The famed week-long Kullu Dussehra is one of main festivals of Himachal Pradesh, which has maintained its unique identity over the years and is celebrated in an entirely different way. The annual mela or festival takes place in the Kullu. The festival celebrates the victory of the God Ram over evil. The Rath Yatra of the idol of Lord Ragunath is led by the Kullu Raja. The procession starts a week of religious ceremonies, cultural activities, socializing and shopping at the huge bazaar of mela ground. Dussehra at Kullu commences on the tenth day of the rising moon, i.e. on 'Vijay Dashmi' day itself and continues in seven days.
The history of Kullu Dussehra dates back to the 17th century when the local king, Jagat Singh installed an idol of Raghunathji. According to “The History of Kullu Riyasat”. The Dussehra celebrations started in the year 1661 in Kullu during the reign of the then ruler Raja Jagat Singh. Some security person gave false information to Jagat Singh that Durga Dutt, a poor Brahmin from Tibri village, in Manikaran valley across Parvati river, had a Patha of pearls with him. The Raja immediately sent his messengers and demanded the pearls but they did not get anything as the Brahmin never possessed any valuables. Later, after a few days Jagat Singh sent a message to Durga Dutt that he should keep the pearls ready on a particular day, which he would collect on his way back form Manikaran to his capital. When the Raja came to Tibri village to collect the pearls, the Brahmin instead of arranging for pearls or making some excuse confined all his family members inside his house and set it afire. Then Durga Dutt started cutting pieces of flesh from his body with a dagger and kept throwing them into the burning house while chanting the word lo Maharaj, patha-moti. Ultimately the Brahmin killed himself in front of Jagat Singh. The Raja was deeply moved by the incident. He was unable to eat and drink and was tainted by leprosy. One Baba Krishan Dass `Fuhari' of Jhiri near Naggar told Jagat Singh if he would bring the idol of Lord Raghunath from Ayodhya, embrace Vaishanavism and invest his kingdom in the name of Raghunathji, only then he would be liberated from the sin of Braham-hatya (the offence of killing a Brahmin). Later, Damodar Dass, a disciple of Fuhari Baba, brought the idol of Lord Raghunath from Ayodhya to Kullu in the year 1651. Initially, the idol was placed at Manikaran, Vashishat Haripur, Jagatsukh and Grahan villages for safety reasons. Jagat Singh invested his entire kingdom in the name of Lord Raghunath. In the year 1660, the idol of Lord Raghunath, the presiding deity of Dussehra, was installed near the royal palace. The ailing Raja got himself freed from the sin of Braham hatya soon after he took the charnamrit (water used to wash the feet of idol). He appointed Fuhari Baba as Raj Guru and donated property to Damodar Dass for his role in bringing the idol from Ayodhya. Historians believe that earlier the king and the local people were the followers of Shiva and Shakti but after the idol of Lord Raghunath was brought to Kullu, they became Vaishnavs as Raghunath is another name of Lord Ram Chandra, the reincarnation of Lord Vishnu. Dussehra celebrations start with the `Rathyatra' of Lord Raghunath as the idol is kept in the wooden chariot. Lord Raghunath is still the family deity of the erstwhile ruling dynasty of Kullu. Symbolic Dussehra is celebrated at Haripur, Manikaran, Thawa (Naggar) and Vashishat villages on Rathyatra day.
This festival is different in the sense that this commences when Dussehra festivities come to a close in the rest of the country. Another unique feature of the Kullu Dussehra is that it does not finish with the burning of the statue of king-Ravana, his brother Kumbhkarana and son, Meghnath.

The Himachal Pradesh is known as the Valley of Gods' as on the occasion of the Dussehra here about 20 Gods and Goddesses of the valley meet at the venue for the celebrations. The divine presences gives a feeling of heaven on the earth. Dussehra at Kullu commences on the tenth day of the rising moon, on 'Vijay Dashmi' itself and continues for seven days. On the first day, the idol of Lord Raghunath saddled on a decorated chariot is pulled by ropes from its fixed place, that is a temple and taken to Dhalpur Grounds to mark the commencement of the Dussehra cerelbrations. During the week-long celebrations, gods and goddesses are invoked and paraded around this town every morning and evening. On the closing day, the Rath of lord Raghunath is taken to the banks of the Beas river and in the diety's presence a pile of wood and grass is set on fire, to symbolize the burning of Ravanas Lanka. Thereafter lord Raghunath is taken back to his temple and Dussehra festivities come to an end.

“Hatkoti Temple” is located at Jubbal (Hatkoti), 100 K.M. from Shimla the capital of the Himachal Pradesh. Temple is located in village Hatkoti of tehsil Jubbal distt Shimla of Himachal Pradesh. .Hatkoti Mata is regarded as the most powerful goddess among all the goddesses of northern India by the residents of Hatkoti. As we know Himachal Pradesh is a state of god and goddesses. Hartkoti is one of them. Himachal Pradesh is known as a valley of temples. There is no written proof about the history of the temple but as we enter the premises of the temple the history diverts our minds towards itself, as there are a number of historic monuments in the temple which makes us remember about the Mabharata period. There are five stone “Deols” present in the temple premises which makes us remember about the five pandavas. These “Deols” are decreasing in size, first one being the largest in size and then the decreasing ones. In the building it’s a beautiful “Lord Shiva” temple having a large and beautiful shrine inside it, others idols present in the temple are also a proof a great architecture skills. The interior walls and roof of the temple have also been designed using great architecturing skills. The people of Hatkoti believe that the temple was established by Guru Adi Shankracharya. Some people also believe that the temple was built somewhere in the Third era. Three Gupta Age’s Rock Edicts (in scripted stones) have been found at three different places of this ancient and historic place.

The fifth kandh of Bhagvat gita describes about Mata Hateshwari as:-
Hateswari is known as the Shakti of Hateshwar and hence this place is known as Hateswari, one of the main residences of Shiva and Shakti.

In front of the temple of Mata Hateshwari towards the east direction is a small mountain known as a fort of Rambhasur. Rambhasur was the father of Maheshasur whom he has got as a reward of his prayers to Agnidev. He also went through a tough prayer of Lord Shiva and was rewarded by lord Shiva that his son would be un defeatable .Taking the advantage of this he captured the “Triloks” of the gods and betrayed them of all their powers. The defeated gods took shelter in the hard to reach places of pabbar valley and asked Mata Hateshwari to protect them from the devil. On the demand of gods Mata Hateshwari killed Maheshasur and gained the name of “Maheshasurmardini” (destroyer of Maheshasur Devil).
The idol of Mata in the Temple is unexplainable. The artist has tried imagining the whole universe in this idol. The statue is made up of a mixture of eight valuable metals. The statue is 1.20 meter in height. The idol displays the destroyer expression of Mata. The interesting fact about the idol is that it changes its expression, sometimes it has a smiling face and some time it is in a angry posture, the idol has such effect on the devotee that he take off his eyes from the idol. On both sides of the idol there is something written in Brahmi script.

There is a huge vessel type of a thing present near the entrance of the temple known as “charu” surrounded by chains it attracts the attention of people towards it self following one more story of its existence behind it. There is a huge hall in the temple premises known as “yagyashala” used to perform rituals. In the centre of the hall is a Hawan kund where the rituals are performed. The idols of Lord Brahma,Vishnu,Mahesh And Ganesha can be seen placed here There is a lot of sitting place available for the devotees .there is one more hall in the premises known as Satsang Bhawan which can adjust 350 devotees at a time. Nearby is a rest house where the saints and devotees take rest. There is one more hall known as Dharamshala which is mainly used to store various things of the temple. The whole premise of the temple is covered by a 12foot high wall on all the three sides. It has two main doors one towards the east serving as an entrance to the temple.

Best time to visit Hatkoti Temple from April to October. However, temperatures vary with the seasons. May to September have pleasant day’s cold nights while April & October have pleasant days. Nearest Airport and Railway Station located at Shimla. U can visit there by bus and also take cab from Shimla and Chandigarh.

Kamru Fort is one of the oldest Fort in Himachal. It is located in Kinnaur District of Himachal Pradesh. Distance of 2-km from Sangla, lies this wonderful place, the tower-like fort of Kamru. The Sangla valley is a breathtaking beauty in itself, with a blaze of saffron trees and cold snowmelt. Here, the river Bapsa flows to meet the churning torrent of the Sutlej River at Karcham. An exotic Image of Lord Buddha on the Fort's Main Gate and an Image of Kamkhya Devi are the unique features of this fort. The image of Kamkhya Devi, supposed to have been brought from Assam, is installed on the third floor. There is also a 15th century shrine of Lord Badrinath, which hosts a light every three years.
The Kamru fort is a quiet sentinel, located at a fearsome altitude of 2,600 m above the sea level. This place is at a distance of 57-km fom Kalpa and 229-km from Shimla, The capital of Himachal Pradesh. The nature shows off its existence and the splendor of this land. Along its sides rise snow clad mountains, thick forests of deodar trees, and lush green and richly fruited orchards.
The fort seems like being placed over packing of dressed stone that acts like a pedestal for an exalted piece of art. The tower possesses an elegant wooden balcony.

Standing at an altitude of 2600m above sea level, Kamru fort is 229 km from Shimla and 2 km from the beautiful Sangla Valley. The fort is set in a picturesque location and is entered through a series of gates. At the main gate of the Kamru Fort, a stunning image of Lord Buddha greets you. The graceful wooden balcony, at the top of the fort, and the idol of Kamakhya Devi, installed on the third floor of the fort, are worth seeing. There are a number of interesting myths attached to the fort,

Kamru fort is located on bank of Baspa River and surrounded by some beautiful places Rakcham Village, Batseri village and Chitkul Village, Chitkul Village is the last village on the old Hindustan-Tibet trade route. Sangla Valley is the most charming valley in the entire District of Kinnaur and Kamru Fort is main historical place of the Valley. Best time to visit The Kamru Fort from April to October. However, temperatures vary with the seasons. May to September have pleasant days cold nights while April & October have pleasant days.