Kullu is a municipal council town that serves as the administrative headquarters of the Kullu district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It is located on the banks of the Beas River in the Kullu Valley about north of the airport at Bhuntar, Kullu. Kullu Valley is a broad open valley formed by the Beas River between Manali and Larji. This valley is known for its temples and its hills covered with pine and deodar forest and sprawling apple orchards. The course of the Beas river, originating from Beas Kund presents a succession of magnificent, clad with forests of deodar, towering above trees of pine on the lower rocky ridges brings the most out of this magnificent town. Kullu Valley is sandwiched between the Pir Panjal, Lower Himalayan and Great Himalayan Ranges, located in Northern India, 497 k.m. away from the capital of India. History Historical references about the Kullu valley dates back to ancient Hindu literary works of Ramayana, Mahabharata and the Puranas. During Vedic period several small republics known as "Janapada" existed which were later conquered by the Nanda Empire, Mauryan Empire, Gupta Empire, Pala Dynasty and Karkoṭa Empire. After a brief period of supremacy by King Harshavardhana, the region was once again divided into several local powers headed by chieftains, including some Rajput principalities, these principalities were later conquered by Mughal Empire, Maratha Empire, Sikh Empire. The name Kullu derives from the word "Kulant Peeth", meaning "end of the habitable world". As per legends, during the Great Flood, Manu visited this valley but was unable to cross the Rohtang pass. He named the last settlement he found as Kulant Peeth and chose to settle and meditate in what has now become the town of Manali (Manu's Place). The name further devolved into "Kulut", as the kingdom was known for a long time; before finally being known by the current name of Kullu or Kulu. The Buddhist pilgrim monk Xuanzang visited the Kullu Valley in 634 or 635 CE. He described it as a fertile region completely surrounded by mountains, about 3,000 li in circuit, with a capital 14 or 15 li in circumference. There were some twenty Buddhist monasteries, with about 1,000 monks, most of whom were Mahayanist. There were also some fifteen Hindu temples, and both faiths occupied the region. There were meditation caves near the mountain passes inhabited by both Buddhist and Hindus. The