About Himachal Pradesh:

The name Himachal Pradesh was coined in 1948 after India gained independence from British Raj to refer to the Hill districts around Shimla and southern hill states of the former Punjab region. But the history of the areas that now constitute Himachal Pradesh dates back at least 5 millenia to the time when the Indus valley civilisation flourished i.e. between the time period of 2250 and 1750 B.C. From the pre historic time it was inhabited by tribes like the Koilis, Halis, Dagis, Dhaugris, Dasa, Khasas, Kinnars and Kirats. The small kingdom enjoyed a large degree of independence till the eve of the Muslim invasions in northern India. The states of the foothills were devastated by Muslim invaders a number of times. Mahmud Ghaznavi conquered Kangra at the beginning of the 10th century. Timur and Sikander Lodi also marched through the lower hills of the state and captured a number of forts and fought many battles. The Gorkhas, a martial tribe came to power in Nepal in the year 1768. They consolidated their military power and began to expand their territory. Gradually the Gorkhas annexed Sirmour and Shimla. With the leadership of Amar Singh Thapa, Gorkhas laid siege to Kangra. They managed to defeat Sansar Chand, the ruler of kangra, in 1806 with the help of many provincial chiefs. However Gorkhas could not capture Kangra fort which came under Maharaja Ranjeet Singh in 1809. After the defeat the Gorkhas began to expand towards the south of the state.However,Raja Ram Singh,Raja of Siba State re-captured the fort of Siba from the army of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Samvat 1846. This led in the Anglo-Sikh war. They came into direct conflict with the British along the tarai belt after which the British expelled them from the provinces of the Satluj. Thus British gradually emerged as the paramount powers. The revolt of 1857 or first Indian war of independence resulted due to the building up of political, social, economic, religious and military grievances against the British government.People of the hill states were not politically alive as the people in other parts of the country. They remained more or less inactive and so did their rulers with the exception of Bushahr. Some of them even rendered help to the British government during the revolt. Among them were the rulers of Chamba, Bilaspur, Bhagal and Dhami. The rulers of Bushars rather acted in a manner hostile to the interests of British. The British territories in the hill came under British Crown after Queen Victoria's proclamation of 1858. The states of Chamba, Mandi and Bilaspur made good progress in many fields during the British rule. During the first world war, virtually all rulers of the hill states remained loyal and contributed to the British war effort both in the form of men and materials. Amongst these were the states of Kangra, Jaswan,Datarpur,Guler, Nurpur, Chamba, Suket, Mandi and Bilaspur. After independence the Chief Commissioner's province of H.P. came into being on 15 April 1948. Himachal became a part C state on 26 January 1950 with the implementation of the Constitution of India. Himachal Pradesh became Union Territory on 1 November 1956. On 18 December 1970 the State of Himachal Pradesh Act was passed by Parliament and the new state came into being on 25 January 1971. Thus Himachal emerged as the eighteenth state of Indian Union.
The earliest known inhabitants of the region were tribals called Dasas. Later, Aryans came and they assimilated in the tribes. In the later centuries, the hill chieftains accepted suzerainty of the Mauryan empire, the Kaushans, the Guptas and Kanuaj rulers. During the Mughal period, the Rajas of the hill states made some mutually agreed arrangements which governed their relations. In the 19th century, Ranjit Singh annexed/subjugated many of the states. When the British came, they defeated Gorkhas and entered into treaties with some Rajas and annexed the kingdoms of others. The situation more or less remained unchanged till 1947. After Independence, 30 princely states of the area were united and Himachal Pradesh was formed on 15th April, 1948. With the recognition of Punjab on 1st November, 1966, certain areas belonging to it were also included in Himachal Pradesh. On 25th January, 1971, Himachal Pradesh was made a full-fledged State.
Important Cities and Towns :- Chamba, Dalhousie, Kangra, Dharamsala, Palampur, Hamirpur, Una, Bilaspur, Solan, Nahan, Shimla, Mandi, Kullu, Manali. Himachal Pradesh can be divided into two regions, Northern and Southern. The southern region of Himachal is almost as hot as plains with a mild difference in temperature in different areas. Northern region has a temperature summer and very cold winter with heavy snow fall.
History: Himachal Pradesh came into being on April 15, 1948 and comprised 30 former hill states. The state of Bilaspur was merged with Himachal Pradesh in 1954. The six original districts were : Mahasu, Sirmaur, Mandi, Chamba, Bilaspur and Kinnaur. On November 1, 1966certain parts of the state of Punjab were transferred to Himachal Pradesh. These comprise the districts of Shimla, Kullu, Kangra and Lahaul and Spiti and parts of Hoshiarpur and Ambala districts. Himachal Pradesh attained full statehood on January 25, 1971 as the 18th State of the Union.
Old Himachal:- consists of districts of Chamba, Kinnaur, Bilaspur, Mandi, Sirmaur and Shimla. Actually the capital town Shimla was included in Himachal later, but it has some area from old Himachal.
New Himachal:- consists of districts of Kangra, Kullu, Lahaul and Spity, Hamirpur and Una. Rajasthan is the north-western region of India, and has remain independent from the great empires. Buddhism failed to make substantial inroad here; the Mauryan empire (321-184 BC), whose most renowned emperor, Ashoka, Converted to Buddhism in 261 BC, had minimal impact in Rajasthan, However, there are Buddhist caves and Stupas (Buddhist Shrines) at Jhalawar, in Southern Rajasthan. Ancient Hindu scriptural epics make reference to sites in present-day Rajasthan. The Holy Pilgrimage site of Pushkar is mentioned in both the Mahabharata and Ramayana.

Himachal Pradesh is situated in the interiors of western Himalayas. The state is bordered by Jammu and Kashmir in the North, Uttarakhand in the South-East, Haryana in the South and Punjab is in the west. Himachal Pradesh is situated between 30"22' and 30"12' north latitude and between 75"47' and 79"4' east longitude. The state covers an area of 55,780 kilometres (34,660 mi). It is a mountainous state with elevation ranging from about 350 metres (1,148 ft) to 6,000 metres (19,685 ft) above the sea level. Shimla is the state capital. There is great variation in the climatic conditions of Himachal Pradesh due to extreme variation in elevation i.e. 450 metres (1,476 ft) to 6,500 metres (21,325 ft). The climate varies from hot and sub-humid tropical (450 metres (1,476 ft) to 900 metres (2,953 ft)) in the southern tracts, warm and temperate (900 metres (2,953 ft) to 1,800 metres (5,906 ft)), cool and temperate (1,900 metres (6,234 ft) to 2,400 metres (7,874 ft)) and cold alpine and glacial (2,400 metres (7,874 ft) to 4,800 metres (15,748 ft)) 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 Pradesh 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). The drainage system of Himachal Pradesh is composed both of rivers and glaciers. Himalayan rivers criss-cross the entire mountain chain. In fact the rivers are older than the mountain system. Himachal Pradesh provides water to both the Indus and Ganges basins. The drainage systems of the region are the Chandra Bhaga or the Chenab, the Ravi, the Beas, the Sutlej and the Yamuna. These rivers are perennial and are fed by snow and rainfall. They are protected by an extensive cover of natural vegetation.
Himachal Pradesh is bound between 30°22’ to 33°12’ North Latitude and 75°47’ to 79°04’ East Longitude. To the East, it forms India's border with Tibet, to the North lies state of Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh in the South-East, Haryana in South and Punjab in the West. The entire teritory of Himachal Pradesh is mountainous with altitude varying from 350 to 7000 metres above the mean sea level. Himachal Pradesh is a hilly and mountainous tract. There is general increase in elevation from West to East and from South to North.

Himachal means Him + Aanchal converys a sheet of snow. Dur to snow- covered mountains Himachal Pradesh is given this name. This unique state of Indian sub continent is also known as the Land of Gods or Devbhoomi. Altough every state in our country has many individual traits regarding their cultural heritage but Himachal Pradesh claims priority in this field. Regarding natural beauty it is perhaps the most beautiful and splendid region in our country. Dur to this fact in the last decade Himachal Pradesh has attracted a great part of tourist population.
Even the very thought of staying in mountains locked area, playing in snow and watching rare natural sights delights everybody. Regarding cultural heritage Himachal Pradesh is a wealthy state. Once can visit many temples of different gods here. Especially the rural population is much more devoted to their gods. In every village one can see one or more temples of different gods. Naag Devta" is one of the most significant god of there people. Dussehra of Kullu is world famous. A huge procession is held on this occasion. People zeolously take part in that type of functions. A special type of 'Mela' also takes place which lasts for ten days. It has some peculiarity that the host has to offer local wine called 'lugdi' to all his guests. The tenth day is the most important day as the establishment of Naag devtas sculpture takes place. After that young buys and girls show their local dance. This mela comes around the 2nd or 3rd week of may. People here are also well behaved and cooperative. One can more about anywhere anytime. Due to its imagine geographical location and culture heritage Himachal Pradesh is developing as a Paradise for tourists net only from India but also from many other countries.
Himachal Pradesh is a captivating region of the Indian Himalayas. Proclaimed by ancient Indian texts as Devbhumi "Land of the Gods" and believed to be the earthly home of the mighty Lord Shiva; this beautiful, far-flung region has an almost palpable presence of divinity. The area is 21,495 square miles (55,673 square kilometers). Shimla, at an elevation of about 7,100 feet, is the state capital and the largest and most popular hill resort in India. Shimla was the summer headquarters of pre-independence British viceroys. Formerly a union territory, Himachal Pradesh became a state of India on Jan. 25, 1971

Tourism & Adventures in Himachal Pradesh: