Winter Festival

 

 

C Winter Festival in Manali and Ice Skating Festival in Shimla
In December, Shimla and Manali are the venues for the Ice Skating Festival. Various activities like ice skating, ice hockey and dance performances are held. Come February, Manali shakes of its winter hibernation for the winter carnival. Many winter sports and competitions are held during the festival.

Mandi Shivaratri Himachal

 

Shivaratri in Mandi 
The town of Mandi comes alive in March, for a whole week, during the Shivratri fair. Accompanied by folk bands, hundreds of local deities are carried on elaborately decorated palanquins to Madho Rai Temple and then finally to pay their respects to Lord Shiva at the Bhootnath Temple. There is much song, dance, drama and revelry all around.

Kullu Dussehra

 

A week-long festival celebrated in majestic style in northern India, Kullu Dussehra is one of the most popular events of Himachal Pradesh, signifying the victory of good over evil.  It draws the travelers from distant parts of the globe. It is held in the Dhalpur maidan at Kullu in Himachal Pradesh state. Kullu is known for its beautiful gorges, wondrous waterfalls, chatty mountain stream and ancient temples which are certainly going to enthrall you especially during the Kullu Dussehra festival.

Dating back to the 17th century, Kullu Dussehra starts on Vijaya Dashmi and lasts for seven days in the month of October. It is a lovely blend of rich culture, history and ritual.This festival is only held to celebrate the success of good over evil. While music and color create a peaceful ambience, thousands of people gather on the first day of celebration to pay respect to Lord Raghunathji. The first day is started with huge celebration and on this day the statue of Lord Raghunathji is installed on a beautifully designed chariot, which is graced with the presence of village gods and goddess, is pulled by ropes by the locals from its place to different sites across the Maidan.

The following days are celebrated with great devotion, and many an individual takes participate in singing and dancing during the festival. The fair is fulfilled with the burning of the Lanka. On the last day of the festival, the chariot is brought by the banks of Beas River where a mass of wood grass is burnt, signifying the burning of Lanka.

Journey with Buddha

Shimla – Sangla – Rekong Peo – Kalpa – Nako Lake – Tabo – Dhankar – Kaza – Keylong – Manali – Rewalsar – Dharamshala

This circuit can start either at Shimla or Dharamshala which are well connected by air, road and rail. Visit the recently built monasteries in Sanjauli and Kasumpti and continue on to Sangla in Kinnaur District. The Nyingma-pa, Drug-pa and Geluk-pa sects are well represented here and Kinnaur is home to 33 Buddhist monasteries. Visit the recently built gompa in Rekong Peo, and continue on to the ancient settlement of Kalpa to visit the Hu-Bu-lan-kar gompa, said to have been founded by Rinchensang-po. Leave for Spiti valley, which is completely immersed in Buddishm from the footprint of Padmasambhava on a rock near Nako, past monastic villages, ancient monastery complex in Tabo, to the internationally renowned Ki monastery near Kaza. Continue on to Keylong and visit the monasteries in Lahaul Valley most of which are associated with the Drug-pa sect. Guru Ghantal, in Keylong is the oldest monastery in Lahaul and is associated with both the Padmasambhava and Reinchensang-po. Leave for Manali, where there are four recently built monasteries and continue on to Rewalsar, said to be the place from where Padmasambhava left to spread the word of the Buddha in the eighth century. End your journey at McLeodganj/Dharamshala the current residence of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Dhungri Mela in Manali and Naggar Mela

Mid-May, Manali celebrates the Dhungri fair focused around the goddess Hadimba Devi. A temple fair is held at that time. Soon after, the Shaari Jatar is celebrated at Naggar in honor of the local deity Tripura Sundari. Palanquins with the devis are taken to neighbouring villages and converge at the ground near the temple where Natti troupes dance and a mela is in full swing for five days.