Sirmaur district

Sirmaur is the most south-eastern district of Himachal Pradesh, India. It is largely mountainous and rural, with 90% of its population living in villages. It includes the towns of Nahan (its capital), as well as the Shivalik Fossil Park at Suketi, where fossils over 85 million years old have been found.

There are six tehsils in this district, namely Nahan, Renuka, Shillai, Rajgarh, Pachhad and Paonta Sahib.

Agriculture is the backbone here. Farmers of Sirmaur produce potato and ginger. Sirmaur is also known for its good quality peach that comes from the Rajgarh region which is also called the Peach Bowl. Sirmaur grows tons of fruits every year. Dhaula Kuan near Paonta Sahib is known for its Govt operated fruit research centre. Sirmaur district grows both Apple and Mango. Tomato is also becoming a fruit of choice for farmers these days. Village Lana-cheta is known for its fertile land and farmers here grow grains as a first option.

The Giri River divides the district into two almost-equal parts: Giripar and Giriwar.

Culture

The People worship deities (devtas) and various customs and rituals are observed by the people.

Hindi and Sirmauri Pahari are the languages spoken here.

Bishu is a popular fair that is held at several places. Bishu fair features the famous Thoda dance. Nati, Gee, Rasa and Budhechu are the popular forms of folk dance of Sirmaur, that are enjoyed at occasions like marriages, Diwali, etc.

History

Sirmaur was an independent kingdom in India, founded in about 1090 by Raja Rasaloo of Jaisalmer, one of whose ancestors was named Sirmaur. It became a 11 Gun Salute princely state in British India,The premier ruler of the Punjab Hills ,located in the region that is now the Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh. The state was also known as Nahan, after its main city, Nahan. Sirmaur was ruled by the chiefs of Rajput lineage, who used the title "Maharaja".

Economy

The district has an agricultural economy. The district has vast mineral resources. Kamrau is a small village known as 'place of limestone millionaires'. Sataun is the largest limestone market of South East Asia.

Habben Valley Habben Valley is famous. The most famous temples are Shirgul Devta, Palu Devta and Tokro Tibba Kali Maa. The small town, Habben, is a change from city life. Here, one can enjoy & experience real village life. There are two famous temples, Tokro Tibba Kali Maa and Palu Devta. Haabbi 1500, a well known Rajoot Cast, belongs to these two Devtas. Lord Shirgul Temple is one of the most famous temples in North India. Lord Shirgul is worshipped in Sirmaur, Solan, Shimla, Uttaranchal, Delhi, etc. Thick Deodar forests attract many tourists from all over India. A trek leads to Churdhar, the Holy place of Lord Shiva.

Churdhar The Chur Peak in district Sirmaur rises to an elevation of 3647 m above the sea level. The enchanting mountain is an important religious place for all Sirmauries. It is one of the Shivalik ranges at a height of 11965 feet (it is the highest peak in southern Himachal Pradesh). Churdhar, also known as Churchandni (Bangle of Snow), is blessed with some of the most spectacular and beautiful landscapes in this region. The view from the summit embraces a vast panorama of lowland tracts towards the south and snow-capped ranges, including the peaks of Badrinath and Kedarnath in the Garhwal region, towards the north. It is believed that this is the very place where Hanuman discovered the life-restoring Sanjivini booti, which revived Lakshmana, Lord Rama’s younger brother. Ruins of an ancient town have been discovered at the nearby dundi Devi.

A wealth of herbs and beautiful alpine flora cover these Himalayan slopes. Walking through the wildlife sanctuary, one spots the spectacular monal, Himachal’s state bird, along with koklass and kaleej pheasants.

Trekkers tread over small glaciers on their way to the wind-blown Churdhar summit, which has moderate to heavy snowfall (average of 33 feet snow). Often the Shirgul temple gets buried under it. On a clear sunny day, you can be rewarded with a view of the Badrinath and Kedarnath shrines, Gangetic plains, the Sutlej river and hills of Shimla and Chakrata. Atop the Churdhar summit lie the lingams of Shiva and Kali, where once goat and sheep were sacrificed. Devotees hoist flags and make offerings here.

How to reach there: The peak can be approached from Dadahu, headquarter of Renuka tehsil, via Sangrah, Bhawai, Gandhuri and Naura, the distance being about 48 km. by a bridle path. Another and easier approach to the peak is by the Solan Rajgarh Menus road.

Renuka Ji Renuka is another important place of religious and tourist interest in Sirmaur. It is nearly 40 km away from Nahan and is well linked with motorable metalled road. This place has a famous lake. Boating in Renuka lake is main attraction for the tourists visiting Renuka. This sacred oval shaped lake has a circumference of 2.4 km.

This famous lake is visited by thousand of pilgrims every year on Kartika Ekadashi. The 1.6 km patch between the Giri and humming camp where villagers hailing from far off places stay for a couple of days. Nightlong festivities including Kirtans are held by various groups.

The place reaches full capacity during the days of the fair and offer a spectacular variety of activities. As one approaches the fair ground he is greeted by a notice board put up by the Wild Life Wing of the Forest Department warning, "Hold Your Gun--Game Sanctuary Starts".

To this fair the brass idol of Parasu Rama is brought from village Jamu, his permanent abode, in a silver palki accompanied by musical instruments with great pomp and show. The deity remains in the temple for three days i.e. sudi, dashmi to dwadashi (from 10th to 12th of the bright half). The hill people pry to pujari with questions during the night when he goes into a trance and turns an oracle. He answers each and every question. These answers foretell things and, quite often, enjoin upon the questioner some offering or sacrifice to the deity of some other act as a condition precedent to the fulfilment of the favourable prophecy such as deliverance from some misery or recovery of health from some disease. On dwadashi, generally, the people offer alms after the holy dip in the Renuka lake.

Haripur Dhar is situated at an elevation of 2687 m.

Maa Bhangayani Temple, Haripurdhar, is a very famous temple in Sirmaur.

Haripur is the name applied to a mountain called Haripur Dhar. Perched on a peak of this hill like a silent sentinel, a fort was built on this range of mountain by the rulers of erstwhile Sirmaur State. It was primarily meant to guard the state frontiers with the neighboring Jubbal State as there were constant boundary disputes between the two states and there was unusual encroachment into each other's territory. It has fallen into disuse and the part which is still habitable is used by the Forest Department as forester’s headquarters. The fort reminds the visitor of the historical period when to hold or capture such forts used to be the chief aim of the contending hill states. Lying at a distance of about 106 km from Nahan, Haripurdhar can be approached by a regular bus service covering 40 km up to Dadahu, wherefrom up to Andheri one can go by a jeep for about 44 km. The remaining portion of about 22 km, which is under . The next and easier way to approach this place is from Solan via Rajgarh. Kharotiyon, a place from where the site of the fort remains about 2 km on the high hill top.

Bhureshwar Mahadev:- it is another religious and tourists place in sirmour district. It is situated on a peak nearer to sarahan on nahan solan state highway. An heresy is about this place that from here mata parwati and lord shiva had saw the war of kurukshetra (mahabharat). From here a view of chandigarh can also be seen. For summer it is a very cool place.

SHILLAI. Shillai Subdivision of Sirmaur Distt, which includes  beautiful area right from Sataun to Haripur Dhar is emerging a tourist destination for people not only for India  but from abroad as well for sight seeing especially in summer season . There are good PWD rest houses at Kafota, Shillai, Ronhat and Haripurdhar apart from many private hotels. Road condition is fairly good. Lush green forests and mesmerizing scenic  beauty of the valley is a main source of attraction.  One can hope to stay for a month with just budget of 30 thousand and visit entire sub division. Apart from taxi service public transportation is superb in the area.The beautiful and unique valley from Naindhar to Gata Dhar is must place to visit. Lt Col JS Chauhan, who is an Indian Army Officer   belongs to this area( Village kujnal, Loja- Hallan). NH-72 is the national highway as from paonta to rohru.

People

Mohit Chauhan, noted Indian singer, was born in Nahan town. Also the well known WWE (world wrestling entertainment) superstar The Great Khali AKA Dalip Singh Rana is from Shillai (Sirmaur). Sirmaur is providing good no of soldiers to our defence forces every year.Lt Col JS chauhan also belongs to Sirmaur, Shillai (Kujnal) also the first cm n founder of hp Dr. YS Parmar was born n raised in bagthan village which is near the main city and headquarter of dist sirmaur i.e. nahan. Noted yeaster year Film Star Rakesh pandey was also from Nahan.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Sirmaur district has a population of 530,164,^[1] roughly equal to the nation of Cape Verde.^[2] This gives it a ranking of 542nd in India (out of a total of 640).^[1] The district has a population density of 188 inhabitants per square kilometre (490/sq mi) .^[1] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 15.61%.^[1] Sirmaur has a sex ratio of 915 females for every 1000 males,^[1] and a literacy rate of 79.98%.^[1] ________________________________________________________________________________

References

External links

• DISTRICT PROFILE
• CULTURAL & TOURISM HERITAGE OF THE DISTRICT
• Sirmour at a glance
• History of Sirmour
• Information about Sirmour District and its various places

	Solan district	Shimla district
	Panchkula district, Haryana		Dehradun district, Uttarakhand
		Sirmaur district
	Ambala district, Haryana	Yamunanagar district, Haryana	Saharanpur district, Uttar Pradesh

Geography of Himachal Pradesh Lakes Renuka Lake Maharana Pratap Sagar Gobind Sagar more... Rivers Beas Chenab Ravi Sutlej Yamuna Districts Bilaspur Chamba Hamirpur Kangra Kinnaur Kullu Lahaul and Spiti Mandi Sirmaur Shimla Solan Una Other Climate of Himachal Pradesh Protected areas of Himachal Pradesh List of peaks in Himachal Pradesh