Kinnaur district is one of the twelve administrative districts of the state of Himachal Pradesh in northern India. The district is divided into three administrative areas (Kalpa, Nichar (Bhabanagar), and Pooh) and has six tehsils. The administrative headquarters of the district is at Reckong Peo. The mountain peak of Kinnaur Kailash is found in this district. As of 2011, it is the second least populous district of Himachal Pradesh (out of 12 districts), after Lahaul and Spiti. General Kinnaur is about from the state capital, Shimla, located in the northeast corner of Himachal Pradesh bordering Tibet to the east. It has three high mountain ranges, namely Zanskar and the Himalayas, that enclose the valleys of Baspa, Satluj, and Spiti, as well as their tributaries. The slopes are covered with thick wood, orchards, fields and hamlets. At the peak of Kinnaur Kailash mountain is a natural rock Shivling (Shiva lingam). The district was opened to outsiders in 1989. The old Hindustan-Tibet Road passes through the Kinnaur valley along the bank of river Sutlej and finally enters Tibet at Shipki La pass. Kinnaur is the second richest district in terms of per capita income after Solan in Himachal Pradesh. History Kinnaur was a part of erstwhile Chini Tehsil of Mahasu district. It became a separate district on 1 May 1960. Earlier, Kinnaur was a north-eastern segment of the erstwhile Bushahr principality, which had its capital at Kamru. Later, the capital was shifted to Rampur Bushahr. After the fall of the Kannauj Empire the rulers of Kamru annexed adjoining territories by force and laid the foundation of the state of Bushahr, to which the region of Kinnaur belonged till the dissolution of the state after independence of India. In the absence of authentic historical records the early history of the Kinnaur region is obscure and the reference of the Kinnaur or Kannaura and their land is by and large confined to legends and mythological accounts. Kinnaur also has historical cultural links with Ngari Prefecture of the Tibetan Autonomous Region. Geography A mountainous area, ranging in altitude from , Kinnaur is one of the smallest districts in India by population. It is known for the Kinnaur Kailash, a mountain sacred to Hindus, close to the Chinese border. Demographics According to the 2011 census, Kinnaur district has a population of 84,121. This gives it a ranking of 620th in India (out of a total of