The Land of Himachal

Popularly known as the Devbhumi Land of the Gods, Himachal Pradesh is a beautiful hill state in India, nestles in north-west region of western Himalayas. The state is landlocked with the Tibetan plateau to the east, Jammu and Kashmir to the north, and the Punjab to the west. However, the state stands apart from its neighbours in terms of its sheer topographic diversity and breathtaking pristine natural beauty. From vast tracts of high-altitude Trans-Himalayan desert to dense green deodar forests, from apple orchards to cultivated terraces, from snow capped high Himalayan mountain ranges to snow fed lakes and gushing rivers.

Brief Socio-Political History of the State

The earliest known inhabitants of the region were tribals called Dasas. Later, Aryans came and they assimilated in the tribes. In the later centuries, the hill chieftains accepted suzerainty of the Mauryan empire, the Kaushans, the Guptas and Kanuaj 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 annexed/subjugated many of the states. When the British came, they defeated Gorkhas and entered into treaties with some Rajas and annexed the kingdoms of the others. The situation largely remained the same untill 1947. After Independence, 30 princely states of the area were united and Himachal Pradesh was formed on 15th April, 1948. On 1st November, 1966, certain areas belonging to Punjab were included in Himachal Pradesh. On 25th January, 1971, Himachal Pradesh was made a full-fledged State.

The State is bordered by Jammu & Kashmir on North, Punjab on West, Haryana on South, Uttar Pradesh on South-East and China on the East.

Places to explore

- Spiti valley.
- Kalka-shimla railway, shimla.
- Bhasunag waterfalls, McLeod Ganj.
- Norbulingka institute, Dharamshala.
- Rohtang Pass.
- Prashar lake, Kullu.
- Jakhu temple, shimla.
- Manikaran Gurudwara, Manali.
- Kinnaur, shimla.
- Chintpurni, una.

Himachal weather

Summer: Packed with warm summers and the temperature himachal never goes further than 27o Celsius. The summer duration here is from April to June. All essential for you is to lug some light lukewarm garments for the night.

Monsoons: July to September is himachal's monsoon rendezvous. It is sensible not to visit himachal during the monsoon season as the place is not too sociable for the period of heavy rain. The high temperature during monsoons jumps down noticeably and varies from 15o - 25o Celsius.

Winters: The winter period is from November to mid- February. The main magnetism of winters is the snowfall at Himachal is especially during Christmas festivity in December.