Excursions

Losar

Location

Located at the meeting point of two streams, Losar and Peeno, this village provides some fantastic views. Moreover, it also happens to be the first big village in the Spiti valley. Other reason for visiting this valley is that it offers an opportunity of yak and horse riding.

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Kaza

Location

224 kms. from Manali, 197kms. from Keylong and 425kms. from Shimla. Kaza (3800 m) is a Sub Divisional Hqtr. of Spiti Valley. It is situated at the foot of the step ridges on the left bank of Spiti river. There are PWD rest houses and a private hotels for the staying. Once it was the hqtr. of Nono, the chief of Spiti. It has all modern facilities and is connected by road with Manali & Shimla except in the winter months. Kaza enjoys the status of sub divisional headquarter of the Spiti valley. At an altitude of 3800 m, it is located on the left bank of Spiti river. Roads from Manali and Shimla connect to Kaza all the time except in winter months.

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Panga

Location

The town experiences three seasons, namely Summer, Monsoons and Winter. Summers are tropical and quite hot with temperatures ranging in the mid-thirties. Monsoons are very severe with the town experiencing high amount of rainfall, sometimes stalling all life and activities. Winters are again quite severe and chilly, with the cold Himalayan winds blowing straight into the town. Temperatures are around 3 to 8 degrees Celsius during this period.

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Martand

Location

Martand, located atop a plateau, close to the township of Anantnag, has a temple dedicated to Surya, the "Sun God". Built by king Laitaditya Muktapida (7th to 8th century AD), it is a medieval temple with a colonnaded courtyard and the shrine in its centre. The temple complex has 84 columns and offers a commanding view of the valley of Kashmir.

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Baltal

Location

Baltal, on the shores of the Sindh River, is located around 15 km away from the north of Sonamarg. This small valley is a famous camping ground.

Baltal is extremely stunning grassland which is situated right at the foot of Zoji la pass, adjacent to Ladakh territory. Baltal is more famous for its closeness to Amarnath cave. You can just walk to the cave which is approximately 5 km away from here. During the Amarnath yatra, many pilgrims set up camps here to rest.

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Dehra Gali

Location

Dehra-Gali 45 kms from Poonch town is another attraction for the tourists owing to its salubrious climate, thick forests, cool breeze and enchanting view of surrounding hills, situated at a height of about 6300 feet.

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Behramgala

Location

It is situated at the foot hill of 8,600 feet high Rattan Peak on the historic Mughal Road in Poonch. Behramgala is a small plateau surronded by mountains and forests. It is near the confluence of Parnai & Thata Pani streams which further adds to its otherwise scenic and natural beauty. It is about 40 kms. from Poonch town.

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Surankote

Location

Surankote is a small village situated on the banks of river suran and has very charming valley surronded by lofty peaks which are covered with snow during winter and is popularly called Pahalgam of Poonch. In Rajatarangini, this town was described as Sawernik in the past. Nearly in 1036 A.D. there was a big fort called Kote which ultimately changed to its present name of Surankote.

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Loran

Location

Loran is a small village 35 kms. away from Poonch town and is situated at the foot of high mountains of Pir Panjal range and is another attraction for the tourists. Loran Nallah which flows through this beautiful village makes the place more enchanting to the eyes.

Loran was once the capital of Poonch state under Hindu rulers upto 1542 A.D. It was then known as Loran-Kote. There are ruins of the Lohar Kote fort which was once called the Gateway of Kashmir.

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Mandi

Location

It is a small village in a narrow valley enclosed by steep and grassy hills of no great elevation, situated near the confluence of two streams namely Gagri and Pulsta. Mandir Swami Budha Amar Nath Ji is situated in this village. Mandi is about 20 kms. from Poonch town. Due to cool climate and proximity to the poonch town, Mandi has become a favourable place for tourists to visit, in summer. Most of the people of Mandi area speak Kashmiri language.

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