~Spiti and Lahul.~--Spiti, or rather Piti, is a country of great rugged mountains, whose bare red and yellow rocks rise into crests of everlasting snow showing clear under a cloudless blue sky. There is no rain, but in winter the snowfall is heavy. The highest of the mountains exceeds 23,000 feet. Piti is drained by the river of the same name, which after passing through Bashahr falls I into the Sutlej at an elevation of 11,000 feet. Of the few villages several stand at a height of from 13,000 to 14,000 feet. The route to Piti from Kulu passes over the Hamtu Pass (14,200 feet) and the great Shigri glacier. The people are Buddhists. They are governed by their hereditary ruler or Nono assisted by five elders, the Assistant Commissioner exercising a general supervision. Indian laws do not apply to the sparse population of this remote canton, which has a special regulation of its own. Lahul lies to the west of Piti, from which it is separated by a lofty range. It is entered from Kulu by the Rotang Pass (13,000 feet) and the road from it to Ladakh passes over the Baralacha (16,350 feet). The whole country is under snow from December to April, but there is very little rain. The two streams, the Chandra and Bhaga, which unite to form the Chenab, flow through Lahul and the few villages are situated at a height of 10,000 feet in their elevated valleys. The people are Buddhists. In summer the population is increased by "Gaddi" shepherds from Kangra, who drive lean flocks in the beginning of June over the Rotang and take them back from the Alpine pastures in the middle of September fat and well liking. [Illustration: Fig. 91. Bias at Manali.] ~Kulu and Saraj.~--The Kulu Valley, set in a mountain frame and with the Bias, here a highland stream, running through the heart of it, is one of the fairest parts of the Panjab Himalaya. Manali, at the top of the Valley on the road to the Rotang, is a very beautiful spot. Kulu is connected with Kangra through Mandi by the Babbu and Dulchi passes. The latter is generally open the whole year round. The headquarters are at Sultanpur, but the Assistant Commissioner lives at Nagar. In Kulu the cultivation is often valuable and the people are well off. The climate is good and excellent apples and pears are grown by European settlers. Inner and outer Saraj are connected by the Jalaori Pass on the watershed of the Sutlej and Bias. Saraj is a much rougher and poorer country than Kulu. There are good _deodar_ forests in the Kulu subdivision. In 1911 the population of Kulu, Saraj, Lahul, and Piti, numbered 124,803. The Kulu people are a simple folk in whose primitive religion local godlings of brass each with his little strip of territory take the place of the Brahmanic gods. It is a quaint sight to see their ministers carrying them on litters to the fair at Sultanpur, where they all pay their respects to a little silver god known as Raghunathji, who is in a way their suzerain.