Buddhist Trail in Himachal
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in Himachal A Travel Guide GOODEARTH PUBLICATIONS Supported by Himachal Tourism Goodearth Publications Eicher Goodearth Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi A GOODEARTH PUBLICATION CONTENTS Copyright © 2006 Eicher Goodearth Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi Updated and reprinted in 2009 ISBN 81-87780-33-9 Cold Deserts Green Oases 4 Kinnaur 8 Lahaul-Spiti 10 Editor and Publisher: Swati Mitra Slopes of Ice: Rivers and Lakes 17 The People 25 Designer: Deepankar Bhattacharyya Senior Editor: Parvati Sharma Spread of Buddhism 30 Editorial Team: Samia Sharma, Vaijyanti Ghose Manali: Gateway to Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur 50 Photographers Shimla: Gateway to Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti 58 Arindam Sen Gupta 4, 10-12, 16-18, 21Below, 22-24, 27-28, 29Above & BLeft, 30, 34, 38-39, 48, 64-66, 74-78A, 80-82L, 84B, The Buddhist Trail in Himachal 64 86-90B, 91-95, 103BL, 130, 134B, 140, 141, 146, 148, 150; Guru Ghantal 68 Ashok Thakur 69; Clement Martin 126, 128Centre&B, 129B, 131C; Shashur 70 Janhwij Sharma 8, 45, 68, 97C&B, 98-103A; Kardang 70 Lovina Bhagwanani 55B, 97A, 104, 108-09, 111B-112; Parvati Sharma 116-125; Tayul 71 Sumit Maitra 133, 136; Swati Mitra 6, 20, 21Above, 26, 40, 42-43, 52L, 53B, 57, Mrikula Devi and Trilokinath 73 78B, 83, 84A, 85, 90A, 96, 103BRight, 110, 142, 144; Varsha Rani 37, 47, 115; Vikram Lal 50, 53, 54, 106 Kaza 80 Kye 82 The photographs on the following pages have been used with the kind Tangyud (Komic) 87 permission of Himachal Tourism 14, 29BR, 58, 61, 70-72, 132A, 134A, 135A Tabo 89 Dhankar 92 Main Contributors: M N Rajesh Monasteries of Lahaul-Spiti Lha-Lun 94 Ananda Banerjee LandGOODEARTH of the Grey Ghost PUBLICATIONS Kungri and Mud 95 Cover Photograph: Swati Mitra Nako 98 Pooh 99 Ropa 100 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, Kanum 100 stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or Lanin Monastery (Moorang) 102 otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Ribba 103 Great care has been taken in the compilation, updation and validation Dharamshala 104 of information, and every effort has been made to ensure that all information is as up-to-date as possible at the time of going to press. However, the Publishers are not responsible for Rewalsar 116 errors, if any, and their consequences. Mandi 125 The Publishers would be happy to receive suggestions and corrections for inclu- sion in the next edition. Please write to Executive Publisher, Eicher Goodearth Pvt. Ltd., Land of The Grey Ghost 126 Eicher House, 12 Commercial Complex, Greater Kailash II (Masjid Moth), The Pin Valley 126 New Delhi 110 048 Email: [email protected] Adventure Sports 132 Practical Information 138 Special thanks to Arriving in India 138 Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Government of India Arriving in Himachal Pradesh 144 Further Reading 153 This publication has been supported by Himachal Tourism Phrase Book 154 Glossary 155 Printed by Lustra Print Process Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi on behalf of Eicher Goodearth Pvt. Ltd. Index 156 Over centuries, the many visitors who have made the adventurous, often dangerous journey to the coldest and highest parts of Himachal Pradesh have returned searching for words to express the beauty and grandeur COLD DESERTS of these mountains and valleys. Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur, to the north and northeast of Himachal Pradesh, have GREEN OASES mountains that range in height from 1,600 m to 7,000 m, and lush green valleys inhabited by a people whose good-natured hospitality has left a mark on all those who have lived amongst them. Perhaps the charming friendliness of the people here stems from the loneliness of GOODEARTH PUBLICATIONSeveryday existence. Lahaul-Spiti, for instance, is among the most sparsely populated regions in the world. Over 33,000 people live across almost 14,000 sq kms of mountain land, and the district has a population density of only two persons per square kilometre – a far cry from the average of 109 in the state. Thus, a Spiti village might easily have under 100 inhabitants. Perched along a steep mountainside, it would overlook miles of empty terrain, rocky roads and uneven grass. The only sign of other settlements might be a solitary prayer flag fluttering in the vast, desolate emptiness. The region is altogether huge – both districts together cover about one-third of Himachal Pradesh with beautifully distinct landscapes. Much of Lower and Middle Kinnaur is fertile, especially along its rivers, while the landscape of Lahaul-Spiti comprises the barren mountain ranges of the Greater Dhankar, the Cold Fort, perched on its rocky cliff Himalayas, Zanskar, Pir Panjal, Dhauladhar and Trans-Himalayas. 4 GOODEARTH PUBLICATIONS These are amongst the highest mountains in the Himalayas, up to 6,500 m in height. They are also, quite visibly, young ranges, which enhances the drama of river gorges cutting through rough rock, steep, icy peaks rising into the sky and massive boulders hiding patches of bright wild flowers. At about 4,000 m, forest growth diminishes and gradually ends, as does rainfall. The land begins to acquire an almost magical sheen, and humans who have sought shelter here over generations dot the rugged view, havens of warmth and companionship. One of Spiti’s many ‘temporary’ lakes – formed when glaciers melt in the summer months 6 KINNAUR HISTORY To the northeast of Himachal Pradesh and sharing a border along Kinnaur’s ancient history is shrouded in myth and sparse in the Zanskar mountains with Tibet, Kinnaur covers an area of over fact. Between the 6th century BC and the 6th century AD, 6,000 sq kms and has a population density of 12 per sq km, almost the land came under the sway of the Mauryas, Kushanas crowded in comparison with Lahaul-Spiti, but far less than the and Guptas. Local authority, however, often rested with Indian average of 324. indigenous rulers. It was the Thakur of Kamru who founded the Bushahr state in the 7th-8th centuries AD. Though the Its three major valleys, the Sutlej, Baspa and Ropa, are located along region witnessed many battles for supremacy, the rule of the the Sutlej river and its tributaries. It is in Kinnaur that the Sutlej Bushahr was strong enough to withstand Mughal assaults enters India from Tibet, near Shipki-la (4,500 m), thundering along in medieval times. Of the Bushahr rulers, Raja Kehri Singh at an astonishing rate as it drops about 2,000 m over 100 kms. As the was, reputedly, the most valiant, while Raja Ram Singh Sutlej slows down and enters more hospitable land, villages begin established his capital at Rampur. to appear on its banks. In the early 19th century, Bushahr capitulated to Gurkha The land from Shipki-la to the Ropa Valley is known as Upper invasions; and it was Ranjit Singh and the British in turn Kinnaur. Himachal’s highest peak, Reo Purgyil (6,816 m) is here; who fought off the intruders. The region consequently came as is the district’s highest village, Nako, at an altitude of 3,663 m under the influence of the Sikhs and then the British. Except and populated with just over 100 families. for a revolt in 1857, when Raja Shamsher Singh of Bushahr was part of an alliance of princes against the East India According to travellers, this is ‘true cold desert country… of stark, Company, the region, known as Chini tehsil from the late naked mountains with the occasional village, a green oasis of irrigated 19th century, remained under British suzerainty until 1947. fields, amidst the arid wilderness. The brown and yellow slopes are interspersed with steep, rocky faces,GOODEARTH striated with bands in myriad PUBLICATIONSWith Independence, the tehsil became part of Mahasu hues, black, white, grey, green, pink and ochre’. district, until 1 May 1960, when a reorganisation of borders created what is presently Kinnaur district. Far more accessible are the Baspa and Ropa valleys in Middle Kinnaur, described as ‘rugged on a grand scale’. One of its largest tributaries, the Baspa river meets the Sutlej near Karcham, by the Kinner Kailash massif. One of the several sacred Kailash peaks in India, the Kinner Kailash (6,437 m) is a pilgrimage site for both CLIMATE Hindus and Buddhists. The topographical variation between Upper and Lower Kinnaur means that the district’s two extremities do not always share the From Karcham to the border of Shimla district is Lower Kinnaur. Its same climate – the upper regions experience harsher winters and friendly landscape and soothing meadows and forests are delightful shorter summers. A good thumb rule is to calculate on the basis that to every sense and accessible to every kind of traveller. in mountainous regions, the mean temperature dips by 1°C every A village street, Chini, Kinnaur 270 m. At altitudes higher than 1,500 m, however, the fall is more rapid. March-May Minimum temperatures sub-zero June-September Temperatures range from 8-25°C, rainfall likely October-November Temperatures fall with possible snowfall, though maximum temperatures remain about 20°C December-February Temperatures sub-zero and heavy snowfall, especially in Upper and Middle Kinnaur. 9 LAHAUL-SPITI Though they are one administrative unit with a combined area of about 14,000 sq kms, Lahaul and Spiti are, in fact, separate geographical units, divided by the Greater Himalayan range. A district with one of the lowest population densities in India, Lahaul-Spiti is as forbidding to the timid as it is irresistible to the intrepid. The mountain ranges here are so high they block the monsoon clouds, creating an arid climate that resembles that of Ladakh and Tibet.