Kullu District

Tap here to read this content in Hindi.

• Headquarters – Kullu
• Area of Kullu District – 5503 sq km
• After the British occupation of the Punjab Hills in 1846, it formed a part of the British territory.
• The state under the Rajas included the Upper Beas valley from the Rohtang Pass to Bajaura, Lahaul, and a portion of Satluj valley 
• The district Kullu forms a transitional zone between the lesser and the greater Himalayas.

Kullu District – Consisted of 7 Waziris (Provinces)

• Waziri Parol – Kullu proper
• Waziri Rupi – the tract between Parbati and Sainj nullah.
• Waziri Lag Maharaj – the right bank of Sarvari nullah and Sultanpur and of the Beas from there to Bajaura.
• Waziri Saraj – the southern portion of the state, divided into outer and inner Saraj by the Jalori range.
• Waziri Lag Sari – the tract between the Phojal and Sarvari nullah
• Waziri Bangahal – a portion of Chhota Bangahal.
• Waziri Lahaul – tract of South-Eastern Lahaul.

Rivers In Kullu District

• The Satluj and the Beas are the principal rivers of the district
• The main tributaries of the Beas in the district are the Parbati, Solang, Manalsu, Sujoin, Phozal nullah, and the Sarvari.
• The Parbati merges with the Beas at Shamshi/Bhunter.
• It receives the water of Kurpan, Anni, and Jibhi Khads. 
• These streams rise from the Jalori range.
• The Satluj touches the district in Nirmand tehsil opposite to Rampur tehsil of Shimla district. 

Economy

• To improve production, the following schemes are in existence in the district:
• The Cereal Seed Multiplication Farm at Sainj
• The Potato Development Stations at Hamta,  Kullu, and Kuna (Anni)
• Vegetables Research Station at Katrain 
• Fur Animal Division at Garsha. (North Temperate Regional Station(NTRS), Garsa)
• The fish farms in the Kullu district are located at Patlikuhl, Moheli, and Nagini.

Bhuttico

• 12 progressive weavers of a remote Himalayan village, Bhutti joined hands and the Bhutti Weavers Cooperative Society Ltd (BHUTTICO)  came into existence in 1944. 
• Working of the Bhuttico remained dormant up to 1955. 
• In 1956, a master weaver Mr. Ved Ram Thakur having his private entrepreneurship joined Bhuttico.
• He was motivated by Mr. Gurcharan Singh, the then Inspector of Cooperative Societies.

• Took this cooperative to new heights
• is remembered as “The Soul of Bhuttico”
• The reins of this society were taken over by his brilliant son Shri Satya Prakash Thakur.
• Bhuttico Weavers Cooperative Society, Kullu, was selected for the National Merit Certificate for 2016 by the Ministry of Textiles on 28th February 2018.

Tea Cultivation

• The first company called the Kullu Tea Company was established jointly by Colonel Rennick, Theodore, and Minnickin, who also owned fruit orchards. 
• The tea garden was primarily located at Bajaura, Naggar, and Raison
• In 1866, at the Lahore exhibition, Kullu tea was declared the best black tea grown in India.
• But due to many problems, these tea growers shifted their main attention to fruit growing.

Horticulture

• Pioneer of fruit growing in Kullu area was Captain RC Lee of Bundrole orchard
• He set up an apple orchard in the year 1870 and obtained plants from the UK
• He was followed by Captain A.T. Banon
• Padha Bansi Lal of Seobagh was the first local apple orchardist.
• In Manali, the first orchards consisting of English varieties of apple were planted by Captain A.T. Banon in 1884.

The other Englishmen who also began growing apples-

• Duff at Katrain and Dungri
• Colonel Rennick at Bajaura
• Minnickin at Raison and Naggar
• W.H. Donald at Dhobhi.
• Colonel C.R. Johnson came later and settled in Raison where his descendants still manage the orchards.

To make district Kullu viable from the industrial point of view, the following training centers have been opened-

1. The Rural Industrial Training Institute, Kullu.
2. Girls Industrial Training Institute, Kullu.
3. Training centers run by Industrial Department are located at
   • Jari
   • Katrain
   • Banjar
   • Nirmand 
   • Anni
4. The Industrial Training Institute, Shamshi was started during 1961-62.

Minerals Found In Kullu

• Beryl: It is found in Saragona valley and Dondo-Dee-Thack in Parvati valley.
• Building Stone: It is found in Banjar formations.
• Kyanite: It is a silicate of aluminum, found in Parvati valley.
• Copper- Chasikni, Jhari, Maol, Saond, and Saghar.
• Limestone: It is found in the Larji, Harla, and Garsha Saiji valleys.

Fair & Festivals

• Dussehra festival (Kullu)
• Sainj Fair (Raila)
• Diar Kahika Fair (Village Diar)
• Shamshi Virshu (Village Khokhan)
• Mela Bhunter Luhri Lavi (Village Dingidhar at Luri)
• Anni Fair (Village Farnali at Anni)
• Dalash Fair (Village Soidhar at Dalash)
• Ganter Fair
• Ghatasani Fair (Village Dawra)
• Doongri Fair (in the memory of Devi Hidimba)
• Bhadoli Fair (in the memory of Lord Parshu Ram)
• Buddi Diwali (Village Nirmand)

TEMPLES

1. Bajaura Temple/Basheswar temple (Shikhar style)

• Dedicated to  Lord Shiva
• It belongs to the late 10th century A.D.
• This reflects ‘Pala art’ influence.
• JP Vogel termed it an exquisite specimen of Shikhar style
• The earliest recorded account of the Bajaura temple is that by the traveler William Moorecraft who passed through the Kullu valley on his way to Ladakh and Bukhara in August 1820
• Bijli Mahadev Temple (Pent Roof style)
• Bijli Mahadev Temple is located 14 Kilometers from Kullu across the Beas River at an altitude of 2,460 Metres.
• The name Bijli Mahadev is derived from ‘Bijli’ meaning lightning and Mahadev is another name for Lord Shiva. 
• This is because ever since it has been built, the ‘Shivlinga’ within the temple is struck every year by lightning which strikes its spire.
• As a result, the shiva linga is smashed into smithereens and later the priests collect each bit of the Shivling and join it with butter.
• Legend has it that whosoever collects water from the confluence of the Beas and the Parbati and treks up to the temple to bath the Shivling, would be granted any wish made by him. 
• In 1500 AD, Raja Sidh Pal came to settle here and undertook this arduous task. 
• The result was that he regained his lost kingdom Kullu.

2. Manu Temple

• This temple is located in Shanshar. 
• It is dedicated to the great ancient lawgiver Manu.
• Hadimba Devi Temple
• The Hadimba Temple or Dhungri temple is dedicated to Goddess Hadimba, the wife of Bhima of Mahabharata fame.
• It was founded by Raja Bahadur Singh, son of Raja Sidh Singh in 1553 A.D. 
• Hadimba temple at Dhungri has a pagoda-shaped roof of thick deodar shingles.

3. Jamlu Devta

• This temple is dedicated to sage Jamadagni known as the Jamlu Devta. 
• He was the husband of Renuka ji and father of Parshuram.

4. Raghunath temple

• built by Raja Jagat Singh in 1651 AD
• Raghunath Ji is the chief deity of Kullu
• The image of Raghunath Ji was brought from Ayodhya by a Brahmin named Damodar Das.

5. Kartikeya Temple

• located at Kankhal.

6. Tripura Sundri Devi

• at Naggar
• Triyugi Narayana
• at Dyar

Famous places

1. Naggar

• From Jagat Sukh, the capital was transferred to Naggar by Raja Visud Pal (later taken to Sultanpur in 1660 AD)
• It was founded by Visud Pal
• The castle built about 500 years ago is now a Himachal Tourism Department Hotel. 
• The ancient temples of Gauri Shankar, Tripura Sundari Devi, Vishnu, and Murali Dhar are located here. 

When the British came to the Kullu valley, they made Nagger the sub-divisional headquarters. 

The first Assistant commissioner to govern the district from here was Major Hay. 

The castle is so solidly built that it withstood the severe earthquake of 1905, when most of the houses in the valley were damaged. 

Inside the castle is a courtyard in which lies a massive stone slab is known as Jagtipat which is believed to have been brought here from Deo Tibba peak by honey bees. 

Jagtipat is regarded as the seat of the gods and goddesses of the Kullu valley.

Near the castle is located a beautiful cottage and estate of the late Russian painter Nicholas Roerich. (also termed Maharishi)

He visited India for the first time in 1923 and painted enchanting landscapes on canvas. 

He liked Naggar so much that he returned in 1929 and bought what was then called The Hall Estate with its cottage and adjoining land. 

Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru along with his daughter Indira visited Nicholas Roerich in 1942. 

He resided there till his death in December 1947. 

The first lady of the Indian screen Devika Rani and her husband Svetoslav Roerich often lived in the estate too. 

Svetoslav died at his Bangalore estate in 1993, after which Devika Rani donated the Hall Estate to the International Roerich Memorial Trust. 

This lovely cottage now houses some of the painter’s most famous works and is known as the Roerich Art Gallery.

2. Malana

• the oldest democracy of the world
• the chief deity of the village is Jamlu Devta (Jamdagni Rishi)
• They have their own pattern of parliament i.e. upper house called Jeyeshthang/Jaosthang & a lower house called Kanishthang(Kamshtang)

3. Manali

• Derives its name from Manu-Alya (the house of Manu)
• In the past, Manali was known as “Dana Aghe”
• The Sunshine Paying guest house was the 1st to come up in Manali & was run by a member of the Banon family.
• One of the oldest houses which was built around 1870 is called the Duff Dunbar house.
• Duff Dunbar was a Deputy Forest Officer, was instrumental in planting & protecting the forests of Manali & Dhungri.

Visitors

• The first European visitor to the Kullu was  Moorcraft followed by Travoc.
• Alexander Cunningham, who arrived in 1846.
• 12 generations of Kullu rajas ruled from Nast (Jagatsukh), on the left bank of Beas.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied sports Manali

• established at Chadhiari near the hot springs of Vashist village in 1961.
• DRDO’s Snow and Avalanche study establishment. (SASE)
• In 2020, Defence Terrain Research Laboratory (DTRL) was merged with Snow and Avalanche Studies Establishment which is renamed Defence Geoinformatics Research Establishment (DGRE).

Kullu Nati World Record

The Kullu district administration received a certificate of  Guinness World Record for the largest Nati dance by 9,892 dancers, mostly women, on October 26, 2015. 

The dancers’ performance had taken place during the weeklong Dussehra festivities in Kullu.

Kullu folk dance (Nati) was named “Pride of Kullu” and the purpose of organizing such a huge group dance was to deliver the message of “save girl child”.

Solang ropeway and ski center at Solang Valley has also become the biggest attraction for tourists. 

The ropeway connects the main ski slopes to the top of Mount Phatru at an elevation of 3,200m

Bhuntar airport (1974) was the 1st airport of Himachal.