ‘Galleno’s valley’ on the way past the Nirang ‘Top’ fields to Rasol (apparently). Fields here are very high quality with a decent percentage of plants showing the signature ‘black’ colouration which has made Nirang so famous recently. ‘Kali Ram’ made his selections for ILE here which has led to other local farmers cashing in on the name and supposedly making selections from the same fields.

Wailing is a small hamlet that has grown in recent years due to tourism that in the past served as a place from which to tend the crops of the nearby fields which are at quite a distance from Malana village. Magic Valley nearby and the village fields are huge, filled with plants of every hue destined to be rubbed into some of the most expensive charas in India. 
 
Atolang is much the same as Wailing in how it has developed except due to the proximity of the much more famous Wailing and Waichin, Atolang has few rooms for tourists and is fairly quiet. The fields here are also very big - stretching from Wailing to Waichin and above all the way up to 3500m.

Waichin is the furthest settlement on the way up the valley to the glacier and is similar to Wailing and Atolang except it has developed very quickly. Fields here as in Atolang and Wailing are huge. Past Waichin are the Thal fields while above is ‘Ralli Thatch’ amongst others - these are the highest altitude fields in Malana Valley and some of the best as far as the health, size and trichome density of the plants contained within. 
 
Accession info:
Please see our guide to how the accessions are classified and named here.
The following accessions were made from September to November 2022.
 
Malana Village General Population
Type: Open Pollinated Domesticate Landrace
Lieux-dit: N/A
Altitude: 2400-2800m
Height: 1.5-3 metres
 
Malana Village Selection
Type: Open Pollinated Domesticate Landrace
Lieux-dit: N/A
Altitude: 2400-2800m
Height: 1.5-3 metres
 
Malana ‘Tosco’ Selection
Type: Open Pollinated Domesticate Landrace
Lieux-dit: ‘Tosco’
Altitude: 2600-3000m
Height: 1.5-3 metres
 
Malana ‘Malndr’ Selection
Type: Open Pollinated Domesticate Landrace
Lieux-dit: ‘Malndr’
Altitude: 2600-3000m
Height: 1.5-3 metres
 
Malana Feral Selection
Type: Open Pollinated Feral Landrace
Lieux-dit: N/A
Altitude: 2400-2800m
Height: 1.5-4 metres
 
Nirang Village General Population
Type: Open Pollinated Domesticate Landrace
Lieux-dit: N/A
Altitude: 2400-2800m
Height: 1.5-3 metres
 
Nirang Village Selection
Type: Open Pollinated Domesticate Landrace
Lieux-dit: N/A
Altitude: 2400-2800m
Height: 1.5-3 metres
 
Nirang ‘Top’ Selection
Type: Open Pollinated Domesticate Landrace
Lieux-dit: ‘Top’
Altitude: 2600-3200m
Height: 1.5-3 metres
 
Nirang ‘Black’ Selection
Type: Open Pollinated Domesticate Landrace
Lieux-dit: ‘Top’
Altitude: 2600-3200m
Height: 1.5-3 metres
 
Nirang ‘Kali Ram Hashplant’ Selection
Type: Open Pollinated Domesticate Landrace
Lieux-dit: Nirang Village
Altitude: 2400m
Height: 1.5-3 metres
 
Nirang Feral Selection
Type: Open Pollinated Feral Landrace
Lieux-dit: N/A
Altitude: 2200-2800m
Height: 1.5-4 metres
 
Wailing Village General Population
Type: Open Pollinated Domesticate Landrace
Lieux-dit: N/A
Altitude: 2800-3200m
Height: 1.5-3 metres
 
Wailing Village Selection
Type: Open Pollinated Domesticate Landrace
Lieux-dit: N/A
Altitude: 2800-3200m
Height: 1.5-3 metres
 
Wailing Feral Selection
Type: Open Pollinated Feral Landrace
Lieux-dit: N/A
Altitude: 2800-3200m
Height: 1.5-4 metres
 
Atolang Village General Population
Type: Open Pollinated Domesticate Landrace
Lieux-dit: N/A
Altitude: 2800-3200m
Height: 1.5-3 metres
 
Atolang Village Selection
Type: Open Pollinated Domesticate Landrace
Lieux-dit: N/A
Altitude: 2800-3200m
Height: 1.5-3 metres
 
Atolang ‘Upper’ Selection
Type: Open Pollinated Domesticate Landrace
Lieux-dit: N/A
Altitude: 3000-3200m
Height: 1.5-3 metres
 
Atolang Feral Selection
Type: Open Pollinated Feral Landrace
Lieux-dit: N/A
Altitude: 2800-3200m
Height: 1.5-4 metres
 
Waichin Village General Population
Type: Open Pollinated Domesticate Landrace
Lieux-dit: N/A
Altitude: 2600-3000m
Height: 1.5-3 metres
 
Waichin Village Selection
Type: Open Pollinated Domesticate Landrace
Lieux-dit: N/A
Altitude: 2600-3000m
Height: 1.5-3 metres
 
Waichin ‘Upper’ Selection
Type: Open Pollinated Domesticate Landrace
Lieux-dit: ‘Upper’
Altitude: 3000-3200m
Height: 1.5-3 metres
 
Waichin ‘Ralli Thatch’ Selection
Type: Open Pollinated Domesticate Landrace
Lieux-dit: ‘Top’
Altitude: 3200-3400m
Height: 1.5-3 metres
 
Waichin ‘Thal’ Selection
Type: Open Pollinated Domesticate Landrace
Lieux-dit: Nirang Village
Altitude: 3000-3100m
Height: 1.5-3 metres
 
Waichin ‘Thal’ Feral Selection
Type: Open Pollinated Feral Landrace
Lieux-dit: N/A
Altitude: 3000-3100m
Height: 1.5-4 metres