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Nearest
railheads are Pathankot, 285 km and more conveniently
Chandigarh 258 km.
The road from Mandi to Kullu meanders along the Mandi-Larji
gorge. Here the river is a rushing torrent flowing between
high walls of crumbly rock.
The
Town of Kullu is famous for its clourful Dussehara
festival. Decorated palanquins and processions convey gods
and goddesses from temples all over the valley to Kullu. to
pay homage to the reigning deity Raghunathji.
At
an altitude of 1200 metres, Kullu is the district
headquarters of the valley but it is not the main tourist
centre that honour goes to Manali.
The
fertile Kullu Valley rises northward from Nandi at 760
metres to the Rohtang Pass at 3978 metres, the gateway to
Lahul and Spiti. In the south the Valley is little
more than a narrow precipitous gorge, with the Beas River
sometimes a sheer 300 metres below the narrow road.
The
people of the Kullu Valley are friendly. devout, hard
working and relatively prosperous. The men wear the
distinctive Kullu camp a pillbox with a flap around the
front in which they may stick flowers.
Around
Kullu:
Raison
(1,433m) Not far away is the camping site at Raison on the
grassy banks of the river. This can be the starting point
for a number of interesting walks of treks in the area.
Katrain
(Katrain is situated at the Beas Widest part of the Kullu
Valley. There is excellent fishing here and a truant
hatchery nearby ensures a well stocked river. (19m)
Naggar:
(1,768m) On the opposite bank of the Beas, across a
bridge at Patli Kuhl, the road climbs sharply through groves
of dark green deodar to the little town of Naggar, high
above the valley.
Temples:
In the north of the town, and dedicated to the principal god
in the valley, is the Raghunath Temple. Three km away
from Kullu in the village Bhekli, is The Jaganathi Devi
Temple. Four km along kullu to Manali road is the Vaishno
Devi Temple, a small cave with an image of the goddess.
On the main road 15 km of Kullu in Bajaura, the famous
Temple of Basheshar Mahadev can be seen it has
got some fine stone carvings.
Bijli
Mahadev Temple: The interesting Bijli Mahadev Temple is
close to Kullu. Its temple tower with a 20m road on top,
attracts lightning which shatters the stone linga in the
sanctum |
