Off late, after the formation of Uttarakhand, the state Government has been trying bring the people from Garhwal and Kumaun together for celebrations and fairs.

To facilitate this change, even the traditional route of the Yatra was tweaked and an additional stop with a detour was added, i.e. Nanadakesri.

Due to the heavy rain and cloudburst in June 2013 in Uttarakhand, which led to major loss of life and property and caused massive destruction to the region, the Nanda Devi Raj Jat Yatra from 29 scheduled to take place in August 2013 was postponed to the year 2014.

Initially when the Raj-Jaat started in the a small Hamlet of Chamoli Garhwal, it was a much smaller affair compared to the scale of today's events.

When more help was required to manage the crowd and the activities, neighbouring clans from Rawat and Negi communities were engaged and they too got associated with the Raj-Jaat.

The whole Yatra signifies the journey of the newly wed Nanda Devi (Gora is also used very commonly and interchangeably), leaving her maternal home and going to Kailash.

Officially, as per the traditions, the goddess visits her maternal family after every twelve years, and then after weeks of celebrations she goes back to Kailash.

Another myth is this that king Yasodhwal's wife was pregnant and while she was giving birth to her child, her placenta flowed down to Roopkund and this in turn caused the death of the people there.

The reason for this addition appears to be because the goddesses Nanda and Sunanda together took birth as princesses in the royal family and to mark this new reincarnation, the practice of celebrating a festival for both sisters together was introduced in which a story from their life is enacted.

The Nanda Devi fair is held at Almora, Nainital, Kot (Dangoli), Ranikhet, Bhowali, Kichha and also in the far flung villages of Lohar (like Milam and Martoli) and Pindar valleys (like Wachham and Khati).

In Nainital and Almora, thousands take part in the procession carrying the dola (or palanquin) of Nanda Devi.

Many Tourists from various parts of India and from abroad have come to join the holy Nanda Devi Raj Jat Yatra.