Harsil is a village, tourist hill station and army area located on the banks of the Bhagirathi River, on the way to Gangotri, a Hindu pilgrimage site in Uttarkashi district of the Indian state of Uttarakhand.

[3]Harshil lies on the old caravan trail between Tibet Autonomous Region and India, where trade & marriages once flourished.

In 1815 Anglo-Nepal War, British raj sided with the Kingdom of Garwal and as a reward they were given the eastern half of Garhwal.

In mid 19th century, apples and rajma cultivation was introduced to Harshil by Frederick Wilson, which became Himachal's main cash crops.

[4] Marco Pallis, Peaks and Lamas (New York, Knopf, 1940) includes an account of a visit to Harsil and environs in the 1930s.

Harshil army area is a base camp of Garhwal Scouts and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).

During the Golden Jubilee year of DRDO, the laboratory was renamed from DARL to Defence Institute of Bio-Energy Research (DIBER) with a new mandate and thrust areas.

The idol of the Hindu River Goddess Ganga (Ganges) is brought down from the shrine at Gangotri in the upper Himalayas after Diwali and kept at 'Mukhba' village near Harshil.

During the summer tourist season, path to Gartang Gali cliff-side hanging stairway is open, along which homestays in the native villages are developed.

Natives of the border villages, Sukki, Mukhba, Harshil, Bagori, Dharali, Jhala, Jaspur and Purali are trained as nature conservation and adventure guides for eco-tourism trekking, bird-watching, flora and fauna.

Harshil town is being beautified, tourist lights being installed similar to those at Nainital and Mussoorie, telescopes being set up at several places for star gazing.