Lahaul, on the other side of the Rohtang pass is at once stark and forbidding and yet, its arid, almost lunar-like land has a strange haunting beauty. Everything about the place is high - the passes, the mountains, the sapphire-like lakes, the fast flowing rivers.

Scattered over this ethereal landscape are Buddhist monasteries whose antiquity seems lost in the shadows of long centuries. Along with the fascination that the terrain holds, these monasteries are its main attraction - and Lahaul has eighteen of them.

Lahaul with its curious mix of Buddhism and Hinduism has fine gompas (monasteries) and temples. The gompas, repositaries of Lahaul's rich store of Buddhist art and culture, are the focus of the entire social activity and festivity in the region.

While the route from Manali to Leh through Lahaul has been declared an 'International Tourist Circuit' and along one of the highest highways in the world is fairly traversed, other parts remain - to put it mildly - off beat.

Little villages with their patchwork of green fields, located near gushing streams, provide colour and relief to this rather forbidding landscape.

GHANTAL FESTIVAL
On June's full moon night, the Ghantal festival is held at Lahaul's Guru Ghantal monastery .

And of course, given the time of the year and the possibilities it offers there are various camping and trekking expeditions.