Kinnaur is one of the twelve administrative
district
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...
s of the state of
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several pea ...
in northern India. The district is divided into three administrative areas (
Kalpa
Kalevan Pallo (KalPa) is a professional ice hockey team which competes in the Finnish Liiga. They play in Kuopio, Finland at the Olvi Areena.
Team history
Established in 1929 as ''Sortavalan Palloseura'' in Sortavala, the club relocated to Kuop ...
,
Nichar
Nichar is a village located in the Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh States of India, state, India, at an altitude of 2100 meters. It is located on the old Hindustan-Tibet rode. Most of the people follows Hinduism as well as Buddhism. It is kno ...
(Bhabanagar), and
Pooh) and has six
tehsil
A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its adminis ...
s. The administrative headquarters of the district is at
Reckong Peo
Reckong Peo, also spelled Rekong Peo or simply known as Peo by the local inhabitants, is headquarters of Kinnaur district, one of the twelve administrative districts of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.
At a height of 2,290 metres (7,513& ...
. The mountain peak of
Kinnaur Kailash
The Kinnaur Kailasha (locally known as ''Kinner Kailash'') is a mountain in the Kinnaur district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Kinnaur Kailash peak has a height of 6050 meters and is considered sacred by both Hindu and Buddhist ...
is found in this district. As of 2011, it is the second least populous district of Himachal Pradesh (out of
12 districts), after
Lahaul and Spiti.
General
Kinnaur is about from the state capital, Shimla, located in the northeast corner of Himachal Pradesh bordering Tibet to the east. It has three high mountain ranges, namely
Zanskar
Zanskar, Zahar (locally) or Zangskar, is a tehsil of Kargil district, in the Indian union territory of Ladakh. The administrative centre is Padum (former Capital of Zanskar). Zanskar, together with the neighboring region of Ladakh, was brief ...
and the
Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...
, that enclose the valleys of
Baspa,
Satluj
The Sutlej or Satluj River () is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic crossroads region of Punjab in northern India and Pakistan. The Sutlej River is also known as ''Satadru''. It is the easternmost tributary of the ...
, and
Spiti
Spiti (pronounced as Piti in Bhoti language) is a high-altitude region of the Himalayas, located in the north-eastern part of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The name "Spiti" means "The middle land", i.e. the land between Tib ...
, as well as their tributaries. The slopes are covered with thick wood, orchards, fields and hamlets. At the peak of
Kinnaur Kailash
The Kinnaur Kailasha (locally known as ''Kinner Kailash'') is a mountain in the Kinnaur district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Kinnaur Kailash peak has a height of 6050 meters and is considered sacred by both Hindu and Buddhist ...
mountain is a natural rock Shivling (Shiva
lingam
A lingam ( sa, लिङ्ग , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. It is typically the primary '' murti'' or devoti ...
). The district was opened to outsiders in 1989. The old
Hindustan-Tibet Road
{{Infobox road
, country = IND
, type = NH
, route = 5
, map = {{Maplink, frame=yes, plain=yes, frame-width=290, frame-height=300, zoom=6, frame-align=center, type=line, id=Q25203045, stroke-width=3, title=National Highway 5
, map_custom = ...
passes through the Kinnaur valley along the bank of river
Sutlej
The Sutlej or Satluj River () is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic crossroads region of Punjab in northern India and Pakistan. The Sutlej River is also known as ''Satadru''. It is the easternmost tributary of the In ...
and finally enters Tibet at
Shipki La pass. Kinnaur is the second richest district in terms of per capita income after
Solan
Solan is a city in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh and the district headquarters of Solan district. It is located south of the state capital, Shimla. Solan has an average elevation of . The city is situated between Chandigarh (joint capi ...
in Himachal Pradesh.
History
Kinnaur was a part of erstwhile ''Chini Tehsil'' of Mahasu district. It became a separate district on 1 May 1960. Earlier, Kinnaur was a north-eastern segment of the erstwhile ''Bushahr'' principality, which had its capital at Kamru. Later, the capital was shifted to
Rampur Bushahr
Rampur Bushahr is a town and a municipal council in Shimla district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It is about 130 km from Shimla and is well connected with NH 5 which passes through Theog, Narkanda and Kumarsain.
History
...
. After the fall of the
Kannauj Empire the rulers of
Kamru annexed adjoining territories by force and laid the foundation of the state of Bushahr, to which the region of Kinnaur belonged till the dissolution of the state after independence of India. In the absence of authentic historical records the early history of the Kinnaur region is obscure and the reference of the Kinnaur or ''Kannaura'' and their land is by and large confined to legends and mythological accounts.
Kinnaur also has historical cultural links with
Ngari Prefecture
Ngari Prefecture () or Ali Prefecture () is a prefecture of China's Tibet Autonomous Region covering Western Tibet, whose traditional name is Ngari Khorsum. Its administrative centre and largest settlement is the town of Shiquanhe.
History
Nga ...
of the
Tibetan Autonomous Region
The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China in Southwest China. It was overlayed on the traditional Tibetan regions of Ü ...
.
Geography
A mountainous area, ranging in altitude from , Kinnaur is one of the smallest districts in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
by population. It is known for the
Kinnaur Kailash
The Kinnaur Kailasha (locally known as ''Kinner Kailash'') is a mountain in the Kinnaur district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Kinnaur Kailash peak has a height of 6050 meters and is considered sacred by both Hindu and Buddhist ...
, a mountain sacred to
Hindus
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
, close to the
Chinese border.
Demographics
According to the
2011 census, Kinnaur district has a population of 84,12
3This gives it a ranking of 620th in India (out of a total of
640). The district has a population density of . Its
population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 7.61%. Kinnaur has a
sex ratio
The sex ratio (or gender ratio) is usually defined as the ratio of males to females in a population. As explained by Fisher's principle, for evolutionary reasons this is typically about 1:1 in species which reproduce sexually. Many species dev ...
of 819
females
Female (symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete during sexual reproduction.
A female has larger gametes than a male. Females ...
for every 1000 males, and a
literacy rate
Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...
of 80%.
At the 2011 census, 72% of the population in the district spoke
Kinnauri, 16.65%
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...
and 7.03% as their first language.
Culture
Festivals of Kinnaur:
# Saazo – January
# Fagul or Holi – March
# Bish – April
# Dakhrian – July
# Ukhyang – September
Climate
Most of Kinnaur enjoys a temperate climate due to its high elevation, with long winters from October to May, and short summers from June to September. The lower parts of the Sutlej Valley and the
Baspa Valley
Baspa Valley is a river valley that is said to be named after the Baspa River. It lies in the Kinnaur District of Himachal Pradesh, India. Sangla is a major town in the Baspa Valley, and the valley is also known as the Sangla Valley or Tukpa ...
receive monsoon rains. The Baspa valley receives highest rainfall in July month. The upper areas of the valleys fall mainly in the rain-shadow area. These areas are considered to be arid regions, similar to the climate of
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
and Central Asian countries. A study by the
IIT Delhi in 2016 established that Kinnaur district has the cleanest air in the country
Flora and fauna
Portions of Kinnaur are situated high in the
Himalaya
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...
, where vegetation is sparse and consists primarily of hardy grasses. Alpine species such as
juniper
Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arc ...
,
pine
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family (biology), family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanic ...
,
fir,
cypress
Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs of northern temperate regions that belong to the family Cupressaceae. The word ''cypress'' is derived from Old French ''cipres'', which was imported from Latin ''cypressus'', the l ...
, and
rhododendron
''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...
can be found at elevations between 3,500 and 5,000 metres, primarily in Middle Kinnaur. At lower altitudes, temperate-climate trees are found, including
oak,
chestnut
The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce.
The unrel ...
,
maple
''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since h ...
,
birch
A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' cont ...
,
alder
Alders are trees comprising the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus comprises about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few sp ...
,
magnolia
''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendr ...
,
apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancest ...
, and
apricot
An apricot (, ) is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus '' Prunus''.
Usually, an apricot is from the species '' P. armeniaca'', but the fruits of the other species in ''Prunus'' sect. ''Armeniaca'' are al ...
.
Yak
The domestic yak (''Bos grunniens''), also known as the Tartary ox, grunting ox or hairy cattle, is a species of long-haired domesticated cattle found throughout the Himalayan region of the Indian subcontinent, the Tibetan Plateau, Kachin S ...
s and
dzo
A dzo (also spelled zo, zho and dzho, bo, མཛོ་, mdzo) is a hybrid between the yak and domestic cattle. The word dzo technically refers to a male hybrid, while a female is known as a or . In Mongolian, it is called a (хайнаг). ...
s are reared by local farmers in the higher areas. Scattered populations of the
Himalayan black bear
The Himalayan black bear (''Ursus thibetanus laniger'') is a subspecies of the Asian black bear found in the Himalayas of India, Bhutan, Nepal, China, and Pakistan.
Description
It is distinguished from '' U. t. thibetanus'' by its longer, thicke ...
and small
ponies
A pony is a type of small horse ('' Equus ferus caballus''). Depending on the context, a pony may be a horse that is under an approximate or exact height at the withers, or a small horse with a specific conformation and temperament. Compared ...
may also be found.
Politics
Transport
Air
No direct flight commute to Kinnaur. The nearest airport is Shimla Airport that is connected with all the major cities.
Rail
Kinnaur does not have any railway service commuting directly to the place. One can reach Shimla that is connected by a narrow-gauge railway line from Kalka.
Road
Connected by National Highway 05 Kinnaur can be easily reached via
Shimla
Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared as the summer capital of British India. After independence, ...
. Busses run by Himachal Road Transport Corporation ply from Shimla to different parts of Kinnaur.
Gallery
File:Nako Village.jpg, Nako
File:Kalpa 2015.jpg, Kalpa
Kalevan Pallo (KalPa) is a professional ice hockey team which competes in the Finnish Liiga. They play in Kuopio, Finland at the Olvi Areena.
Team history
Established in 1929 as ''Sortavalan Palloseura'' in Sortavala, the club relocated to Kuop ...
File:Kinnaur 392.jpg, Sutlej River
The Sutlej or Satluj River () is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic crossroads region of Punjab in northern India and Pakistan. The Sutlej River is also known as ''Satadru''. It is the easternmost tributary of the ...
in Kinnaur
Kinnaur is one of the twelve administrative districts of the state of Himachal Pradesh in northern India. The district is divided into three administrative areas (Kalpa, Nichar (Bhabanagar), and Pooh) and has six tehsils. The administrative ...
Valley
See also
*
Kinnauri Nati
*
Kinnauri Shawl
*
Kinnauri language
*
West Himalayish languages (Kinnauri languages)
*
Pahari Kinnauri language
Pahari Kinnauri, or Kinnauri Pahari ( Takri: ), also known as Oras Boli ( Takri: ), is a Western Pahari
The Western Pahari languages are a group of Northern Indo-Aryan languages that are spoken in the state of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu region of ...
*
Chitkuli Kinnauri language
*
Bhoti Kinnauri
References
External links
The official website of KinnaurDISTRICT PROFILEAbout the 'Nako Research and Preservation Project (NRPP)' of the Vienna University, AustriaMurmur of the Lonely Brook- a book by Debashis Dey based on Kinnaur and the practice of
Polyandry
Polyandry (; ) is a form of polygamy in which a woman takes two or more husbands at the same time. Polyandry is contrasted with polygyny, involving one male and two or more females. If a marriage involves a plural number of "husbands and wives" ...
Photo Gallery of Kinnaur and Spiti - Winter 2013Detailed Travel Guide on Kinnaur Valley*
{{Authority control
Districts of Himachal Pradesh
1960 establishments in Himachal Pradesh