Himachal Pradesh

Why Himachal Pradesh works

Himachal Pradesh is a state in the northern part of India, situated in the Western Himalayas and counted among the country's 13 mountain states, characterised by an extreme landscape of peaks and extensive river systems. As India's northernmost state, it borders the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh to the north, Punjab to the west, Haryana to the southwest, Uttarakhand to the southeast, a narrow stretch of Uttar Pradesh to the south, and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China to the east. The state is also known as Dev Bhoomi, meaning "Land of Gods," and Veer Bhoomi, "Land of the Brave."

Tribes including the Koli, Hali, Dagi, Dhaugri, Dasa, Khasa, Kanaura, and Kirata inhabited the region from prehistoric times, and its foothills were settled by people connected to the Indus Valley Civilisation, which flourished between 2250 and 1750 BCE; the Kols and Mundas are thought to be the region's original hill inhabitants, followed later by the Bhotas and Kiratas. During the Vedic period, several small republics known as Janapadas existed before being absorbed by the Gupta Empire, and after a brief period of supremacy under King Harshavardhana the region fragmented into local powers headed by chieftains, including Rajput principalities that retained substantial independence even as the Delhi Sultanate invaded repeatedly; Mahmud Ghaznavi conquered Kangra at the start of the 11th century, and Timur and Sikander Lodi later marched through the lower hills, capturing several forts along the way.

Himachal sits between 30°22′N and 33°12′N latitude, covering 55,673 square kilometres of mountainous terrain. The Zanskar range runs through the northeast, the Great Himalayan range crosses the eastern and northern parts of the state, and the Dhauladhar and Pir Panjal ranges of the lesser Himalayas, along with their valleys, form much of its core; the outer Himalayas, or Shiwalik range, define the state's south and west, and Reo Purgyil, at 6,816 metres, is its highest peak. Its drainage system, fed by both rivers and glaciers, supplies both the Indus and Ganges basins through the Chandra Bhaga, or Chenab, the Ravi, the Beas, the Sutlej, and the Yamuna, all perennial rivers sustained by snowmelt. Legally defined forest areas cover 66.52% of Himachal Pradesh's territory, according to a 2003 Forest Survey of India report, part of the wider Indian Himalayan Region recognised as one of the richest reservoirs of biological diversity in the world.

Difficult terrain long kept Himachal Pradesh comparatively insulated from external influence, even as the state has since seen rapid economic and social change. Culturally, the state divides into three parts: Upper Himachal, known as the Mahasu region; Lower Himachal, covering Kangra, Hamirpur, Bilaspur, Una, and parts of Chamba; and a third area comprising Lahaul and Spiti and the upper parts of Kinnaur. Unlike many Indian states, Himachal Pradesh is markedly multilingual, with Western Pahari languages, also called Himachali languages, widely spoken across dialects including Mahasu Pahari, Kangri, Sirmauri, Mandeali, Bilaspuri, Kullui, Chambeali, Bharmauri, and Kinnauri.

Himachal is recognised for its handicrafts, including carpets, leather work, Kullu shawls, Kangra paintings, Chamba Rumals, stoles, embroidered grass footwear known as Pullan chappal, and silver jewellery, crafts that trace the same regional divisions found in the state's language and geography. Together, that range of terrain, from the glacier-fed valleys of the Great Himalayan range to the drier high-altitude landscape of Lahaul and Spiti, gives the state the mix of colonial-era hill towns, mountain valleys, and Buddhist-influenced upper regions that visitors move between.

• Himachal Pradesh — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Text adapted from the linked articles under CC BY-SA 4.0; edited for length.

Trip Snapshot

Highlights

Suitable For