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. |
