Plan a trip to Himachal Pradesh – the beautiful and exotic land surrounded by Jammu and Kashmir, Uttaranchal, Haryana, Punjab and Tibet. Explore the nature at its best with Himachal Pradesh Tour Packages. Indulge in trekking, mountaineering, fishing, para gliding, skiing, ice-skating and golf on your tour to Himachal Pradesh. Travel to the beautiful hill stations of Himachal Pradesh. Tour through Shimla, Kullu, Manali, Dalhousie on your trip to Himachal Pradesh and know Himchal Pradesh more elaborately then now.

Encompassing numerous amazing places of interest and attractions, Himachal Pradesh is a must visit destination for the nature and adventure loving tourists. Housing innumerous nourishing hill stations, which are particularly cool in summers, Himachal Pradesh is one destination in Indian which finds a place in all the tourist itineraries. Shimla, Dharamshala, Dalhousie, Kullu, Manali and Kufri are a few of the hill Stations in Himachal Pradesh which offer breathtaking vistas and unlimited options of adventure sports. Dharamshala, where the Dalai Lama lives, is another vital centre on the tourist map.

Built in the mid-18th century, Shimla, the capital city of Himachal Pradesh was highly popular among the British royalty after it was named the 'Summer Capital of India'. Shimla in Himachal Pradesh is a picturesque destination dotted with picture postcard bungalows and shops made of stone. A perfect hideaway for romance or to go on a leisure or rejuvenating holiday.

For complete geographical diversity, few places in the world are as richly blessed as Himachal Pradesh in India. Low rolling hills, just a couple of hundred metres above sea level, climb on to touch the core of the Himalaya mountains. Here lie peaks that are several thousand metres high and never lose their perennial snows. Himachal Pradesh perched amidst frozen mountains, evergreen valleys and murmuring streams lures tourists from all over the world.

Such is the beauty of Himachal Pradesh, that no land can match it on this earth. Rivers cascading in deep gorges and placid mountain lakes, thick forests, mountainsides draped with snow, and green stretches of Alpine meadows, all form a part of this immense spectrum - Himachal.
Himachal Pradesh formerly the Punjab Hill States, is a mostly mountainous state in northwest India. Neighbouring regions are Tibet to the east, Jammu and Kashmir to the north and northwest, Punjab to the southwest, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to the south and Uttaranchal to the southeast. With an area of 55,658 km² (21,490 sq mi), Himachal is one of the smaller states of the country and holds the 17th rank in the list of States and Union Territories of India.

The state capital is Shimla (formerly British India's summer capital under the name Simla), other major towns are Dharamsala, Kangra, Mandi, Kullu, Chamba, Hamirpur, Dalhousie and Manali. The western Himalaya lies in the north and east and the smaller Shiwalik (or Shivalik) range in the south.

Himachal has five major rivers. These are Sutlej, Ravi, Chenab, Beas and Yamuna.

Himachal Pradesh came under British control in the middle of the 19th century. The British annexed Kangra District, which includes present-day Kangra, Kullu, Hamirpur, and Lahul and Spiti districts, in 1846 at the conclusion of the First Anglo-Sikh War. The remainder of Himachal Pradesh was made up of a number of princely states; see Hill States.

Under the British Raj, Kangra District was part of the British province of Punjab, and the princely states, then known as the Simla Hill States, were under the authority of Punjab until the early 1930's, when the Punjab States Agency was created, under the direct authority of the Governor-General of India. The Punjab Hill States Agency, which included most of the princely states in present-day Himachal Pradesh, was separated from Punjab States Agency in 1936.

India became independent of the United Kingdom in 1947, and Himachal Pradesh was established as a state on April 15 1948, composed of the territory of some 30 Hill states (including feudatories) that acceded to the Government of India, while Bilaspur remained a separate state in the Indian Union till its merger with Himachal Pradesh on July 1, 1954 by an act of the Indian Parliament.

Himachal became a Part C State under a Lieutenant Governor, with a Legislative Assembly of 36 members and a Cabinet of three ministers in 1951. On July 1, 1954, Bilaspur, another Part C State, was integrated with Himachal Pradesh by an act of the Indian Parliament and the strength of the Assembly was raised to 41 members. In 1956, the States Re-organization Commission recommended the unification of Himachal Pradesh with Punjab. But the people of Himachal Pradesh opposed and the proposal was overruled.

Himachal Pradesh became a union territory on November 1, 1956. The state was enlarged in 1966 by the transfer of the districts of Shimla, Kangra (which included present-day districts of Kangra and Hamirpur), Kullu, Lahul and Spiti, and Una from Punjab state.

Till October 1966, Himachal Pradesh comprised only of six hill districts of Mahasu, Mandi, Chamba, Sirmaur, Bilaspur and Kinnaur. In November 1966, it was expanded with the inclusion of some of the hilly towns of Punjab like Shimla, Kangra, Kullu, Lahaul, Spiti, Nalagarh tehsil of Ambala district, and areas of Hoshiarpur and Gurdaspur districts. Himachal Pradesh was formed into 10 districts and was declared the 18th state of India on January 25, 1971, with Shimla as its capital. The 12 districts of Bilaspur, Chamba, Hamirpur, Kangra, Kinnaur, Kullu, Lahaul & Spiti, Mandi, Shimla, Sirmaur, Solan and Una were re-organized into the districts of the state in 1972-73.

Himachal pradesh , spread over 55,673 km². is bordered by Jammu and Kashmir on north, Punjab on west and south-west, Haryana on south, Uttaranchal on south-east and by Tibet on the east. It is a mountainous region, known for the natural beauty of its forests, rivers, valleys, hills and dales and is rich in natural resources.

The state is located in altitudes ranging from 450 meters to 6500 meters above sea level. It is veiled from the plains by the Shivalik range of mountains. (Shivalik literally means the tresses of Lord Shiva). There is a general increase in elevation from west to east and from south to north. The physiographic divisions from south to north are:

* The outer Himalayas or the Shivaliks
* The lesser Himalayas or the central zone
* The great Himalayas and Zaskar or the northern zone.

The Shivaliks consist of lower hills (about 600mtrs above sea level ). These hills are composed of highly unconsolidated deposits which causes a high rate of erosion and deforestation.

The lesser Himalayas are marked by a gradual elevation towards the Dhauladhar and the Pir Panjal ranges. The rise is more abrupt in the Shimla hills, to the south of which is the high peak of church- Chandni (3647mtrs). North of river Sutlej, the rise is gradual.

The Kangra valley is a longitudinal trough at the foot of the Dhauladhar range. Dhauladhar which means the 'White Peak' has a mean elevation of about 4550 meters. It has an abrupt rise of 3600mtrs above the Kangra valley. The largest of the lesser Himalayan ranges, the Pir Panjal, branches off from the greater Himalayan range near the bank of the river Sutlej. Numerous glaciers exist and several passes lie across Pir Panjal. The Rohtang Pass (4800mtrs) is one of them.

The great Himalayan range (5000 - 6000 meters) runs along the eastern boundary and is cut across by the Sutlej. Some of the famous passes in this range are Kangla (5248mtrs), Bara Lacha(4512mtrs), Parang (5548mtrs) and Pin Parbati (4802mtrs).

The Zaskar range is the eastern most range and separates Kinnaur and Spiti from Tibet. It has peaks rising over 6500mtrs, Shilla (7026mtrs) and Riwo Phargyul (6791mtrs) are the highest among its peaks. There are many glaciers or Shigri (local name) over the Zaskar and the great Himalayan ranges.

There is great diversification in the climatic conditions of Himachal due to variation in elevation (450-6500mtrs). It varies from hot and sub-humid tropical (450-900mtrs) in the southern Low tracts, warm and temperate (900-1800mtrs), cool and temperate (1900-2400mtrs) and cold alpine and glacial (2400-4800mtrs) in the northern and eastern high mountain ranges.

The year is divided into three seasons. Cold (October to February), hot (March to June) and rainy (July to September). By October, nights and mornings are very cold. Snowfall at elevations of about 3000mtrs is about 3mtrs and lasts from December to March. About 4500mtrs, is perpetual snow.

The main season is the spring from mid- Feb to March-April. The air is cool and fresh. Colourful flowers adorn the valleys, forest slopes and meadows. In the hill stations, the climate is pleasant and comfortable.

The rains start at the end of June. The entire landscape becomes green and fresh. Streams begin to swell and springs are replenished. The heavy rains in July and August cause damage to erosion, floods and landslides.

Dharamsala has the highest rainfall of 3400 mm. Spiti is the driest area (below 50 mm rainfall) being enclosed by high mountains on all sides.

Shimla, Kullu-Manali, Dharamshala, Rohtang la pass, Dalhausi, Kangra.