Kullu amazes with its imposing presence

Perhaps there is no Indian who is yet to hear of Kullu and here lies its popularity. But it’s also true in spite of all these, people are not fully aware of precise location of Kullu and hence, confusion continues. If you are also one of those, let me tell you that Kullu is situated in the amiable Kullu valley, set against the background of the impressive Himalayas. You can certainly call it a town but it is renowned for its temples and festivals, especially the Dussehra festival held once a year. Both these factors pull in hundreds of thousands of tourists and the proficiency of the township in handicrafts does happen to be an added attraction.

Now we come to its precise location, in a more vivid manner than ever before. Kullu, to be precise, is situated in the central part of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh and it is known that Himachal Pradesh is in the northern region of India. It is positioned In the middle of the Himalayas at an elevation of 1200 m on top of sea level at the convergence of Beas and Sarvari rivers. The other particulars of Kullu are here – it is located at 240 km north of Shimla; weather in Kullu happens to be alpine. The summer season is in between the months of April and June but they remain mild altogether. The winter season is from November to February. Kullu gets southwestern monsoon rains during July-September. For all these reasons, the best time to go to Kullu is during summers and between the months of April and June. You can also visit during the Dussehra festival.

There are lots of sightseeing attractions of Kullu but they are related with the Hindu Dharma as the region is famous for both temples and festivals. The first and foremost tourist attraction of Kullu happens to be the Raghunath Temple, devoted to Lord Ram, one of the principal incarnations of Lord Vishnu and the main deity of the entire Kullu valley. There is also the
Jagannathi Devi Temple or the Bekhli temple and it is situated at 3 km from Kullu in the village of Bekhli. Remember that the journey is tiresome and there is the need of a hard 1½ hour climb to reach this temple. But you can get a marvelous and panoramic view of Kullu from here. There is also Bijli Mahadev Temple, situated at the height of 2460 m.

The major attractions around Kullu do include a number of shrines. Basheshwar Mahadev Temple at Bajura (which is15 km from Kullu) is renowned for its beautiful carvings. Other important shrines include Vaishno Devi Temple (4 km) and the Vishnu Temple at Dayar (12 km).

But don’t miss the tourist spots around Kullu ever. Manikaran (45 km) is a small town but is celebrated for its hot sulfur springs. The town is situated at an altitude of 1737 m in the Parvati River valley. Other places worth visiting are Kaisdhar (15 km), Kasol (42 km), Shoja (69 km),
Raisom (13 km), town of Naggar (23 km).

The transport system of Kullu is well-developed. Its nearest airport is at Bhuntar, 10 km south of Kullu. The nearest railhead is at Jogindernagar (95 km). Kullu has a well-developed road connection with prominent cities like Shimla, Chandigarh, Delhi and others.