Here area is known as Bhalessa to outsiders, but inhabitants of the region use a variety of names, prominent being Bhalessa. The etymology of the name remains unknown. It has been suggested that it derives from the Sanskrit word for ‘good’ (bhalla) or from the name of the 16th-century queen, Queen Bhalla’’ of Bhadarwah.
Geographically Bhalessa is comparatively remote area of district doda which shares its boundaries with district Kishtwar, tehsil Thatri and tehsil Bhaderwah. It also shares its border with district Chamba ( Himachal Pradesh). Bhalessa’s main town is Gandoh which is about 30km from Thatri and about 68 km from district headquarters Doda. The road connectivity is good but will shortly attain national highway status after its expansion/renovation. The project has already been approved by the government. Agriculture is the main sector of survival/livelihood of the area besides employment and beauty and its natural resources. Internally almost all villages are connected by road and connectivity is not a major issue. Some of the scenic beautiful spots include Bhal Padri, Kanthi dhar,,Damote Dhar, Bach Dhar, Nagni Dhar, Rohari Meadows, Goha Dhar, Soin Bhagar, Ghashir Top ,Mehalwar Dhar, Naglotan, Lakhan, Mashood Dhar, Mihaad Dhar, Beerchow Waterfall
The tourism sector in this area has started picking up and it is expected that influx of tourists will further increase once infrastructure for tourists starts coming up. In education sector, it has one degree college and plenty of higher secondary schools. The area is rich in forest produce and forest trees mainly consisting of deodar, kails and sal are the predominant.
Politically it has produced some ministers and MLA main among which is shri Gh. Nabi Azad who was chief minister J&K and in Centre Health minister and some other ministries and leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha
In the field of sports it has produced cricketer Mithun Manhas who has played and captained Delhi, he has also played in IPL. Subedar Chain Singh (Rifle shooting) has won many gold, silver and bronze medals for India. He also represented india in Olympic Games.
