Tourism - Places of Interest
Kullu - The District Headquarter
Kullu,
the headquarters of the district, is situated at an
altitude of 1200 mt on the confluence of Savory
rivulet and Beas river. Though it is somewhat warm
during June and early July, but for the rest of the
year provides a delightful and healthy climate. the
annual rainfall is about 40", of which a little less
than a half occurs during the winter months from
October to March. There is not much snowfall during
the winters but the snow clad peaks look very
beautiful. Kullu town has made its name on the
international tourist map for its famous Dussehra
festival. Town is a seat of the chief deity of the
valley i.e.
Raghunathjee.
During Dussehra the visiting deities from all over
the district first pay their obeisance by visiting
abode of Raghunathjee at Sultanpur. The town of
Kullu can accommodate large number of visitors with
all facilities of boarding and lodging required by
them.
Kullu district offers many attractions to the tourists. It has rich art and cultural heritage, lush green deep meadows, dazzling rivers, white capped snowy peaks and high mountains. The district has incomparable Beas and its sub-valleys which are full of natural charm and grandeur. Though, Kullu does not have the rich historical archaeological or epigraphically antiquities like Chamba but still has some ancient remains antiquities like Nirmand in outer-Seraj and Hat at Barjaura. Not only the district is famous for its scenic beauty but also as a paradise for the trekkers and mountaineers.
Situated near the end of valley, Manali is one of
the most attractive tourist spot not only of
Himachal Pradesh, but of International fame also.
Manali is synonymous streams and birdsong, forests
and orchards and grandees of
snow-capped mountains.
Manali
is the real starting point of an ancient trade route
which crosses the Rohtang and Baralacha passes, and
runs via Lahul and Ladakh to Kashmir while divergent
road connects it with Spiti. Now the motor link have
been provided up to Leh in Jammu & Kashmir, Pangi
valley in Chamba and Kaza of Lahul & Spiti. There
are regular bus services to these places from Manali
during summer season. It is situated at a distance
of 45 kms from Kullu.
There is an interesting legend about Manali which
goes to say that
Manu,
the author of 'Manu Samhita', after the great deluge
first stepped on the earth from the celestial boat
at a place in this land. The particular spot where
he established his abode was the present Manali
which is regarded as the changed name of 'Manu-Alaya',
the abode of Manu. The temple dedicated to Manu is
still existing in the Manali village.
Naggar, on the left bank of the Beas and about 300 mts above the river, is delightfully situated on a wooden slope and commands extensive views, especially of the north and west of the valley. It is 27 kms from Kullu and 5 kms from Patli Kulh. There is a bridge across the river Beas connecting Naggar and Patli Kulh.
Naggar
succeeded Nast (Jagatsukh) as the capital of Kullu.
It was founded by Visudh Pal and continued as the
headquarter of the state until the capital was
transferred to Kullu (Sultanpur) by Raja Jagat
Singh. A massive castle belonging to the Rajas of
Kullu still exists here. The castle now
is converted
into a tourist lodge is built on a steep eminence
overlooking the valley and dominates the village and
surroundings countryside. It is supposed to have
been built during the reign of Raha Sidh Singh with
stones brought from Baragarh fort on the opposite of
the valley.
At the foot of the small bazaar, below the castle is the Gauri-Shankar Temple of Lord Shiva, a charming example of the architecture and carving. It is presumed that the temple which is a protected monument is eight hundred years old. A little higher is the Vishnu temple of Chatturbhuj (with Four Arms). Higher still in the upper part of the village, is Pagoda shaped temple of Tripura Sundri Devi. Highest of all on a small ridge above Naggar, is the Krishna temple of Murli Dhar. This temple is perhaps the oldest of its type in this part of Kullu.
Above the castle a road leads to Hall. The beautiful house which gives its name to the estate was built by Late Colonel Rennick, but is now in the possession of the Roerich family. The late Professor Nicholas Roerich (died in Dec, 1947) was a illustrious artist of international repute had selected Naggar as his residence when he came to India in 1929 along with the other members of his family. One of his sons Sovetoslav Roerich, was also a renowned painter.
Rohtang Pass
Numerous mountain passes lead in and out of Kullu,
but one the most popular with trekking parties is
the Rohtang, about 3,978 mt. above sea level. It is
easily the most convenient route from Manali and
throughout the whole distance provides a charming
variety of scenery. The length of the pass is about
1 km. and has served as the route for many centuries
for trade with Lahaul, Ladakh and to far away
countries in Central Asia. The road
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from Manali to
Keylong passes over this pass which is 51 kms and
the vest of the Rohtang pass affords a wide spread
panorama of mountain scenery.
The
Beas river rises near the crest of Rohtang springing
into existence from a block of mica-schist. To the
left of the pass five or six hundred feet higher is
the little lake of 'Sar Kund' (also called Dashair).
On 20th Bhadon (about the 4th September) each year,
this small glacier lake is visited by numbers of
people from Kullu and other adjoining districts with
a belief that a bath in the cold water at day break
on this particular day will cure all bodily
ailments.
In
early summer and late autumn after about 11:00 AM or
mid-day, the crest of the pass is occasionally
subject to sever blizzards and snow storms,
accompanied by a deadly cold breeze. Daily bus
service is available at Manali for a trip to Rohtang-pass.
The reservations for this trip may be done with
assistance of Tourism Development Officer, at Manali.
The
original name of which was 'Nast' was the ancient capital of Kullu
state. Here the earliest Rajas ruled for twelve generations till, in
the reign of Visudh Pal, the capital was transferred to Naggar. It
lies on the left bank of the Beas and the road from Naggar to Manali
runs through the village. It is about twelve km from Naggar and six
km from Manali. Before reaching Jagatsukh a place Shooru, near the
entrance to Hamta Nullah, is passed at which is located teh ancient
and historical temple of Devi Sarvali. In Jagatshukh some ancient
temples are still in existence. The most important being the Shiva
Temple in the Shikhra style. It has a very chaste sculptured
decoration. The temple of Gayatri Devi is also located near this
temple.
A little village located on the left bank of the Beas, but well above the river and about 3 kms beyond Manali and is renowned for its hot sulphur springs named as Bashisht or Vashist. There is a regular walled bathing pool with stone floors. Turkish styled shower fitted bath rooms, separate for ladies and gents have been built closely where the hot/ cold water is separately piped, maintaining the regular temperature for bathing, charges are nominal. There is cafeteria. Flanking the pool there is a stone and a wooden temple dedicated to Vashishta Muni, from whom the village gets its name. The hot sulphur springs at Vashist are famous for their great gelling powers.
A cave, which is about five kms from Manali and known as Arjun Gufa, is situated a little up from the left bank road near the village Prini. According to a legend, Arjuna under the advice of a Vyasa rishi practiced austerities in a cave in order to get the powerful 'Pashupata Astra' from Indra.
A spring of clear cold water named after the late Prime Minister, Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru, is about 6 kms from Manali on Manali-Keylong road.
Solang Valley
It is a splendid
valley between Manali and Kothi and offers the views of glaciers and
snow caped mountains and peaks. The nearest glacier from Manali is
in this valley. It is about thirteen kms. from Manali and one can go
there either by jeep or by bus up to Palchan a village from where a
jeep able road branches off to the left. Good skiing slopes are also
available here which are famous for summer skiing.Nestling among, sylvan surrounding in Parbati valley, Manikaran is famous for its hot springs. Manikaran at an altitude of 1,829 mt. and 40 kms from Kullu has the finest hot water springs. Probably the most important and most useful is the one on the river bank at the entrance to the village which is always in great activity and is said to rise and fall with the increase and decline of river water. Rocks surrounding the spring are uncomfortably hot, while the temperature of the water is above boiling point. Rice can be cooked if placed in a muslin bag or tied up in cloth and thrown into the hot water pool. The water of the springs is said to be radioactive. It is supposed to be beneficial to sufferers from rheumatism and similar ailments. Due to Raghunathjee and Gurudawara, Manikaran is a favorite resort of pilgrims for Hindus and Sikhs. According to an ancient legend, Manikaran is also connected with Lord Shiva and his divine consort Parvati.
Nestled between Jari and Khiksa thatch lies the village Malana. Here one can still see the oldest democracy of the world where all inhabitants of the village participate in the village
administration.
They have their own pattern of parliament that is
Upper House (Jaistang) and Lower House (Kanishtang
or Core). Jaistang has its own Executive and it
works like Judiciary. If no solution comes out in
the both houses , then the case is put forward
to Jamalu Rishi (Devta) and then Devta decides the
case through its 'Gur' and its decision is final and
binding to all inhabitants of the village.
The inhabitants of Malana speak a peculiar language of their own, called Kanashi, which is entirely different from Pahari of Kullu and is a mixture of aboriginal Mundari and Tibetan.