Dharamshala is the winter capital city of Himachal Pradesh, India. It has served as the location for the administrative headquarters of the Kangra district after they were relocated from Kangra, a city 18 kilometres (11 mi) away from Dharamshala, in 1855.
The Lahaul and Spiti district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh consists of the two formerly separate districts of Lahaul and Spiti. The present administrative centre is Kyelang in Lahaul. Before the two districts were merged, Kardang was the capital of Lahaul, and Dhankar the capital of Spiti. The district was formed in 1960, and is the fourth least populous district in India . It is the least densely populated district of India, according to the Census of India 2011.
Manali is a town in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It is situated in the northern end of the Kullu Valley, formed by the Beas River. The town is located in the Kullu district, approximately 270 kilometres (170 mi) north of the state capital of Shimla and 544 kilometres (338 mi) northeast of the national capital of Delhi. With a population of 8,096 people recorded in the 2011 Indian census Manali is the beginning of an ancient trade route through Lahaul and Ladakh, over the Karakoram Pass and onto Yarkand and Hotan in the Tarim Basin of China. Manali is a popular tourist destination in India and serves as the gateway to the Lahaul and Spiti district as well as the city of Leh in Ladakh.
Pin Valley National Park is a National park of India located in the Spiti Valley in the Lahaul and Spiti district, in the state of Himachal Pradesh. It is located in far northern India. It is part of Cold_Desert_(biosphere_reserve).
Dhankar Gompa is a village and also a Gompa, a Buddhist temple in the district of Lahaul and Spiti in India. It is situated at an elevation of 3,894 metres in the Spiti Valley above Dhankar Village, between the towns of Kaza and Tabo. The complex is built on a 1000-foot (300-metre) high spur overlooking the confluence of the Spiti and Pin Rivers - one of the world's most spectacular settings for a gompa. Dhang or dang means cliff, and kar or khar means fort. Hence Dhangkar means fort on a cliff.
Spiti Valley is a cold desert mountain valley located high in the Himalayas 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 Tibet and India.
In religion and spirituality, a pilgrimage is a long journey or search of great moral significance. Sometimes, it is a journey to a sacred place or to a shrine of importance to a person's beliefs and faith. Members of every major religion participate in pilgrimages. A person who makes such a journey is called a pilgrim.
Kye Gompa is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery of the Gelugpa sect located on top of a hill at an altitude of 4,166 metres (13,668 ft) above sea level, close to the Spiti River, in the Spiti Valley of Himachal Pradesh, Lahaul and Spiti district, India.
Lochen Rinchen Zangpo (958–1055) Wylie: rin-chen bzang-po, ZYPY: རིན་ཆེན་བཟང་པོ་, also known as Mahaguru, was a principal lotsawa or translator of Sanskrit Buddhist texts into Tibetan during the second diffusion of Buddhism in Tibet. He was a student of the famous Indian master, Atisha. His associates included (Locheng) Legpai Sherab. Zangpo's disciple Guge Kyithangpa Yeshepal wrote Zangpo's biography. He is said to have built over one hundred monasteries in Western Tibet, including the famous Tabo Monastery in Spiti, Himachal Pradesh, Poo in Kinnaur and Rinchenling monastery in Nepal.
The town of Kaza or Kaze is the subdivisional headquarters of the remote Spiti Valley in the western Himalayas in the Lahaul and Spiti district of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Spiti is a high altitude or cold desert having close similarities to the neighbouring Tibet and Ladakh regions in terms of terrain, climate and the Buddhist culture. Kaza, situated along the Spiti River at an elevation of 3,650 metres (11,980 ft) above mean sea level, is the largest township and commercial center of the Spiti valley.
Tabo Monastery is located in the Tabo village of Spiti Valley, Himachal Pradesh, northern India. It was founded in 996 CE in the Tibetan year of the Fire Ape by the Tibetan Buddhist lotsawa (translator) Rinchen Zangpo, on behalf of the king of western Himalayan Kingdom of Guge, Yeshe-Ö. Tabo is noted for being the oldest continuously operating Buddhist enclave in both India and the Himalayas. A large number of frescoes displayed on its walls depict tales from the Buddhist pantheon. There are many priceless collections of thankas, manuscripts, well-preserved statues, frescos and extensive murals which cover almost every wall. The monastery is in need of refurbishing as the wooden structures are aging and the thanka scroll paintings are fading. After the earthquake of 1975, the monastery was rebuilt, and in 1983 a new Du-kang or Assembly Hall was constructed. It is here that the 14th Dalai Lama held the Kalachakra ceremonies in 1983 and 1996. The monastery is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) as a national historic treasure of India.
The Tangyud Monastery or Sa-skya-gong-mig Gompa at the village of Komic, two km southeast of Hikkim in the Spiti Valley of Himachal Pradesh, India, is built like a fortified castle on the edge of a deep canyon, with massive slanted mud walls and battlements with vertical red ochre and white vertical stripes which make them look much taller than they really are. It is one of the highest altitude gompas (monasteries) in India, at an altitude of 4,520 metres (14,830 ft), on the edge of a deep canyon and overlooking the town of Kaza, Spiti 4 km to the west. It is located on the periphery of the Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary.
Kibber also Kyibar is a village high in the Spiti Valley in the Himalayas at 4270 metres or 14,200 ft in Himachal Pradesh in northern India. It contains a monastery and the Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary. It is located 20 kilometres from Kaza and a bus service connects them in the milder summer months. Agriculture forms the backbone of the local economy and lush green fields are abundant.
Buddhism in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh has been a long recorded practice. The spread of Buddhism in the region has occurred intermediately throughout its history. Starting in the 3rd century BCE, Buddhism was propagated by the Maurya Empire under the reign of Ashoka. The region would remain an important center for Buddhism under the Kushan Empire and its vassals. Over the centuries the following of Buddhism has greatly fluctuated. Yet by experiencing revivals and migrations, Buddhism continued to be rooted in the region, particularly in the Lahaul, Spiti and Kinnaur valleys.
Hikkim is a village in Lahaul and Spiti district in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh at an elevation of 4,400 m (14,400 ft). It is 46 km (29 mi) from Kaza, the nearest town connected by road. It is one of the highest year-round inhabited locations in India, with residences from 4330 to 4400 m. Tangyud Monastery in adjacent Komic village 2 km to the southeast has residences up to 4520 m, and Korzok Monastery in adjacent Korzok village on Tso Moriri has year-round residences up to 4570 m. Most of the population is Buddhist. People use stones and wood extensively to build houses and structures.
Tsenzhab Serkong Rinpoche was a master (tsenshab) of Tibetan Buddhism from the Gelug tradition. At the age of 34 in 1948 he was appointed from Ganden Jangtsey Monastery near Lhasa as one of seven teachers for the Dalai Lama.
Dhankar Village is a large high village which used to be the capital of the Spiti Valley in Himachal Pradesh, India. It is at an altitude of 3,894 metres above sea level, between the towns of Tabo and Kaza, Himachal Pradesh. Above the village sits the local monastery - the Dhankar Gompa.Total number of houses are 68.
Dankhar the old capital of Spiti is a large village built on a spur or bluff which stands out into the main valley and ends in a precipice. It rises 300 m above the river. It stands above Sichling on the left bank of the Spiti river which is wide here. There may perhaps once have been a fort here, but no trace of it was seen except for what seemed to be a large house on the top of the hill. Dankhar was capital of Spiti for many years till needs of the modern day saw the capital shifted to Kaja Kaza. Situated on the ridge it would have been very easy to defend this place. I was told stories about how the lamas sat in the monastery or the upper houses throwing stones at invaders. Life was very simple before the days of bullets! The whole place is very picturesque. As I approached it, I could see its corridors cut in the rock face leading to various chambers which are either used as store rooms for the villagers or as rest-houses for the travellers. There are seven tiers of houses built along the slope.. .. Now it is connected by a rough, motorable road and is 27 km from Kaja. Towards the west of it is the Pin Valley.
National Highway 505, commonly called NH 505, is a national highway in India. It is a spur road of National Highway 5. NH-505 traverses the state of Himachal Pradesh in India. NH505 a high altitude road, covers Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti districts of Himachal Pradesh, mainly running along Spiti river in Spiti valley. The highway from Kaza to Gramphu remains closed for 6–9 months in a year due to heavy snowfall and closure of Kunzum La pass at an altitude of 4,550 m (14,930 ft).
Gue is a village in the Lahul & Spiti district of the state of Himachal Pradesh in India. In this little village lays the perfectly well-preserved 500-year-old mummy of Sangha Tenzing. It was a Buddhist monk from Tibet. It was found in a sitting position, with his skin and hair intact. The village is about 40 km from the Tabo Monastery. The latitude 31.11 and longitude 77.16 are the geocoordinate of the Gue.
Mud is a small village in the cold desert region of Spiti in Himachal Pradesh, India. Located at an altitude of 3,810 m (12,500 ft) on the left bank of the Pin River, a right bank tributary of the Spiti River, the village nestles at the base of the Parbati range that towers almost vertically 1,600 m (5,200 ft) above. Mud is near the boundary of the Pin Valley National Park and is a convenient base for treks in the park, and to the neighbouring districts of Kullu and Kinnaur. It is the last village on the Spiti side of the Pin Parbati trek to Kullu and the Pin Bhaba trek to Kinnaur.
India 
