Population: 6077248 persons State Capital: Shimla
Average Rainfall: 1469 mm State Language: Hindi and Local Dialects
Information about Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh is situated in the northern region in the
heart of the western Himalayas. The word Himachal means the
land of the snows. This state is bordered by Jammu and Kashmir
in the north, Uttar Pradesh in the south-east, China in the
east, Haryana in the south and Punjab in the west and
south-west. Shimla, a beautiful hill station is the state
capital of the Himachal Pradesh and was the summer capital of
the British Empire in India. It is veiled from the plains by
the Shivalik range
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in
of mountains. The physiographic divisions
from south to north are the outer Himalayas or the Shivaliks,
the lesser Himalayas or the central zone and the great
Himalayan and Zanskar or the northern zone. The state of
Himachal Pradesh is divided into twelve districts, which are
Bilaspur, Chamba, Hamirpur, Kangra, Kinnaur, Kullu, Lahual
Spiti, Mandi, Shimla, Sirmaur, Solan and Una. It abounds in
exotic valleys, green hill slopes, snow-capped peaks and
gushing rivers and streams.
History of Himachal Pradesh
About 2 million years ago some of the people lived in the
foothills of Himachal Pradesh, mainly in the Bangana valley of
Kangra, Sirsa valley of Nalagarh and Markanda valley of
Sirmour. These people belonged to the Indus valley
civilization and pushed the Kolorians towards north. They
moved to the hills of Himachal Pradesh where they could live
peacefully and preserve their way of life. In the Vedas they
have been referred to as Dasas. Later on the Aryans laid the
base of history and culture of Himachal Pradesh. In the later
period, the hill chieftains accepted the rule under the
Mauryan empire, the Kaushans, the Guptas and Kanauj rulers.
During the Mughal period, the Rajas of the hill states made
some mutually agreed arrangements which governed their
relations. In the 19th century, Ranjit Singh dominated some of
the states. When the British came, they defeated Gorkhas and
entered into treaties with some Rajas and captured the
kingdoms of others. This situation remained unchanged till
1947. After Independence, 30 princely states of the area were
united and Himachal Pradesh was formed on 15th April, 1948.
With the recognition of Punjab on 1st November, 1966, certain
areas belonging to it were also included in Himachal Pradesh.
On 25th January, 1971, Himachal Pradesh was made a
full-fledged state.
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Geography of Himachal Pradesh
The state of Himachal Pradesh is situated in the western
Himalayas and well surrounded by the several high
mountains, many of which have still not been scaled,
streams and glaciers. The various streams race through
deep boulder-strewn gorges and valleys of considerable
beauty. The state can be broadly divided by its valleys
that hold most of the existing tourist destinations.
Some of these valleys are the Kangra valley, Chamba
valley, Pangi valley, the Lahaul and Spiti valleys in
the Trans
Himalaya,
Kinnaur valley, Parvati valley, Giri valley and the Kullu
valley. Some of the rivers which flow through these valleys
are Sutlej, Beas, Ravi, Parbati. Some of the major lakes are
Renuka, Rewalsar, Khajjiar, Dal, Beas Kund, Dasaur, Brighu,
Prashar, Mani Mahesh, Chander Tal, Suraj Tal, Kareri, Sreolsar,
Gobind Sagar, Nako.
Festivals of Himachal Pradesh
The rich culture, tradition, warm and hospitable people,
diverse climate and topography offers a variety of fairs,
festivals and celebrations in Himachal. About 2000 deities are
worshipped in Himachal and different fairs and festivals are
held in their honour. Some of the fairs and festivals which
are celebrated in Himachal are Baisakhi, Lohri, Himachal's
Winter Carnival, Holi, Gugga fair, Fullaich Festival and
Dussehra.
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Wildlife Sanctuaries in Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh has a different type of topography, climate
and forest cover due to which it has been gifted with a vast
variety of flora and fauna. Out of the total geographical area
of 55,670 square km, the forest area as per legal
classification is 37691 square km. The state Animal is Snow
Leopard. The state Bird is Western Tragopan (Jujurana) and the
State Flower is Pink Rhododendron. There are about 32 wildlife
sanctuaries, 2 national parks and 3 game reserves in Himachal
Pradesh. Some of these wildlife sanctuaries are Simbalbara
Sanctuary, Renuka Sanctuary, Maharana Pratap Sagar Sanctuary,
Great Himalayan National Park.
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People of Himachal Pradesh
Most of the people of Himachal Pradesh are Hindus and the
presence of Hinduism is very strong towards the south of the
Greater Himalayas. The rural people of Himachal worship
various local gods and goddesses. Besides Hindus, there is a
strong influence of Buddhism in the trans Himalayas. The
arrival of His Holiness, the Dalai Lama in Dharamshala has
made Himachal Pradesh a second home for the Tibetan Buddhists.
Christianity came with the arrival of the British and today,
there are various churches across the state. The people of
Himachal Pradesh live through a cycle of
rituals and ceremonies all their life. They are very happy and
have colourful folk dances. The traditional house of the
people of Himachal in the rural areas consists of three
storeys – the lowest storey for the household cattle, the
middle for storage of grains and the top floor for living.
Adventure in Himachal Pradesh
The rivers, forests, snow covered mountains and alpine meadows
in Himachal provides a wide range of interesting and leisure
activities to the tourists. Some of these adventurous sports
are Skiing, Mountain cycling, camping, mountaineering,
trekking, river rafting, para gliding, heli skiing, golf and
jeep safaris. Narkanda and Solang are the best areas where
skiing is done in the winters. The Trans Himalayan tracts of
Lahaul, Spiti and Kinnaur are best for mountain cycling. The
best way to explore the beauty of Himalaya is by having a
jeep, car or motorcycle safari. For the enthusiasts, no
special training is required, but you should be perfectly fit.
Equipment, training and instructors are available. Camping is
perhaps the best way of enjoying the wonders of nature in
Himachal Pradesh and sharing the warmth of its people. You can
carry your own sleeping bags and other camping equipments
along while you are traveling and set up your own camps.
Besides this you can also select any one of the camps that are
pitched in various parts of the State. These camps offers
various facilities like accommodation, catering and various
other leisure activities like hiking, fishing, rafting and
nature tour.
Hill
Stations in Himachal Pradesh
There are five well-developed core-focus zones that draw
the maximum visitors and also acts as the base camps for
most of towns of Himachal. These are the towns of Shimla,
Kullu and Manali, Dalhousie and Chamba, Dharamsala and
Palampur and the ‘tribal areas’ of Kinnaur, Lahaul and
Spiti. Shimla is the capital city of Himachal Pradesh.
It is also known as the "Queen of the Hill stations".
Dharamshala is a beautiful and peaceful hill station,
surrounded by the pine forests. It provides a range of
interesting activities for the visitors.
How to reach Himachal Pradesh By Air:
The three domestic airports in Himachal Pradesh are Bhuntar,
Gaggal and Jubbarhatti. The regular flights operates between
Shimla, Kulu, Delhi and Chandigarh.
By Rail:
The Pathankot - Jogindernagar line is the longest railway line
which connect Punjab with Himachal Pradesh. The other railway
tracks pass through Shimla. Shimla is connected with Kalka by
a narrow gauge railway line, which in turn is connected with
the major cities in India.
By Road:
The state of Himachal Pradesh is well accessible by road from
Pathankot, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Shimla, Kullu, Manali, Delhi,
Mandi and Chail.
