|
Lahaul and Spiti, the largest district in Himachal Pradesh, is a vast area of high mountains and narrow valleys bounded by Ladakh to the north, Tibet to the east, Kinnaur to the southeast and the Kullu valley to the south. Lahaul is often regarded as a midway point en route to Leh and the Indus valley, but has more to offer travellers. Spiti has only recently been opened to foreign tourists attracted to its isolated Buddhist gompas and villages. The best time to visit Lahaul is mid-June to late October and Spiti is August to October.
Lahaul is also a fascinating area for Buddhist art and culture. The monasteries of Lahaul and Spiti are rich repositories of ancient murals, thankas, wood carvings and golden images of the Padmasambhava. The people are charming, friendly and hospitable with their own traditional dances, ballads, folk tales and legends. The valleys lie at a height of 2,745 metres above sea level. Summers in these valleys are cool and pleasant with green grass and alpine flowers and an abundance of crops. There is no monsoon in Lahaul and this enables climbers and trekkers to enjoy a long and unbroken season in perpetual sunshine and dry crisp air of Lahaul and explore the wilderness and grandeur of the inner Himalayas.
|
|
As far as the other valley i.e. Spiti is concerned, it is closed I to tourists. The valley of the Pin river is even wider than that of the Spiti. It joins the main Spiti valley at a point near Dungkar, going up the south-westerly direction, and ending below the Pin Parvati range, on the other side of which lies the Parvati valley. Like their twins from Lahaul, the people of Spiti follow Lamaism. A famous monastery named the Dankar Gompa is situated here. There are some big village such as Hansi in the upper valley and Kaurik further down.
With high passes standing between them and the 'civilized' world, the people of these valley have developed an intense love for their home and culture; their songs and dances are as chaste and pure as the snow that clothes the mountains around. At the slightest excuse, these 'children of the Himalayas' dress up in their gayest and dance in the open, amidst the rugged hills with an abandon and ease, unknown to the busy world of today. Wearing rich brocades and silk, exquisitely embroidered, and with masked faces they perform the devil dances, depicting the victory of good over evil--the age old battle.
|
