Tourism, Lahaul & Spiti District, Himachal Pradesh, India

Tourism
General Information

Tourist Map		Monasteries
Accomodation		Fairs/ Festivals
Tourist Places in Lahaul		Adventure Tourism
Tourist Places in Spiti		Trekking
Shopping		Foreigner Section

Geographical Conditions :
The valley of Lahoul is situated to the south of Ladakh. For this very reason this place derived its name “Lho-Yul” meaning "Southern Country". To its south is situated the beautiful valley of Kullu across the Rohtang Pass (3195Mtrs) and the Bara Bangahal (Kangra) across the “Asakh” pass (5051Mtrs) . Its western boundaries touch the Pangi and Churah areas of Distt. Chamba. To its north situated the valleys of Zanskar and Ladakh across Shingola (5090 Mtrs) and Baralacha la (5450 Mtrs) respectively. Its eastern and south eastern boundaries coincide with those of Spiti and Western Tibet across the Kunzom Pass (4500 Mtrs).

Area & Popoulation :
As per census 2001, the area of Lahaul & Spiti District is 13,835 Sq. Kms. and population is 33,224. The density of population is 2 persons per sq. Km against the figure of 93 persons for the whole state and sex ratio is 804 females per 1000 males. There is no town in the district and entire population is rural. No. of villages = 521 (Inhabited =265, Uninhabited =256). No of Panachayats = 41 (Lahaul =20, Udaipur=8, Spiti=13) Panchayat Samittis = 2 (One in Lahaul and One in Spiti )

Approach :
Approach To Lahaul Valley: Upto Kullu by air (Bhunter Airport) or road then proceed to Manali from where one can easily reach Keylong the Headquarter town of Lahoul valley through Rohtang Pass by Bus/ Jeep. Its a 115 Km journey from Manali which takes 6 hours. Although one can opt for other approaches such as Shimla- Reckong Peo- Kaza – Kunzom – Keylong. Leh- Tanglangla – Baralacha la – Keylong. Approach To Spiti Valley: Spiti is linked via the Sutlej valley of Kinnaur with motorable road. Upto Shimla by air, rail or road. By road from Shimla to Kaza (The headquarter of Spiti division) the distance is 412 kms. This is via Narkanda, Rampur, Jeori, Wangtu, Karcham, Powari, Jangi, Puh. Due to closure of Rohtang Pass the road to Lahaul valley remains closed from Mid November to Mid May every year and due to closure of Kunzam Pass the road from Lahaul valley to Spiti i.e. Koksar-Batal-Kaza remains closed from Nov to June, however the road to Spiti valley from Kinnaur is almost all-weather road.

Climate :
Since the valley is situated in rain shadow area, north of the Pir Panjal ranges the weather remains pleasant and quite comfortable during summers i.e. from May to mid Oct. This is the best season to visit this valley. It seldom rains, and the Mercury level does not exceed 30⁰c and never falls below 15⁰c through out the period mentioned above. One can always enjoy bright sunshine wandering within lush green valley. There is little or no rain in monsoons. The climate remains dry & invigorating. The days are hot and night are extremely cold. Heavy/Light woolens are recommended. During winter, i.e. from Nov. last to April because of western disturbances it snows heavily and the temp. goes down below minus. There is an average annual snow fall of about 7 feet.

Best Time to Visit :
The best time to visit Lahaul & Spiti is during summer i.e. from mid May to mid October, since the district is snowbound area and Lahaul valley remain isolated from rest of the world from October-May due to closure of the Rohtang Pass. Although Spiti is an almost all-weather place.

Food habits:
The peoples of Lahaul & Spiti have three meals a day-Ken or tshema in the morning, Shod or chicken in the noon and yangskin or Gongal at night. Their staple food is buckwheat locally known as Kathu. Barley, Wheat and Rice also consumed. Besides they consume a lot of lugri or tsagti, chhang (beer) and salted tea mixed with butter. Arak ( Local distilled liquor) is also taken occasionally. Smoking of Tobacco is very common among the aged people, but is forbidden for the ladies.

Petrol Pumps :
In district Lahaul & Spiti there are only two petrol pumps one at Tandi (Lahaul valley) which is 105 Km away from Manali and second in Kaza (Spiti valley) which is 421 Km away from Shimla. In Lahaul valley after Tandi another petrol pump is situated at Leh (J & K) which is 368 Km away from Tandi.

Tele-Communication & Internet Facilities:
In the district BSNL P&T and Mobile facility are available. The BSNL & AIRTEL cellular services are available. The BSNL coverage area is Keylong, Tandi, Sissu, Goushal, Koksar (from Keylong to Koksar side), Keylong, Udaipur, Darcha and Kaza. Recently Airtel service has also been started from Keylong this year. Right now coverage area of Airtel is only in Keylong around area. The STD Codes for Keylong is 01900, Udaipur it is 01909 and for Kaza it is 01906. The basic P&T lines are upto Darcha only on Manali-Leh highway. Besides this WLL service of BSNL is also available. Internet Facilities: At Keylong & Kaza lot of locally established Internet cybercaf� are available where one can access internet through BSNL dialup & GPRS service. BSNL GPRS is also working fine in the area. Railway Reservation Ticket Counter: A Railway Reservation Ticket Counter has been opened at DC Office,Keylong in i-Cosc Centre. Where railway tickets are issued on all working days between 10:00AM to 01:00PM.

Museums/Art Galleries, Forts :
KEYLONG MUSUEM : A museum of Tribal Art along with an auditorium is being established at Keylong. The museum apart from archaeological finds displays Thanka Paintings, objects of everyday use as they existed before the achievement of modern mechanised equipments in the District. The museum is also having manuscripts in Bhoti Scripts and Tankri documents. The musuem is also having a good auditorium for hosting cultural events. Open for general public on all working days including Sunday between 10:00 AM to 05:00PM except Tuesday. The museum is under the control of Department of Language Art & Culture. At Kyuling (Spiti) the sect of the nono of Spiti ( the ruling Wazir of Spiti area under the nominal British control before Independence) have also established a small museum of artefacts.

Pin Valley National Park, Spiti :
It is located in the Pin valley of Spiti at height of 12,000 m above sea level. It is home to endangered species like Snow leopard, the endemic Himalayan Ibex, the mighty Bharal or Blue Sheep and Lynx.

Police Assistance:
To ensure safety and security of the tourists, and to guide them about the terrain, routes, weather etc kindly contact police station located in the district at following areas: Police Station, Keylong Tel: 01900-222223 Police Station, Udaipur Tel: 01909-222210 Police Station, Kaza Tel: 01906-222253 For more information on Himachal Pradesh Police, please visit http://hppolice.nic.in. And about Inner Line Permit for foreigners visit foreigner section.

Medical Assistance:
To provide the medical facilities in the district, Civil Hospital is located at district headquarter Keylong. The contact number of OPD is 01900-222255 and of emergency is 01900-222211. The hospital provides all types of medicines to the patients. The Community Health Centres are located at Udaipur, Shansha, Kaza and Primary Health Centres are located at Sissu, Gondhla, Gemur, Tholong, Jhalman, Thirot, Tingret, Tabo, Sagnam and Civil Dispensaries are located at Darcha, Phura, Kibber, Lossar, Hansa. Besides these Auyurvedic Hospital, Tibetan Dispensary & Veterinary Hospital are also located at Keylong.