The Kullu Valley is one of the loveliest stretches of the Himalayas, a broad green corridor carved by the Beas River and flanked by densely forested ridges. Known as the Valley of Gods, it is studded with wooden temples dedicated to local deities, and the surrounding hills are terraced with apple orchards that turn the landscape pink each spring.
Kullu town itself sits at the southern end of the valley and is best known as a base for exploring the region. The real draw is what surrounds it: trekking routes into the high mountains, the Beas for white-water rafting, and the Dussehra festival each October when the valley fills with pilgrims and processions from hundreds of villages — all answering to the Raghunath temple on the hill above town. The folk music, handloom shawls, and distinctive hill architecture give the place a character quite different from the plains below.
Most travellers pass through Kullu on their way north to Manali, but the valley rewards a slower pace. The drive up from Bhuntar along the river is spectacular, the Parvati and Tirthan side valleys are full of villages off the main road, and the ridge-top temple of Bijli Mahadev gives one of the great Himalayan panoramas. Further south, the Great Himalayan National Park protects one of the densest concentrations of wildlife in the western Himalayas.