Lakes in Mandi District, Himachal Pradesh

Tour date: 18th December 2011

Below photo was my best self photo in 2011 taken by Naim by a beautiful lake in Mandi district.  It was commented by many of my friends when I posted in my Facebook. So, I must shared others photo taken by all the lakes that we found on our way to reach Kullu and Manali towns.

Candid pose

When not in candid pose!

Further north of Mandi district, we found a hydro electric station. According to Mandi website, you can find, Sundernagar area which is famous for its temples, at a height of 1,174 metres on the raised edge of a fertile valley. The town of Sundernagar is known for its shady walks amidst towering trees. On top of a hill, is the Sukhdev Vatika and temple of Mahamaya. The biggest hydro-electric project in all Asia, the Beas-Sutlej project, irrigating nearly one-fourth of the northern plains of India, has brought unprecedented prosperity to Sundernagar. The Beas-Sutlej link colony is the biggest colony in Himachal Pradesh, and the lakes that we found is part of the Beas river and lakes. We asked the driver to stop by the road side for pictures. 

There are numerous lakes that you can visit in Himachal Pradesh. A famous 1 is Rewalsar Lake in 1 of the 7 tahsildar of Mandi District. It is famous for its floating islands of reed. It is believed that all seven of them can be moved by prayer or breeze. There are three shrines there, a Buddhist Monastery, where elaborate rituals are performed, a Sikh Gurudwara and a Hindu Temple.  Temple Practically synonymous with Mandi and located in its very heart, this is as old as the city itself, and dates back to the 1520s. Before entering Kullu district, we saw the suspended bridge by the road side. Again, we asked the driver to stop allowing us for more photo shoots.

A must try dishes in Himachal Pradesh is the trout fish as the area is famous for it's Himalyan Trout House. There is a good trout fishing option in the river bed here. Here, a brown trout is one of the most demanded fish species. In Mandi, a farmer gets around Rs.200 a kg for catching Brown Trout. 

Photo from the Wikipedia

After spending some times at the beautiful lake, we were very impressed with the Aut Tunnel. It is an old tunnel, built by the British located on National Highway 21 before reaching Kullu town. It is the longest road tunnel in India with length of about 3 km. However, the Rohtang Tunnel (8km length under construction) situated in same state is expected to become the longest road tunnel of India by 2015.