Kinnaur is one of twelve administrative districts in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. With an area of 6,401 km² and population roughly close to 85000, Kinnaur is second least populous district of Himachal Pradesh. Surprisingly, there are nine vital languages are spoken in the district. The district is divided into three administrative areas – Pooh, Kalpa, and Bhaba Nagar and has five tehsils. The administrative headquarters of Kinnaur district is at Reckong Peo.
It has two high mountains ranges, namely, Zanskar and Himalayas that enclose valleys of Sutlej, Spiti, Baspa and their tributaries. The old Hindustan–Tibet Road passes through the Kinnaur valley along the bank of river Sutlej and finally enters Tibet at Shipki La pass. The population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 7.61%. Kinnaur has a sex ratio of 818 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 80.77%.
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Reckong Peo, is also spelled Rekong Peo and simply known as Peo by the local inhabitants, who used to own this land in the past.
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India’s first ever voter Shyam Saran Negi also belongs to Kalpa,Kinnaur.
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Shyam Saran Negi also made a special appearance in a Hindi film Sanam Re.
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Although the majority of the election took place in February 1952, residents of Himachal Pradesh were given the chance to vote five months early because of the probability that heavy snowfall would make it impossible for citizens to reach the polling stations.
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Kinner Kailash mountain changes its color at different points in the day.
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Kalpa experiences one of the coldest winters in Himachal and once on 28th January 1985 the temperature drop was recorded to be at -15.4 degree Celsius. It can go as low as -20.
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Consuming alcoholic drinks in their day-to-day life and also on the ceremonial or festive occasions is quite common among them.
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Alcohol is distilled at the household level. It is made out of fruits like grapes, apple, pear etc. grown locally and of barley.
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While other apple varities have a shelf life of two months, the Kinnaur apples are famous for having a shelf life of four months and is known as “King of fruits”.
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Due to the superior quality of Kinnauri apples some retailers and street vendors often sell apples from other parts of Himachal Pradesh as Kinnauri apples. But the reality is that Kinnaur apples start coming only in October.
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Rinchen Zangpo was the one who brought Buddhism to the region.It is said that he was on his way to China after spending some time in the Indian plains when he stopped by in Kinnaur.
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Chitkul in Kinnaur is called the ‘Last Village of India’.It is on the Indo-Tibetan border.
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Potatoes grown at Chitkul are one of the best in the world and are very costly.
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The old silk route, Kinnaur was a major corridor for the Trans-Himalayan region.
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Till 1989 no outsiders could visit the district; foreign nationals still need a temporary permit to visit the valley.
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A local wine called Angoori is an excellent cure against cold and other ailments caused as the result of cold. Almost every household in Kinnaur makes it.
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Kinnaur was an integral part of the erstwhile Bushahr State; it became an independent district in 1960.
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There is a very strict khaandaan system here, which bars girls and boys from marrying outside certain clans.
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Kamru village is an ancient capital of the Bashahr principate. It is especially known for the tower-like fort at its highest point, which was made by Lord Badhrinath Ji thousands of year ago. There is also a shrine to Kamakhya Devi inside the fort campus, which was brought there many years ago from Assam.
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Borasu Pass located in Kinnaur district divides Uttarakhand from Himachal Pradesh. The pass is located only a few kilometers from the Tibet border.
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The Kinner Kailash trek as done is upto the Shiv Lingam and is considered as a difficult and one of the toughest in Himachal Pradesh.
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Ancient Indian texts like the Puranas placed the people of Kinnaur as halfway between men and gods. Other ancient traditions speak of the exile of the Pandavas and the time they spent in Kinnaur, an episode from the epic, Mahabharata.
We hope that you enjoyed reading about “22 Facts about Kinnaur district that you probably don’t know“. It is the third factual article from our 12 districts top facts series. Tell us about which district do you wanna know next! 😉
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Informative, Want to know about lahaul spiti, mandi and chamba.
Sure. We will publish those articles very soon.