Lahaul

Lahaul abounds with monastries (gompas), the homes of lamas (buddhist monks); therefore Lahaul is often referred to as the 'land of lamas'.

Lahaul is surrounded by a series of high mountains. Main Himalayas lie in the north and mid Himalayas are to the south with joining ranges on the east and the west. This gives a highly pinnacled topography to Lahaul.

The mountains rise to a mean elevation of 18000 feet, with the highest peak touching over 21000 feet and the lowest touching 9000 feet where Chenab river enters Chamba. Numerous lateral spurs shoot off from the main mountains filling all the valleys with glaciers. It is this feature which made Andrew Wilson, a European traveller (1873), call Lahaul "a valley of glaciers".

Looking down the valley immense glaciers were seen flowing down the clefts in the high mural precipices on both sides of Chandra and extending from the great beds of snow above down to and even into the river. This was the Abode of Snow and no mistake, for nothing else but snow glaciers and rocks were to be seen and the great ice-serpents crept over into this dreaded valley as if they were living monsters."

Some of the famous glaciers are Bara Shigri, Chhota Shigri, Samundari glacier, Sonapani glacier, Gangstang glacier and Perad glacier.

The Rohtang Pass, the gateway to this sub-division, connects Lahaul with the Kullu district. There are passes on the northern and eastern mountain ranges also but all remain closed for more than half the year because of the snow.

Opposite Rohtang, a little  towards on the left, are the twin peaks of Gyephang La, jagged pyramid of rocks, snow streaked and snow-crowned. The higher of these two peaks is 5,856 meters high. The slopes up to an elevation of 3,350 meters are characterized by vegetative cover during summer but above this height barrenness is the rule. The whole Lahaul & Spiti district is a cold desert whose bare rocks and steep slopes stare the visitors in the face.

The Chandra & Bhaga rivers, which constitute the Chandrabhaga/Chenab river after their confluence at Tandi, are the major features on the geomorphology of this region.

PHYSICAL REGIONS

Lahual can be divided into five distinct physical regions:

1. The valley of Chandra River

2. The valley of the Bhaga River.

3. The valley of the Chandrabhaga River.

4. The Pattan valley.

5. The catchment of Lingti.

The Chandra Valley :

called Rangloi in the lower inhabited part, begins from the snow bed on the south-eastern foot of the Baralacha Pass. For the first 72 km the valley is barren and uninhabited, with high peaks and large glaciers tapering downwards from snowfields on tops of ridges. The slopes are characteristically stony and bare. Pastures exist in patches only along the valley where the Gaddis camp during the summer.
The Rangloi contains four Kothis of Khoksar, Sissu, Gondhla and Gushal. Khoksar is the first village in the valley. From thereon scenery becomes greener and less oppressive. The valley on the right bank broadens out; villages are more frequent and cultivated area more widespread, flanking both sides of the road which runs through the middle of the valley. On the left is a sheer mountain wall from the river bed to the rugged crest. Beyond Gondhla, however the topography to the left also becomes less rugged and the mountain slopes are gentler, with terraced fileds sloping down to the river.

The Bhaga Valley :

The Bhaga valley starts from the south-western foot of the Bara-lacha Pass. It is barren, rocky and uninhabited up to Darcha which is the first village in the valley. It is situated at the junction of Yoche Nullah and the Zangskarcha. (taking off from the Shingola Pass) with the main river. The valley broadens out from here onwards. The right bank has large tracts of level and cultivable land. Every seven or eight kilometres one comes across a small village. From Darcha to Kolong, the valley is called Stod, and from Kolong to Keylong it is Called Gnat. Keylong, on the right bank of Bhaga river is the largest village in Lahul and is the headquarters of the district. There are precipitous cliffs on the left bank but in the the slopes become gentler and there are some villages on the left bank also. Kardang, the one time capital of Lahul and the seat of a famous monastery lies on a commanding spot opposite Keylong. Gaar contains four Kothis: Kardang, Barbog,. Kolong and Gungrang.

The Valley of the Chandrabhaga River :

Enclosed by the Chandra and Bhaga rivers is a great triangular mass of mountains which forms the centre of the area. From outside, this great mass of mountains presents the spectacle of a huge fort with more or less evenly serrated settlements. Here and there, the sheer wall is broken forming a deep furrow, revealing on the top a huge tapering glacier and a torrential nullah gushing forth from underneath it The highest of these is the Sarnundari glacier with two branches, each 16 km long with a mouth about 3 km wide, opening into the Chandra river: The main axis of the central mass lies from north to south with a branch going west towards Tandi. On the top of the mass are lateral spurs with intervening valleys filled with glaciers and perpetual snow: The peaks rise to over 6,400 metres above sea-level and include the Gyephang Peak which can be seen from Shimla.

The Bhaga flows at some distance from the northern and western heights, and numerous torrents pour into it from the glaciers placed in the angle formed by these mountains, as well as a large stream which joins the left bank from the central mass. The Baralacha Pass is an important feature in the general configuration of the region. It is nearly eight kilometres long and consists of a high neck of land connecting the central mountains with the main Himalaya. Its name implies "Pass with cross roads on summit"-roads from Zangskar; Ladakh,- Spiti and Lahul meet at the top. The pass gives off, on the north-west, and Bhaga river, on the north the Yunan, and on the south-east the Chandra. The Yunan crosses the pass from a glacier on the south-west belonging to the central hill and thus passes between the sources of the other two rivers.

The Pattan Valley :

The valley of the combined Chandra and Bhaga rivers, called the Pattan valley, starts from Tandi where the Chandra and Bhaga meet and ends at Thirot on the, boundary with Chamba. It is a broader, more fertile and thickly populated valley. This valley contains six Kothis: Tandi, Warpa, Ranika, Shansha, Jalma ahd Jobrang.

The Catchment of Lingti :

Across the BaralaehaPass, towards the north is a vast tract of land some 260 sq km in area known as the Lingti maidan. This tract is uncultivated and uninhabited and has a minimum elevation of about 4,270 metres. The plain is a good grazing ground and Gaddis move in during the summer. The plain is dissected by the Lingti which meets the Yunan river and the combined stream runs north-east to meet the Tsarab before flowing north into Zangskar.

The high pinnacled mountain ranges and narrow river valleys are the most conspicuous features in the topographic diversities of Lahul.

Places of Interest in Lahaul

Rivers, Lakes, Peaks, Glaciers & Passes