Sketch map of Himachal Pradesh

Sketch map of Himachal Pradesh Short history: "All the world over, high mountain ranges have served as refuge to remnants of ancient people and Covilisation, in which, comparatively unmolested, they could preserve their identity and traditions, some to the present day." The Himalayan highland is no exception to it. The people in search of new pastures had migrated to this hill areas from the plains. In course of time the Aryans led to the formation of different tribal settlement after racial intermixture with them in respective areas. The advent of the Muslims had rocked the Himachal by the 10th century, Mahmud Ghazni in the 11th century, Tughlaqs in 14th Century and Mughals in the 16th Century. In 1815 A.D. Mahamud Ghaznavi attacked Nagarkot. Sardar Muhammad who revolted against Razhia Sultana sought shelter in Sirmour. Feroz Shah Tughlaq attacked Nagarkot during 1365 AD. According to some reports he damaged the idols in Kangra and Jawalamukhi temples and went back with 300 Sanskrit manuscripts some of which were got translated in Persian. Timur attacked Sirmour during 1398-99 and went back with plenty of booty. Todarmal was sent by king Akbar to annex Kangra. The ruler of Kangra, Dharam Chand Katoch accepted the suzerainty of Akbar. In 1620 AD, Jahangir also tried and got hold of Kangra. The Gorkhas, a martial tribe came to power in Nepal in the year 1768. They consolidated their military power and began to expand their territory. Gradually the Gorkhas annexed Sirmour and Shimla. With the leadership of Amar Singh Thapa, Gorkhas laid siege to Kangra. They managed to defeat Sansar Chand, the ruler of Kangra, in 1806 with the help of many provincial chiefs. However Gorkhas could not capture Kangra fort which came under Maharaja Ranjeet Singh in 1809. After the defeat, the Gorkhas began to expand towards the south of the state. However, Raja Ram Singh, Raja of Siba State re-captured the fort of Siba from the army of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Samvat 1846. The Thakurs sought for British aid to oust the Gorkhas from Nepal. The situation led in the Anglo-Sikh war. They came into direct conflict with the British along the 1 / 10

tarai belt after which the British expelled them from the provinces of the Satluj. Thus the British gradually emerged as the paramount powers. The revolt of 1857 or first Indian war of independence (Sepoy Mutiny) resulted due to the building up of political, social, economic, religious and military grievances against the British government. People of the hill states were not politically alive as the people in other parts of the country. They remained more or less inactive and so did their rulers with the exception of Bushahr.Some of them even rendered help to the British government during the revolt. Among them were the rulers of Chamba, Bilaspur, Bhagal and Dhami. The rulers of Bushars rather acted in a manner hostile to the interests of British. The British territories in the hill came under British Crown after Queen Victoria's proclamation of 1858. The states of Chamba, Mandi and Bilaspur made good progress in many fields during the British rule. During World War-I, virtually all rulers of the hill states remained loyal and contributed to the British war effort both in the form of men and materials. Amongst these were the states of Kangra, Jaswan, Datarpur, Guler, Nurpur, Chamba, Suket, Mandi and Bilaspur. Rampur palace of King of Bushar >> In 1864, Shimla was made the summer capital of British India. On 15 April 1948, Himachal Pradesh secured its political identity as centrally administered state born out of amalgamation of 30 hilly states with the mountainous part of the Punjab. In 1951, it was registered as C-Catagory state. Bilaspur (HP) was annexed to Himachal Pradesh in 1954. The attempt to extend the state further by merging with Punjab after recommendation of the State Restructuring Commission was failed in 1956 due to mass agitation in the region. In 1966, Shimla, Kangra, Kullu, Lahaul & 2 / 10

Spiti from Punjab alongwith some other hilly areas were merged to expand Himachal Pradesh. It secured the status of an 'A' grade state of the Indian Union on 25th Jan 1971. With the reorganisation of districts in 1972, the state acquired the present 12 districts with its head quarter at Shimla. 3 / 10

Geographical information: Himachal Pradesh is divided into four zones of the Himalayan mountain ranges. These are distinctly different from each other in respect of relief, climate and vegetation and named as: 1. The Outer Himalayas or Shivalik range: 2. The Middle or Lesser Himalayas; 3. The Inner or Great Himalayas; and 4. Trans-Himalayan range. Himachal Pradesh is divided into four zones of the Himalayan mountain ranges. These are distinctly different from each other in respect of relief, climate and vegetation and named as: 1. The Outer Himalayas or Shivalik range 2. The Middle or Lesser Himalayas 3. The Inner or Great Himalayas and 4. Trans-Himalayan range. 1. The Outer Himalayas or Shivalik range: The Punjab-Haryana plains rise abruptly in the form of an escapement and merges with the mountain range which is called the Outer Himalayas or Shivalik range. The principal rock formation is mostly tertiary sedimentary type consisting of sand, clay and boulder conglomerates of the river bed of Himalayan rivers. The range is covered with thick vegetation and forest. 2. The Middle or Lesser Himalayas: The rugged mountain of about 60-80 KM wide and 1500-3500 M high at north of Shivalik range is the Middle or Lesser Himalayan range. The southern slopes are very steep and the northern side is more gentle. Dhauladhar (near Chamba), Pir Panjal entering Himachal Pradesh from Kashmir, Churdhar (south of Shimla) and Shimla ranges are the part of this range. Due to great heights and its abruptness, the area below this high ranges/ peaks receives excessive rains viz. Kangra, Chamba areas. 3. The Inner or Great Himalayas: This range runs along Kinnaur, Lahaul and Spiti districts. A large number of glaciers are situated in this range and supplies water through numerous rivers throughout the year and helps in power generation. The areas under this range receives lesser rain fall due to rain shadow zone created by other two ranges on its south. 4. Trans-Himalayan range: This range separates Spiti and Kinnaur from Tibet. The Trans Himalayan range is extremely difficult to access and semi arid type. Thick snow covers the range throughout the year. Kinner Kailash and Kalpa ranges are included in Trans-Himalayan range. 4 / 10

High Altitude Lakes: HIgh Altitude Lakes Hot Spring Chandra Tal: 7 KM trek from Kumzum La Vashisth: 3 km from Manali Suraj Tal: 15 KM trek from Kalath: Patseo 9 KM from Manali Nako Lake: At Nako Manikaran: 45 km from Kullu Bhrigu Lake: 13 KM trek from Khirganga: Manali 33 km trek - Manikaran Dashaur Lake: 6 KM from Tattapani: Rotang Pass 51 KM from Shimla Beas Kund: 20 KM trek from Solang Mantalai: 6 days trek from Manikaran Prasar Lake: 5 KM trek from Pandoh Saraolsar Lake: 28 KM trek from Jalori Pass Kareri Lake: 28 KM trek from Dharamsala Manimahesh Lake: 120 KM from Chamba Dal Lake: 2KM from Dharamsala Rewalsar Lake: At Rewalsar 30 KM from Mandi Weather & Environment: The state can be devided in four broad climatic zones on the basis of of tempoerature and rainfall. 1.The wet sub-tropical zone: Almost entire Mandi, Sirmaur, Solan districts, major part of Hamirpur, Una, Bilaspur districts and some part of Kangra district belong to this zone. 2. The cool humid temperate zone: It covers parts of Chamba, Kullu, Solan, Shimla, higher ares of Kangra (Dharamsala and Palampur) and Mandi (Karsog) district. 3. The cool moist temperate zone: It covers the inner parts of lesser Himalayas i.e. Pangi, Bharmour, Manali, Rampur and part of south Kinnaur districts. 4. The cool dry temperate zone: Most of Lahaul & Spiti and Kinnaur districts belongs to this zone. 5 / 10

People & Economy: The population is predominantly Hindu and a sprinkling of Christians, Muslims, Sikhs and Buddhists. The State has three well defined eco-cultural zones intrinsic to 6 / 10

the understanding of various cultural identities. (More to be added shortly) Himachal now ranks fourth in respect of per capita income among the states of the Indian Union. Agriculture contributes over 45% to the net state domestic product. Over 93% of the population in Himachal depend directly upon agriculture which provides direct employment to 71% of its people. The main cereals grown are wheat, maize, rice and barley. The State has a rich heritage of handicrafts. These include woolen and pashmina shawls, carpets, silver and metal ware, embroidered chappals, grass shoes, Kangra and Gompa style paintings, wood work, horse-hair bangles, wooden and metal utensils and various other house hold items. These aesthetic and tasteful handicrafts declined under competition from machine made goods and also because of lack of marketing facilities. But now the demand for handicrafts has increased within and outside the country. Himachal is extremely rich in hydel resources. The state has about 25% of the national potential in this respect. It has been estimated that about 20,300MW of hydel power can be generated in the State by constructing various major, medium, small and mini/micro hydel projects on the five river basins. The state is also the first state in India to achieve the goal of having a bank account for every family. Culture & Festivals: IMPORTANT TEMPLES IMPORTANT Monasteries Trilokpur Temple at Trilokpur, Nahan Ki Monastery - 7 KM from Kaza Renuka Temple at Renuka Kungri Monastery - 32 KM from Kaza 7 / 10

Parsuram Temple at Nirmud Thangyud Monastery - Komik, near Kaza Hateswari Temple at Hatkoti Shasur Monastery - 3 KM from Keylong Surya Temple at Nirth Tayul Monastery - 6 KM from Keylong Bhimakali Temple at Sarahan Kardong Monastery - 5 KM from Keylong Tama Devi & Bhootnath Temple Guru Ghantal at Mandi Monastery - near Tandi Naina Devi Temple at Nainadevi Gemur Monastery- 8 KM from Keylong Baba Balaknath Temple at Monastery Deoth Sidh at Manali Chintpurni Temple at Chintpurni Tashijong Mon. - 20 KM from Jogindernagar Jwalaji Temple at Jawaalji Monastery at McLeodganj Brijeswari Devi Temple at Kangra Chamundaji Temple at Chamunda Shiva Temple at Baijnath Bhagsunath temple at Bhagsunath Nagin Narayan Temple at Kalpa Chandika Temple at Koti, naer Kalpa Village Gods: The institution of village god is a remarkable tradition and practice amongst many interesting aspects of folk traditions in vouge in the hill society. The deities are not merely idols and statues. They are humanised and believed to be greater than human beings as they control the villagers destiny, listen to their woes, predict their future, arrange good fortunr for them.the decorated wooden palanquins are brought out of the premises setting on a pair of long wooden bar. The devotees carry the bars on their shouldes and dance. The dancing deity replies the questions on the villagers through their representatives and in the process they get their reply. The temples are managed by a temple committee constituted with the consent of the deity and serve as a centre point of all activities of the village. The villagers are expected to follow the code of conduct prescribed by the temple Chief. This is strictly practiced in Kalpa, sangla areas under Kinnaur District. The villagers celebrate different types of traditional festivals with their local dresses and ornaments. They sing and dance in groups dance, sometimes with masks, mainly at the village temple courtyard. 8 / 10

Festivals in Himachal Pradesh Events Place Month Shivaratri Fair Baijnath Feb Shivaratri Fair Mandi Feb/Mar Toshi Festival (Pic. below) Kalpa Feb/Mar Nalwari Cattle Fair Bilaspur Mar Chessu Fair Rewalsar Mar Holi Fair Sujanpur Tira March Rohru Festival Rohru April Summer Festival Dharamsala May Summer Festival Shimla May/Jun Sallooni Fair Solan June Minjar Fair Chamba July/Aug Ladarcha Fair Kaza July/Aug Tribal Fair Keylong August Phulaich Festival Kalpa Sept/Oct Manimahesh Yatra Manimahesh Aug/Sep Dushera Fstival Kullu Oct/Nov Tribal Fair Recong Peo October Lavi Fair Rampur November Renuka Fair Renuka November Transport: Air: There are three domestic airports in the state Shimla Airport, Bhuntar Airport serving Kullu and Manali, and Gaggal Airport serving Kangra and Dharamsala. Thereis daily flights from Delhi to these Airports. 9 / 10

Road: Although, the major part of the State is on the mountain ranges the roads connect all towns and populated villages with the State/District head quarter. The Government run transport services ply on these roads besides the buses from adjacent States and private operators. For Bus timings at Simla [Click here]. Rail: Railway connects only to a few places in Himachal Pradesh. The Pathankot Jogindernagar line connects Punjab with Himachal Pradesh. Shimla is connected with Kalka by a narrow gauge railway line. The Kalka-Shimla Railway track has a length of 96 kilometers. It passes through 103 tunnels and large number of ridges. Some of the bridges are marvellous. Shimla Station is more than 100 years old. Kalka Station is connected with major cities in India. Tourism & Tour circuits: Travellers entry permit: Inner Line Permit (ILP) for Foreigners visiting Kinnaur & Spiti: Th e foregn nationals intending to visit Kinnaur and Spiti area, need to obtain ILP from the concerned local authorities for entry into the restricted area i.e. beyond Jangi in Kinnaur and Kaza in Spiti District. The permit can be obtained from: The Resident Commissioner, Delhi. Ph: +91 11 23716574 / 23716125; The Dy. Commissioner's Offices at Shimla (+91 177 2655988 / 2653535; Recong peo (+91 1786 222452); Keylong (+91 1906 222501); Kullu (+91 1902 222727); Pooh, rampur, Nichar, Kalpa, Udeypur and Kaza. 10 / 10