Yatra Himachal means Journey to Himachal.
Himachal Pradesh is a state in Northern India. It is spread over 55,673 km² and is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the south, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east. The literal meaning of Himachal Pradesh is Him + Anchal that means Home of Snow.Him means snow in Sanskrit.
TOURIST DESTINATIONS :-
Himachal Pradesh is one of the most scenic places in world, also known as Switzerland of India.Himachal is full of hill stations, adventures sports destinations, festivals and celebrations, and wildlife. Himachal Pradesh Tourism attracts wide range tourist traffic to the hill destinations. Himachal is also famous for excellent trekking and beautiful hill stations.
Himachal is one of the few places in the whole world with five seasons. Spring, summer, the monsoon, autumn and winter. Some of the more popular destinations in Himachal are as below :-
Shimla:- Is truly the Queen of Hill Stations. Shimla was the Summer Capital of the British Raj now the Capital of Himachal Pradesh. It is Situated in north-west Himalayas.
Bir — Bir is a small town with a large Tibetan community and several Buddhist monasteries
Palampur:- One of the Key tourist destinations of Himachal. Palampur is famous for its scenic beauty, the Kangra Tea, Andretta Village (Home of famous Indian Artist & painter Sobha Singh).It is One of the major hill stations in Kangra Valley in the state of Himachal Pradesh.
Dharamsala:- Dharamsala is situated on the slopes of Kangra Valley, is an exotic hill resort in Himachal Pradesh in India. The spiritual hill town is divided into two parts – Dharamsala and McLeodganj. McLeodganj is the capital of Tibetans in Exile & home to spiritual head of the Buddhists, The Dalai Lama. Other tourist attractions of Dharamsala are St. John'S Church In Wilderness, Chamunda Devi Temple, Maharana Pratap Sagar (Wild Life Sanctuary), Norbulinka Institute, Nurpur Fort, Dall Lake, etc.
Una :- Una is famous for its holy shrine Maa Chintaapurni Temple.
Kullu - Manali:- Kullu & Manali are another picturesque hill stations in Himachal Pradesh. Manali is one of the most popular holiday destinations of India and is very well connected to Delhi and Chandigarh by road. Located 1220 meters above the sea level near Kullu, Manali provides a spectacular view of snow-capped mountain peaks around it. Other tourist attractions include Manikaran. Manikaran is famous for its hot water spring. The holy water spring is hot enough to boil rice and vegetables. Near Manali is the Highest pass of the world "Rohtang pass".
Dalhousie:- A beautiful hill station, surrounded by beautiful snow covered peaks Dalhousie is built on and around five hills. Various monuments of Colonial India era provide varied options to look around.
Keylong — a small town and HQ of Lahul & Spiti district. It lies on way from Manali to Leh. Last petrol pump (gas station) of Manali-Leh highway is here, next petrol pump is at Leh, which is nearly 350 km away.
Bilaspur — The Main attraction in Bilaspur is the Bhakra Dam's GovindSagar Lake. There are several Shiva temples in lake, which remain submerged in water, but appear in Summer when lake water receds. Bilaspur is hot in summer and cold in winters.
A visit to Himachal Prades offers a complete range to tourists, From beautiful hill-stations, Holy temples, unique festivals, exotic wildlife, thrilling adventure sports, trekking, breath stealing natural beauty, age old culture and heritage there is much to see and experience that attracts everyone.
HIMACHAL - The Sacred & peaceful Destination.
Himachal Pradesh is known as Dev Bhumi (The Abode of Gods) as it has more than 2000 temples & holy places.The prominent & famous temples in Himachal Pradesh are Jwalamukhi Devi, Brajeshwari ( Kangra) Devi, Chintpurni Devi and Naina Devi. There are fascinating legends associated with these shrines, the most popular of them being that of King Daksh of Himachal. The story goes that the arrogant king did not invite Lord Shiva, his son-in-law to a 'yagna', and consequently his daughter Sati, utterly humiliated, plunged into the sacrificial fire. Shiva arrived on hearing this, only to find his beloved half burnt. Enraged he carried her charred body and broke into the 'tandava nritya', the awesome dance of death. Her charred remains - tongue, breasts, feet and eyes fell at four places to form the four pilgrimage sites of Jwalamukhi, Brajeshwari, Chintpurni and Naina Devi. This temple circuit is one of the most popular ones in North India.
In addition Other famous pilgrimages in Himachal Include "Mani Mahesh Kailash Yatra", Baba BalakNath Siddh peeth, Chamunda Devi temple etc.
Himachal is also known for its Churches. the some of the famous churches include the churches of St. Patrick and St. Andrew in Dalhousie, Church of St. John in Mcleodganj, church of St. John in Palampur, St. Andrew church in Shimla.
CLIMATE :-
The climate of Himachal varies from hot and sub-humid tropical in the southern tracts to cold, alpine and glacial in the northern and eastern mountain ranges with more elevation.The state has areas like Dharamsala that receive very heavy rainfall, as well as those like Lahaul and Spiti that are cold and almost rainless. Broadly Himachal experience three seasons; hot weather season, cold weather season and rainy season. Summer lasts from mid April till the end of June and most parts become very hot (except in alpine zone which experience mild summer) with the average temperature ranging from 28 °C (82 °F) to 32 °C (90 °F). Winter lasts from late November till mid March. Snowfall is common in alpine tracts (generally above 2,200 metres (7,218 ft) i.e. in the Higher and Trans-Himalayan region).
Himachal Pradesh is divided into 12 districts namely, Kangra, Hamirpur, Mandi, Bilaspur, Una, Chamba, Lahul and Spiti, Sirmaur, Kinnaur, Kullu, Solan and Shimla. The state capital is Shimla which was formerly British India's summer capital under the name Simla.
GETTING THERE :-
By AIR
Himachal has small airports in Shimla, Kullu and Kangra. There are schduled flights from New Delhi to Himachal Pradesh Towns.
By TRAIN
Himachal has few stations connected by the train Network.Una Himachal is the Only Broad Gauge railway station to Himachal. ( We are based in Una Himachal) . Una works as a main gateway for Himachal for various travelers, tourists, Pilgrims. Presently there are two main trains terminating in UNA
1. Himachal Express/14553 - Arrival time in UNA at 07:50AM ( Every Day).
2. NewDelhi - Una - Jan Shatabdi/12057 - Arrival time in UNA at 22:10 PM ( Every Day)
Other Train Routes include narrow-guage tracks Kalka to Shimla, Pathankot - Kangra - Palampur - baijnath - ogindernager. Kalka-Shimla railway track is also UNESCO world heritage site. On the Pathankot - Kangra - Palampur - baijnath - Jogindernager circuit, The ride beyond Kangra is amazing with stunning views of the Dhauladhar range of the Himalayas, rivers and streams.
BY BUS
Bus is the only practical means of getting to many points in Himachal. All cities of interest have direct services to Delhi. There are three different entry routes to Himachal if you are coming from Delhi.
Delhi-Chandigarh-Shimla-Kaza.
Delhi-Chandigarh-Mandi-Manali-Keylong-Leh
Delhi-Chandigarh-Dharamsala
Delhi-Chandigarh-Kangra-Chamba
Delhi-Chandigarh-Baijnath-Jogindernager