Kinnaur

Kinnaur, in eastern Himachal Pradesh along the Sutlej River, has a history shaped by its border position between India and Tibet. For centuries it formed part of the wider Kamru / Bushahr kingdom, with the old capital at Kamru Fort near Sangla before it shifted downstream to Rampur Bushahr. The region lay on the historic Indo-Tibetan trade route, so caravans carrying wool, salt, borax and grain passed through its deep gorges and high passes, bringing wealth and strong Tibetan cultural influence in language, dress and religion.

Kinnauri religion evolved as a blend of old animist and serpent-deity worship, Hinduism and Tibetan Buddhism; many villages still honour local devtas while also visiting temples and monasteries, and the sacred peak Kinner Kailash is revered as a manifestation of Lord Shiva. Under the British, Kinnaur remained a Hill State area under Bushahr, and construction of the Hindustan–Tibet Road in the mid-19th century increased strategic and commercial importance. After Independence, Bushahr acceded to India and its high mountain tracts were gradually reorganised; in 1960, Kinnaur was created as a separate district of Himachal Pradesh. Since then, road projects, hydropower dams and the rise of apple orchards and tourism have transformed Kinnaur from an isolated trade corridor into a key economic and cultural region of the state.