Interesting Facts about Himachal Pradesh

In Articles
February 27, 2016

Facts About Himachal Pradesh – Himachal Pradesh (literally “Snow-laden Region”) is a state in North India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. Its area is 21,495 sq mi (55,670 km2), and is bordered by Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west, Haryana on the south-west, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east.

Hima means snow in Sanskrit, and the literal meaning of the state’s name is “In the lap of Himalayas”. It was named by Acharya Diwakar Datt Sharma, one of the great Sanskrit scholars of Himachal Pradesh.

According to a 2005 Transparency International survey, Himachal Pradesh has ranked the second-least corrupt state in the country after Kerala.

Hindi is both the official language and the lingua franca (A lingua franca is a language or way of communicating which is used between people who do not speak one another’s native language.) of Himachal Pradesh. However, most of the population speaks Pahari in everyday conversation, which includes nearly all Western Pahari dialects. There are total 0032 languages in HP.

The Chief Commissioner’s province of H.P. came into being on 15th April 1948.
H.P. became a part C state on 26th January 1950 with the implementation of the Constitution of India.
Bilaspur was merged with Himachal Pradesh on 1st July 1954.
Himachal Pradesh became Union Territory on 1st November 1956.
Kangra and most of the other hill areas of Punjab were merged with H.P. on 1st November 1966 through its status remained that of a Union Territory.
On 18th December 1970, the State of Himachal Pradesh Act was passed by Parliament and the new state came into being on 25th January 1971. Thus H.P. emerged as the eighteenth state of Indian Union.
Himachal Pradesh has come a long way since then. It has seen a number of full-fledged governments which have led the state towards economic self-reliance.

Government of Himachal Pradesh

Governor	Acharya Devvrat
Chief Minister	Shri Virbhadra Singh
Chief Justice	Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir
High Court	Shimla
Capital	Shimla

State Symbols of Himachal Pradesh

State animal	Snow leopard (Uncia uncia)
State bird	Western Tragopan (Tragopan melanocephalus)
State flower	Pink rhododendron
State tree	Deodar cedar (Cedrus deodara)
State Dance	Naati

Seats

Assembly Seats	68
Lok Sabha Seats	4 (Kangra, Mandi, Hamirpur, Shimla)
Rajya Sabha Seats	3 (BJP – 2, INC – 1)

Wildlife Sanctuaries in Himachal Pradesh

District Kullu
Sachu Tuan Nala
Gamgul
Tundah
Kugti
Kalatop – Khajjiar.

District Kangra
Maharana Pratap Sagar (Pong Dam Lake)
Dhauladhar.

District Kullu
Manali
Kias
Khokhan
Kanawar
Tirthan
Sainj
Great Himalayan National Park.

District Mandi
Nargu
Shikari Devi
Bandli.

District Bilaspur
Gobind Sagar
Sri Naina Devi Ji.

District Shimla
Shimla Water Catchment Area
Talra
Daranghali.

District Solan
Majathal
Darlaghat
Shilli.

District Kinnaaur
Sangla
Lippa Asrang
Rupl Bhaba.

District Sirmaur
Renuka
Simbalbara
Churdhar.

Lahul Spiti
Pin Valley National Park.

National Parks in Himachal Pradesh

Great Himalayan National Park
Pin Valley National Park
Inderkilla National Park
Khirganga National Park
Simbalbara National Park

Hydroelectric Power Plants in Himachal Pradesh

Girinagar Hydel Project (Palampur)
Binwa Hydel Project (Kinnaur)
Sanjay Vidyut Pariyojna (Mandi)
Bassi Hydroelectric Project (Kullu)
Larji Hydroelectric Project (Shimla)
Andhra Hydel Project (Rohru – Shimla)
Rongtong Hydel Project (Lahaul-Spiti)
Baner and Neugal Project (Kangra)
Nathpa Jhakri Project (funded by world bank)

UNESCO Heritage Sites

Great Himalayan National Park
Mountain Railways Kalka – Shimla

Mountain Railway Kalka Shimla

Famous Temples in Himachal Pradesh

Hadimba Devi Mandir in Manali

Tara Devi
Jakhoo
Hadimba
Naina Devi
Baba Balak Nath
Jawala Devi
Chintpurni
Chamunda Devi.

Famous Morach in Himachal Pradesh

Guru Ghantal Monastery
Tabo Monastery
Dhankar
Lhalung.

Famous Churches in Himachal Pradesh

St. Michael’s Cathedral
Christ Church
St. Johns Church

Famous Gurudwaras in Himachal Pradesh

Gurudwara Bhngani Sahab
Paonta Sahib
Rewalsahib Gurudwara
Paonta Sahib Gurudwara

Natural Resources in Himachal Pradesh

Nature has endowed Himachal Pradesh with a number of important minerals such as salt, gypsum, clays, mica, limestone, barytes, iron, pyrite and lead.

Main Festivals of Himachal Pradesh

Chet (Dholru)
Naratas
Baisakhi
Haryali (Shegtsum in Lahaul, Dhakhrain in Jubbal and Kinnaur)
Grewal
Phulech (in Kinnaur)
Sair
Lohri
Nawala

Famous Fairs in Himachal Pradesh

Baisakhi
Kullu Dussehra
Nati Dance
Lavi (Oct-Nov)
Holi Fair (in Sujanpur)

Dance of Himachal Pradesh

The Gugga Dance
The Losar Shona Chuksam
The Ghurehi
The Kullu Naati

Major Airports in Himachal Pradesh

Kullu Manali (Bhuntaar Airport)
Shimla (Jubbarhatti Airport)
Kangra (Gaggal Airport)

Famous Personalities of Himachal Pradesh

Captain Vikram Batra
Anupam Kher
The Great Khali
Tenzin Gyatso
Mohit Chauhan
Charanjit Singh (Captain of Indian Hockey Team 1964. India won Gold.)
Ruskin Bond
Kangana Ranaut

Facts about Himachal Pradesh

The most exciting way to commute to Shimla is by the Kalka-Shimla Railway, better known as the Toy train. But what’s more amazing is that it declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO and holds the world record of being the train to cover the steepest slope (5816 ft) in the least distance (just 96 km).
The Kalka-Shimla express runs through a massive stretch of 806 bridges, 103 tunnels and 18 stations.
Kasol is famous by the nickname of ‘Mini Israel’ perhaps because of its maximum tourists being that of Israeli origin and so most of the shops and inns to bear hoarding in the Hebrew language. Moreover, the clothes, goods and food, especially pita bread and hummus also give you the feeling of being in Israel.
Himachal Pradesh proudly holds the title of being the second least corrupt state of India after Kerala.
Malana, a fairly unexplored and hidden village in Himachal Pradesh is also famous by the name of ‘The Village of Taboos’ which is mainly because of their strict rules of no outsider touching any wall or belonging of the residents.
Malana is also one of the oldest democracies and interestingly it has its own set of Greek-resembling beliefs and ways. They even consider themselves to be the descendants of Alexander the Great and consider non-Malanis as inferior and untouchables. One of the facts is that the area is known for being a weed-tourist hotspot. The excellent quality of the dry herbs available here often draws tourists from all over the world. People can use this in joints and in some cases in dry vaporizers (learn more about how dry vaporizers function). In fact, this place has won the title of ‘Best Hashish’ twice; once in the year 1994 and again in 1996 at High Times magazine Cannabis Cup.
Himachal Pradesh is the land of deities. Almost every village has its own Gods and Goddesses which the local people rigorously worship.
Himachal Pradesh produces apples, peaches, cherries, kiwis and plums in abundance apart from dry fruits such as hazelnuts and chilgoza or pine nuts. The latter is rare but that is grown in the state alone.
Shimla is the only place in the whole of Asia to sport a natural ice skating rink.
The legendary Silk Route, trusted to have been the path for the traders to go to and from other countries such as China, Tibet, Ladakh and Kashmir for selling wool, semi-precious stones, livestock and of course silk is also located nowhere else but in the Abode of Snow- Himachal Pradesh.