Himachal Pradesh due to its popularity among tourists can be termed as the crown jewel of Indian tourism industry. It is famous for its adventure sports such as rock climbing, mountain biking, paragliding, ice-skating, trekking and rafting. The development of the hill stations is linked to the colonial past of India, one of the hill stations being Shimla which was The Summer Capital of India during the British raj. Shimla, the state capital, is popular among tourists. The Kalka-Shimla Railway is a mountain railway which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Kalka Shimla narrow gauge Railway was built during the British rule in India with an aim to connect by Shimla the summer capital of British Indian rail network. This rail network holds the Guinness Book of World Records for its 96 kilometers steepest rise in the altitude with crossover of 800 bridges and viaducts, it is one of the most beautiful hill railways in India. It was considered the “crown jewel” of the Indian National Railways during the British Raj. On 8 July 2008, UNESCO added the Kalka–Shimla railway to the mountain railways of India World Heritage Site.

1. Tourism in Himachal Pradesh
● Himachal Pradesh due to its popularity among tourists can be termed as the crown jewel of
Indian tourism industry.
● It is famous for its adventure sports such as rock climbing, mountain biking, paragliding, ice-
skating, trekking and rafting.
● The development of the hill stations is linked to the colonial past of India, one of the hill
stations being Shimla which was The Summer Capital of India during the British raj.
● Shimla, the state capital, is popular among tourists. The Kalka-Shimla Railway is a mountain
railway which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
● Himalayan landescapes
● Hill stations
● Spiritual tourism
● Adventure sports
● Bike rides (mountain passes)

2. Tourism in Himachal Pradesh
● Shimla is also a famous skiing attraction in India. Other popular hill stations include Manali,
Kinnuar, Kasol, Parvati Valley, Chamba, Kullu, and Kasauli.
● The Shivalik range and mid- Himalayas are found here. The highest peak is Reo Purgyil with
a height of 6,816m in Kinnaur.
● The four major rivers in the state are Ravi, Chenab, Sutlej and Beas. The Sutlej and Beas
river valleys are home to hot springs such as Tattapani, Manikaran and Vashisht Temple.
● Shimla, the state capital, is popular among tourists. The Kalka-Shimla Railway is a mountain
railway which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Spiti Valley

3. Tourism in Himachal Pradesh
● The Kalka Shimla narrow gauge Railway was built during the British rule in India with an aim
to connect by Shimla the summer capital of British Indian rail network.
● This rail network holds the Guinness Book of World Records for its 96 kilometers steepest
rise in the altitude with crossover of 800 bridges and viaducts, it is one of the most beautiful
hill railways in India.
● It was considered the “crown jewel” of the Indian National Railways during the British Raj.
● On 8 July 2008, UNESCO added the Kalka–Shimla railway to the mountain railways of India
World Heritage Site.
Kalka Shimla Railway

4. Parvati Valley,
HP

5. Spiti Valley,
HP

6. Food
● Himachali Dham is a vegetarian Wedding Feast and has became the icon of local food.
● Himachali Dham comprises a range of traditional dishes that are meticulously prepared using
locally available ingredients.
● As per legends, 1,300 years ago the then king of Himachal Pradesh, Jaistambh, was so
impressed by Kashmiri wazwan(a native feast of Kashmir) that he ordered his cooks to
prepare a similar feast back home but without the use of meat. Thus a new kind of cuisine
was born in Himachal Pradesh, which was prepared only by Botis (sacred people generally
priests ) and considered sacred. In fact, the recipes were strictly guarded and passed on
through generations to keep alive the tradition of botis.
Himachali Dham

7. Culture and religion
● Himachal Pradesh is a multireligious, multicultural as well as a multilingual state like other
Indian states.
● Around 96% of the population of the state practices Hinduism.The tribal population comprises
the Gaddis, Kinnars, Jadun, Tanolis. Gujjars, Pangawals and Lahaulis. The Lahaulis of
Lahaul and Spiti and native of spiti, Kinnaur region mainly comprises Buddhists. A
percentage of people are also Tibetans. Muslim, Christian and Sikhs.
● His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the exiled Tibetan government are also based in
Dharamsala, A city of Himachal Pradesh famous among the Tibetan community.
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

8. Transport
● The geography of Himachal presents considerable challenge to the
development of transport infrastructure. Nevertheless, the state has
made significant progress in road connectivity in the last few decades.
● Himachal at present has the highest road density among all the hill
states of India.
● Recently Atal tunnel has been opened in Rohtang which is the longest
tunnel in the world built over the altitude of 10000 ft./3000 m.
Atal tunnel will give all weather connectivity
to Ladakh form HP.

9. Language
● The official language of Himachal Pradesh is Hindi. Besides Hindi,
Pahari (a group of local dialects) are the principal languages.
● Both Hindi and Pahari are Indo-Aryan languages. In Lahaul and Spiti
and in Kinnaur, however, the most widely spoken languages belong to
the Sino-Tibetan family.
● Himachali Bhasa is a effort by Himachal Pradesh State to form a
Pahari language out of Western Pahari languages of the state.
Pahari alphabets.
Why to visit Himachal Pradesh?
“Because in the end, you won’t
remember the time you spent working
in the office or mowing your lawn.”
- Jack Kerouac.