DESCRIPTION

Friday 28 October 2011


The Dhauladhar range...."harsher alps" of india

SINCE I WAS A CHILD I ALWAYS WANTED TO EXPLORE MORE AND MORE ABOUT THIS RANGE WHICH WAS QUITE VISIBLE FROM MY HOME TOWN OF DHARAMSHALA ....IT ALWAYS MADE ME TO ADMIRE IT SO HERE'S A LITTLE SNEAK PEEK ON IT'S SPECS... 
The Dhauladhar range (lit. The White Range) is a southern branch of the main Outer Himalyan chain of mountains. It rises spectacularly from the Indian plains to the north of Kangra and Mandi, Dharamshal the headquarters of kangara distt., lies on its southern spur in above the Kangra valley, which divides it from Chamba.






The highest peak in the range is the Hanuman ji Ka Tiba, or 'White Mountain', about 5,639 m or 18,500 ft high. There are several peaks which are close to 5,180 m (17,000 ft).
The Dhauladhar range, also known as the Outer Himalayas or Lesser Himalayas. They begin from near Dalhousie at the northwest end of Himachal Pradesh and pass through the state to the vicinity of the bank of the Beas river in the Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh. While they end near Badrinath in Garhwal, they lie almost entirely in Himachal Pradesh. They are distinctive in their typical dark granite rocky formations with a remarkably steep rise culminating in sharp streaks of snow and ice at the top of their crested peaks. This distinctive profile is best seen from the Kangra valley from where they seem to shoot up almost vertically.
Himachal Pradesh has the great fortune of having all the major Himalayan ranges represented in it. The Greater Himalayas that begin from near LADAKH and run all the way to Mt Everest pass through Himachal Pradesh.

The elevation of the Dhauladhars ranges widely from 3,500 m to nearly 6,000 m. From the banks of the Beas river in Kulu, the range curves towards the town of Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, India. Then, running north, it passes through Barabhangal, joins the Pir Panjal range and then moves into Chamba, Himachal Pradesh.

The Dhauladhars have a peculiar topography. Extremely rocky with a lot of granite, the flanks of the range contain a lot of slate stones (often used for the roofs of houses in the region), limestones and sandstones. Ascending from any side is a tough business, given the near vertical incline. This calls for really tough trekking and mountaineering. There is very little habitation on the range given the harsh conditions. But meadows abound near the crest providing rich pastures for grazing where large numbers of Gaddi shepherds take their flocks. The top of the crest is buried under vast expanses of thick snow. 

Several peaks both virgin and scaled have drawn mountaineers from all over the world. Some of the well known ones are Mun (4610 m) near Dharamshala, Gaurjunda (4946 m), near the Talang pass, which is also commonly referred to as the 'Dhauladhar Matterhorn', Christmas (4581 m), Toral (4686 m), Dromedary (4553 m), Riflehorn (4400 m), Lantern (5100 m), Arthur's Seat (4525 m), Camel (4520 m), Slab (4570 m) and several other named and unnamed peaks.



* Matterhorn is a famous peak in the Swiss Alps which is visible from the city of Luzern.....it has a very distinguishing pointed tip. I Have myself visited the city of luzern but unfortunately because of bad weather i was unable to see it... so quite a waste of a visit there .


but... even if u don't get a chance to go to switzerland ..atleast visit HIMACHAL PRADESH As it is home to the indian "Matterhorn-- gaurjunda peak'...it can be easily spotted from kufri if you turn your head towards the dhauladhar range.....

                                                           ---------------COMPILED BY PRATIK AWASTHI