Spiti
About the city
Lahaul & Spiti is a big district having international boundary with Tibet. It attained the status of a district in the year 1960. Till then it was merely a tehsil of Kullu Sub-division. The valleys. mountains, glaciers, rivers, forests, pastures, gompas (monastries) and ancient buildings of the former ruling dynasty are the principal objects of study.The rugged awe-inspiring snow clad mountains are standing invitation to the hikers, mountaineers and adventurers. The entire district is full of natural scenery exorting the tourists and visitors to explore and imbibe its hidden grandeur. The customs, myths, beliefs and conventions of the simple unsophisticated people are the unique features of this border highland. Every village or a hamlet has a prayer flag fluttering over the Buddhist monastery. These shrines are the centers of the cultural life of the people that have influenced their religious beliefs for centuries and round which their social life revolves.
Often called as the ‘middle country', Spiti is a cold desert regarded as a "World within a world" and "Palace where the gods live". The monasteries of Lahaul-Spiti are rich repositories of ancient murals, thanks, woodcarving and golden images of padmasambhava.
The Rohtang Pass, in the northern parts of India, is a site where one can view the most drastic of landscape variances. On one side, there is the lush green head of the Kullu Valley, and to the other, an awesome vista of bare, brown mountains, hanging glacies and snowfields that dazzle in the crisp light. It is the district of Lahaul and Spiti-a place untouched by the onslaughts of time. The tough terrain here is the main reason behind its virginal landscapes and simple lifestyles.