Mandi Town, Himachal Pradesh

Tour date: 18th December 2011

From Shimla, we took a state road (not a toll road) to cut the journey shot, road no. 81 if following Indian Road map. A lane road that we followed is connected to Bilaspur Town, seated along National Highway Road no. 21 (Chandigarh-Mandi-Manali) which ended at our final destination, Manali. The journey was rough and we are all felt dizzy and dared not speak along the journey. It was a challenging job to the driver, so, we rather enjoying the journey peacefully. The car heater was on and we unwind the mirror if the temperature inside the car becoming too warm.

As soon as we reached the National Highway, we felt good but still the journey was rough as we were going uphill toward a higher altitude. We decided to have lunch in Mandi and honestly impressed with the view of the hotel restaurant. The food was great taste to our liking especially a fresh mushroom cooked in local style.

Nasrul hates when his picture is taken, he will try to avoid it

like this

Lunch with amazing view

he rather did this

hide his face like that

Naim and mother, always wanted to pose :)

A final photo of the pretty ambiance before leaving the restaurant

Mandi is built on the banks of the Beas River, at the confluence of the Suketi Khad stream. Sikandar Dhar, Ghugar Dhar and Dhar Kot are some of the prominent hills and mountains found near the city. Mandi has an average elevation of 1044 metres. It lies on the mid lands of the Himalyan range. There is great variation in the climatic conditions of Himachal due to extreme variation in elevation. The climate varies from hot and sub-humid tropical in the southern tracts to cold, alpine and glacial in the northern and eastern mountain ranges with more elevation.

The people of Mandi follow an agrarian economy and cultivate rice, pulses (various types of bean, peas and lentils), tea, sesame seed, groundnuts, sunflower oil and herbal products. Himachal Pradesh Town and Planning Department works for Mandi Planning area (MPA). More than 9,000 farmers are directly involved in coccon cultivation for producing Silk in lower hills of Mandi district. Mandi district is also facing tough competition from China, which is marketing raw silk at much lower rates in the market.

Many Hectares of land in Mandi is also under Apple production, generally planted during December month every year. The area under fruit in Mandi is about 15 per cent of the whole total area under fruits in Himachal Pradesh state. Mandi raw silk has acquired wide fame but the salt mines at Drang and Guma (within Mandi district) are the special features of the economy. With abundant deposit of salt and limestone, possibilities are being investigated for the existence of magnasite coal and china-clay.

Mandi has an historical Gurdwara in honour of Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th Sikh Guru, who spent some time in Mandi. The people and the ruler welcomed him with great warmth and supported the Guru in his war against the tyrannical rule of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, it is said that the city has the Guru's blessings. The Gurdwara is also unofficially referred to as Gurudwara Palang Sahab, because the Guru's Bed 'Palang' is still preserved here. 

I was mistaken the above gurdwara as a mosque. It was not, though they used the white marble, a resemblance of Taj Mahal.