Sangla, India


Sangla is a town in the Baspa Valley, in the Kinnaur District of Himachal Pradesh, India, close to the border with Tibet. It is the administrative headquarter of the eponymous Sangla tehsil, and the primary town in the Baspa Valley which is also referred to as the Sangla Valley.

Physiography

Geography

Sangla is located at an altitude of above mean sea level on the right bank of the Baspa River. It is situated on the lower end of an alluvial fan of moderate slope in a bowl-shaped section of the Baspa Valley.

Climate

Sangla receives around of rainfall, and about of snowfall. In the winters, the temperature can drop as low as -15°C.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census, the population of Sangla was 2,224, with 1,125 males and 1,119 females giving it a sex ratio of 995. Around 219 were under the age of 6 years old, corresponding to about 10% of the population. About 62% of the population was scheduled tribes, and around 24% was scheduled caste. About 71% of the population was literate.
The local people have a distinct culture and their own dialect, the Kinnauri language.

Economy

Agriculture and tourism are the primary economic activities of the region. Apples constitute an important cash crop and are widely cultivated. A trout farm was established at Sangla in 1961-62 by the state fisheries department on the banks of the Baspa river. A goat breeding farm was also opened in 1960 to breed chigu goats for their pashm wool, but following the closure of the Indo-Tibetan border after the 1962 India-China war, it was closed down.

Education

Around 71% of the population of Sangla was literate according to the 2011 census. Sangla had one pre-primary school, three primary schools, one middle school, one secondary school and one senior secondary school in 2011. There were no institutions of higher education in the village.

Tourism

Trekking routes

  • Rupin Valley Trek
  • Sangla Kande Trek
  • Charang Chitkul Trek

    Places of interest

Being located at center of the Baspa valley, Sangla is the locus of exploration and trekking trails.
  • Kamru Fort
  • Lake and Dam, Kupa
  • Trout Farm
  • The Mall
  • Riverside in Chitkul
  • village walks in Kupa, Kamru, Sangla and Batseri villages.

    Temples

  • Badrinath Temple, Kamru
  • Bering Nag Temple, Sangla
  • Batseri
  • Mata Devi Temple Chhitkul
  • Piri Nages Temple, Sapni

    Festivals

  • Saazo - January
  • Faagul/ Holi - March
  • Dakhrain - July
  • Ukhyang - September

    Transport

Sangla lies on the 40-km long Kharcham-Sangla-Chitkul section of under construction 150 km long Karcham-Harshil Road, later of which begins from Karcham NH-5 will have a road tunnel under the Lamkhaga Pass.