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| The district of Sirmaur is in the south eastern corner
of the state. It is famous for its places of pilgrimages and for the
legends that surround them. Nahan is a historic town pleasantly located
on a ridge of the Shivalik Hills. It has beautiful green forests and
valleys especially in Choordhar peak. A little town with a salubrious
climate Nahan has gardens, temples and three popular walking circuits
- The villa round, Military round and the Hospital round. |
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Sirmaur : General Information |
| Altitude :- |
varies from 900 meters to
3,994 meters |
| Headquarter :- |
Nahan ( altitude 933 meters
) |
| Location :- |
Sirmaur district lies in outer
Himalayan ranges, called as Shivaliks between 33°22'30'' and 31°01'20''
North Longitude and between 77°01'12'' and 77°49'40'' East
Longitude. The district is bounded by Shimla district in North, the
rivers Tons and Yamuna in the East, district Ambala of Haryana in
the South-West and Solan district in North-West. |
| Access by Air :- |
The nearest airport in Himachal is Jubbarhatti
102 km. ( from Sarhan via - Solan - Shimla - Jubbarhatti ) and 140
km. from Nahan. |
| Access by Rail :- |
Nearest narrow guage line is Barog ( near
Kalka ) 42 km. |
| Access by Road :- |
Almost each and every part of the state
is linked by roads. The Himachal Road Transport Corporation is running
its buses covering the whole state. There is huge network of HRTC
to cater the needs of the people. |
| Distance :- |
Shimla to Sarahan 175 km., Chandigarh
to Nahan 87 km. Shimla to Renuka 165 km., Delhi to Renuka 315 km. |
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Famous Places around Sirmaur :- |
| Nahan :- Nahan was founded by Raja Karna Prakash
in 1621 A.D. as his capital city. It is crowned by the 3,647 metres
high Choordhar peak. Nahan's close proximity to plains makes it an
all weather holiday resort. There are a number of picturesque walks
through the dense forests and some of them are the Villa Round, Military
Round and Hospital Round. |
| Jaganath Temple :- Jaganath temple was built by
Raja Budh Prakash in 1681 A.D. Making the end of the Monsoon, the
festival of 'Sawan Dwadashi' is celebrated annually at the temple,
towards the end of the monsoon when fifty two idols of local gods
are carried in procession to Jagannath temple where they are floated
ceremoniously in a pool and are restored at midnight to their niches.
In the heart of Nahan town is Rani Tal, where a large temple and a
tank from the days of ex-rulers of Sirmaur State can be seen. Ducks
and Cranes are seen playing in the Ranital Tank, and Ranital Garden
further adds to the charm. |
| Shivalik Fossil Park Saketi :- Located in Sirmaur
district, displays life size fiberglass models of pre-historic animals
whose fossils, skeletons were unearthed here. The park is the first
of its kind in Asia to be developed at the actual site where fossils
were discovered. It is 21 kms. from Nahan, located on the left bank
of the Markanda river. The park at present has six sets of life size
models of 'Stegodonganesa' (extinct grand elephant). Sivatherium Hexapratadon
- Sivalensis ( hippopotamus with six incisors), Colossochetys Atlas
( giant land tortoise and chelonia), Paramachaeradus ( sabre toothed
tiger) and Crocodiles, the animals which once thrived in the region.
The other major attraction is the Museum which contains various fossils,
models, charts and paintings relating to the various aspects of plants
and animals life of the past and present in Shiwalik range. For refreshment,
the HPTDC has a cafeteria a Tourist Information Centre is established
there by the Himachal Government. |
| Trilokpur Temple :- It was built
in 1573 A.D. by Raja Dip Prakash and at a distance of about 23 km.
from Nahan and about 6 km. from Kala Amb gateway to Nahan from Haryana.
Trilokpur is a place of great religious importance. The temple of
the goddess 'Mahamaya Bala Sundri' is quite famous and attracts lakh
of pilgrims from all over Northern India, espacially from Haryana
and Himachal Pradesh. The unusual deity of Godess Bala Sundari resemble
the stone lingam of Lord Shiva. A fair at this place is held twice
a year when a large number of devotees visit this temple and pay their
respect to the goddess. |
| Dhaula Kuan :- On the road to Paonta
Sahib 20 kms. from Nahan, it is worth while to stop and see a sprawling
orchard consisting of citrus plants and mangoes and a fruit canning
factory of various kinds of juices, jams, pickles and canned fruits.
A little away from Dhaula Kuan is Kastasan Devi temple where Raja
Jagat Singh defeated the advancing army of Rulam Quadir Rohilla in
a great battle. Their victory is commemorated in the Devi Temple,
built in gratitude by the Raja. Dhaula Kuan also has a research station
of HP KVV where useful research on tropical fruits is carried out. |
| Giri Nagar :- Situated at a distance
of 7 kms. from Dhaula Kuan, this town has a power house of 60 MW capacity
constructed after diverting the Giri river through a 6 kms. tunnel. |
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