The district of Kinnaur &
Spiti are no doubt the most fascinating region of the Indian Himalaya,
fringing the Tibetan plateau in the north-east quarter of Himachal
Pradesh.
It's geographical inaccessibility has resulted in attracting sporadic
attention of only the most tenacious of travelers.
The mystique of the forbidden has added to the aura of the unknown.
Foreign travelers have not been permitted into the districts of Kinnaur
and Spiti Valley until just five years ago.
Kinnaur & Spiti was the most guarded secret of the Himalayas, the land of
legends and mythology, abode of the Gods and Demons. A land of peace and
harmony, where each one is a Hindu Buddhist and every village has a Hindu
Temple and a Buddhist Gompa.
Only here in this world that prays in ageless temples, has the culture
continued, uninterrupted by any outside invasion or disturbance, for
over a thousand years.
The Old Hindustan Tibet road which passes through Roghi, Kalpa and Pangi,
is the last village on this remaining section of the tributary to the
ancient silk route, at one time offered the easiest access to Tibet. Over
the centuries it gained importance as an alternate route for the pashmina
wool trade from Tibet, a trade traditionally confined to the routes down
the Indus into Ladakh and over toKashmir.
The romance of the old HT lies not only in the excitement of retracing a
legendary route trod by many adventurous feet but it chronicles in its
passage a remarkable transition in climate, vegetation, terrain, people
and culture. A land of contrasting landscapes where the terrain changes
from thick pine forests and fruit orchards through the snow clad peaks to
bare brown mountains and finally into moonscape like cold desert bordering
Tibet within the same days' travel.
The people and their lifestyles change as vividly as the landscape. Old HT
offers beautiful walks.
