About
Splendid isolation, Glorious landscape, Idyllic escape. This mountain district, which spreads east to the Tibetan border is home to charming mountain villages with slate-roofed temples, vast apple orchards and offers some of eastern Himachal’s grandest views. This is where the much-revered heroes of the Mahabharata, the Pandavas, are believed to have stayed for a while during their exile. Kinnaur Valleys ia A visual paradise, which charms you no end.
The Kinnauris are proud Aryan people who mainly survive from farming and apple growing. You can recognize Kinnauris all over India by their green felt basheri hats.
Video link – https://youtu.be/Lr2Xur5I-NU?si=4nw77EwQWTiGleHC
Places to visit
RAMPUR
The gateway to Kinnaur, this bustling bazaar town was once the capital of the Bushahr King. Today, Rampur is mainly a place to change buses but if you can take out a few minutes and check out the delightful, terraced and turreted Padam Palace, built in 1925 for the Maharajas of Bushahr; only the garden is open to the visitors. It’s just beside the bus stand.
The huge Lavi Fair is held yearly in the second week of November, attracting traders and pilgrims from remote villages.
SARAHAN
This pretty hamlet makes an enviable stopover on your way to the hotspots of Kinnaur Valley. The town is home to the Bhimakali Temple which houses the family deity of erstwhile Bushahr royalty (Sarahan was their Capital for centuries). The temple is a unique example of the vernacular wood and stone architecture.
BHIMAKALI TEMPLE
The temple is built from layers of stone and timber to absorb the force of earthquakes. There are two towers here, one rebuilt after the 12th-century original collapsed, and a newer tower from the 1920s(on the left) containing a highly revered shrine to Bhimakali (the local version of Goddess Kali) beneath a beautiful silver-filigree canopy.
SANGLA
The Sangla or Baspa Valley is a deeply carved cleft between burly mountain slopes, where evergreen forests rise to alpine meadows that are crowned by snowy summits. Villages here, especially further up the valley, feature houses and temples built in traditional Kinnauri wood-and-stone-style.
RECKONG PEO
Reckong Peo is the main administrative and commercial center for Kinnaur and an important transport hub., but the main reason to visit is as a stepping stone to the pretty village of Kalpa, or to obtain a permit for onward travel to upper Kinnaur and Spiti.
A steep walk above town near the radio mast is the Kinnaur Kalachakra Celestial Palace (Mahabodhi Gompa), with a 10m-high statue of Sakyamuni and great views across to Kinner Kailash (6050m) and Jorkanden (6473m) peaks.
Known to locals as ‘Peo’, the town is spread out along a looping road about 10 km above the Hindustan- Tibet Highway.
Video link – https://youtu.be/omHqicGt2lw?si=p1fim1_i-p2WgyaI
KALPA
Reached by a winding road 7 km above Reckong Peo, Kalpa is a little gem of a village. Majestic views of the Kinner Kailash massif grab your eyeballs and don’t let go. There are several simple guesthouses in the village, plus a growing number of modern hotels on the ridge a 10-minutes walk above town.
According to legends, Kalpa was the winter home of Shiva, and there are some impressive Kinnauri-style temples in the ornately carved Narayan – Nagini temple complex, just below the colorful Samdrup Choeling Gompa. In September/October, villagers pile wildflowers in temples as part of the annual Phulaich Festival.
Know about Phulaich Festival – https://youtu.be/zDvT8ICJ0Ak?si=TrB3xYGFVnaxa_Gi
ACCOMMODATION
HOTEL BUSHEHAR REGENCY, RAMPUR
This standard HPTDC property on the western edge of Rampur has spacious rooms and a decent restaurant.
TEMPLE GUEST HOUSE, SARAHAN
The obvious place to stay is within the ancient temple precinct itself. Unlike most temple accommodation, rooms here are far from gloomy and austere. The upper-storey rooms in particular are bright, spacious and airy, with hot water.
HOTEL TREHAN’S, SARAHAN
Run by a friendly family, rooms here have ornate ceilings, big windows and chintzy tapestries of Indian epics that give the place a touch of character. Shared terraces have great views over the valley.
BAPSA GUESTHOUSE, SANGLA
Run by a genial Kinnauri family, centrally located Baspa is convenient for buses and offers a wide range of rooms, some pine-clad, some with verandahs, so look at a few.
SANGLA RESORT, SANGLA
Two minutes uphill from the bridge near the town centre, this is one of Sangla’s most appealing places. Rooms in the main stone chalet are spotless, and have great views over the surrounding garden and orchards.
RIDANG HOTEL, RECKONG PEO
The best of a grotty bunch of hotels lining the main bazaar, Ridang has a range of acceptable rooms with TV and there’s also a good ground- floor restaurant.
HOW TO REACH
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