Kinnaur
located in the dizzying heights of the Himalayas, with passes that remain closed
for six months linking them with the rest of the world, Kinnaur, Spiti &
Lahaul were till now a forbidden land. Only a chosen few were granted permission
to visit this secret world, officials, Moravian missionaries who settled here
in 1853 and a few mountaineers. Now this area has been opened for the daring
and adventurous to discover what had been hidden from the world for centuries.
From the riotous green of the Sangla Valley filled with orchards of apricots,
peaches, chilgozas and apples to the magnificent desolation of the Hangrang
Valley, Mother Nature's portrait is an ever changing one in Kinnaur. This land
lying on the ancient trade route between India and Tibet, ringed by the majestic
mountain of the Himalayan and Dhauladhar range is the land of plenty.
The gushing rivers of Kinnaur abound in Trout-the angler's prize catch, their
waters have over the centuries chiseled beautiful gorges across this picturesque
land and nurtured one of the most unique societies on there banks. In the lush
land live the descendants of the Kinners-the demi gods of the Hindu pantheon,
whose deeds have been immortalized.
Kinnaur is a breath takingly scenic and sparsely populated region. Spiti and
Satluj rivers flow through Kinnaur to meet at Khab and become one the Satluj.
Scores of flowing streams feed these rivers and all their valleys are strikingly
beautiful the slopes are covered with thick woods, orchards, fields and picturesque
hamlets.
Here are two of the world's great mountain ranges the Zanskar and the Great
Himalaya. Kinnaur is also home to some of India's oldest legends, and the religion
of its people is a remarkable mix of Hinduism and Buddhism. Ancient Hindu texts
have gone to the extent of placing the people of kinnaur the kinners as halfway
between men and gods.