About
Himachal Pradesh
Situated
in
North
India,
Himachal
Pradesh
(Abode
of
Snow)
is
surrounded
by
Jammu
&
Kashmir
on
the
north;
Punjab,
Haryana,
Uttar
Pradesh
to
the
south;
Uttaranchal
to
the
south
east
and
the
Chinese
territory
of
Tibet
to
the
east.
The
state
is
mostly
covered
by
the
low
Shivalik
hill
range
towards
the
south
and
the
dramatically
high
trans-Himalayan
ranges
as
you
go
north.
Thus
you
can
proceed
from
hill-town
Dharamsala
in
the
south,
at
1700m,
to
Lahaul-and-Spiti,
the
northernmost
district,
at
6500m.
This
geography
and
the
resultant
cool-to-snowy
climate,
define
Himachal's
tourist
attractions
as
well;
in
fact,
tourism
and
apple-growing
run
the
economy
of
the
state.
Sutlej,
Beas,
Ravi,
and
Parbati
are
the
main
rivers.
Given
its
mountainous
nature,
Himachal
can
best
be
understood
in
terms
of
its
valleys.
In
the
southern
Kangra
valley,
Dharamsala
and
sister
town
McLeodganj
are
the
focus
of
the
Dalai
Lama's
Tibetan
government-in-exile.
In
western
Himachal
lies
Chamba
Valley,
with
Dalhousie,
a
British-time
hill
station.
Towards
the
east,
all
the
way
to
Tibet
lies
the
Kinnaur
region,
which
was
off
limits
for
tourists
till
1992
and
contains
villages
and
lifestyles
that
are
still
untouched
by
modernity.
In
the
centre,
the
Kullu
valley
is
famous
for
its
apples,
producing
about
9000
truckloads
of
them
every
year.
Here,
Manali
town
is
a
good
base
for
adventure
sports
such
as
paragliding,
skiing,
river
rafting
and
trekking.
December-March
are
good
months
for
winter
sports
or
to
see
the
snow.
The
northernmost
Lahaul-Spiti
district
is
isolated,
snow-bound
terrain
accessible
only
between
July-October,
with
some
well-preserved
1000-year
old
Buddhist
monasteries
and
culture.
Himachal's
capital
Shimla,
developed
by
the
British
in
the
mid-19th
century
as
a
hill
station
that
helped
them
escape
hot
summers,
is
full
of
colonial
architecture
and
churches.
Shimla
makes
a
good
base
for
less-crowded
hill
destinations
such
as
Chail,
Kufri,
Narkanda,
or
Kasauli,
all
located
at
comfortable
altitudes
of
2000-2750
metres.
