The 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. Beyond this there is no source to suggest the story behind suggesting the name of Bhalessa.
Historically Bhalessa has remained part of Bhaderwah therefore culture of both places has marked similarities. Bhalessa and Bhaderwah culturally, socially traditionally and geographically doesn’t have much of the difference instead has marked similarity. In history where ever the reference of Bhaderwah has occurred Bhalessa is included in it. Bhalessa got separate identity only very recently when it became a separate tehsil in the year —-.the gazetteer of Kashmir written by C.E Bhat in the year 1867 has reference of each place like Jatota ,Neeli, Pingal, Basnota etc . The earliest reference of Bhaderwah is traced from Rajtarangni of Kalhan around 1063 to 1089 AD when Raja Kalsha of Kashmir had convened the conference of eight Rajas of outer hill states of Kashmir to defend Kashmir valley from the aggression from western side. In this conference, the Raja of Bhadhrwah had also participated. At that time it was known as Badrabakash i.e a good resting place. Beside this some modern historians have also mentioned Bhalessa in their writings but not in the details it deserves. The culture of Chamba has influence on this place because of its proximity, foot roads and common pastures in the upper hills. In 1821 AD Bhaderwah came under the rule of Rajas of Chamba after a battle in which raja of Bhaderwah was defeated. In 1846 AD, the whole area of Doda including Kishtwar had become part of newly created J&K state after the Amritsar pact between British Government, Lahore Darbar and Raja Gulab Singh of Jammu who became the Maharaja of the J&K state in the light of this pact. Bhalessa was made tehsil in the year 1981 and sub division in the 2008. At present Bhalessa is divided into three tehsils ie Gandoh, chilly and Kahra.
Geographically Bhalessa is comparatively remote area of district doda which share its boundaries with district Kishtwar, tehsil Thathri and tehsil Bhaderwah. It also share its border with district Chamba ( Himachal Pradesh). Bhalessa’s main town is Gandoh which is about 30km from Thathri and about 68 km from district headquarters Doda. The road connectivity is good but will shortly it will 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 govt. employment and natural beauty and its natural resources also give source of income. Internally almost all village 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 in national and international arena for India. He has also represented India in Olympic Games.
