Water And River Sports :
The Maharana Pratap Sagar reservoir in
Kangra with its 42 km length and 2 km
breadth, offers a variety of activities in
close collaboration with the Directorate of
Mountaineering and Allied Sports.
River-rafting or white-water rafting as it
is also called is swiftly making Himachal a
focus for the sport. For a torrent of
adrenalin to gush through every vein and
surge over every muscle you can race over
the State's river rapids in an inflatable
rubber dinghy. Sport is now being held on
the Sutlej near Shimla on the Beas near
Kullu, the Ravi near Chamba and Chandra in
Lahaul.
Mountaineering And Rock Climbing :
Rock climbing is often seen as the basic
stage for mountain climbing. It can also be
treated as an independent sport, since it is
basically climbing a rock face, using only
hands and feet with a safety rope. The area
around Manali, presently forms the core of
mountaineering in Himachal. The Chandra
Bhaga ranges, the Pir Panjal and Dhalaudhar
ranges are existing. The State also has
several other areas where Institute of
Mountaineering and Allied Sports, Manali and
its branch at Dharamsala (Kangra) offer this
activity.
Trekking & Mountaineering :
The trekking season in Himachal Pradesh runs
from mid-May to mid-october. The Himachal
Pradesh tourist office has a brochure on
trekking which briefly details a number of
treks in the state. They also have three
excellent large scale maps of Himachal
Pradesh, invaluable for trekkers. In the
lower country in the Kullu or kangra
valleys, or around Simla, there are many
rest houses and villages.
Skiing :
Kufri, near Shimla is one of the oldest
places in India to be associated with skiing
and the slopes are still in use during
winter. Above Kufri, the Mahasu ridge also
has good slopes. Comprehensive facilities
exist at Narkanda, 64 km from Shimla. There
is a range of slopes, including a beginner's
run, an advanced slope and a slalom run.
Manali (Kullu) offers a variety of courses
and facilities for skiing.
Para-Gliding :
The bald peak of Billing, above the Buddhist
monastery of Bir in Kangra, has been the
venue for five national and three
international hang-gliding rallies since
1984. A fairly recent sport that is steadily
gaining popularity, para-gliding is possible
at various places in the state. Places where
para-gliding is done regularly are - Bundla
Dhar near Bilaspur, in the kullu valley and
at Intkali in the Pabbar valley near Rohru
in Shimla district.
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