The Kullu district expansion zooms out from the Parvati Valley to encompass the full Beas River drainage system — from Aut (1100 m) at the valley mouth to the Lahaul/Chenab divide (3080 m+) beyond Rohtang Pass. This is the geographic context within which the Parvati Valley sits.
Geographic Extent
- Bounding box: 31.40–32.70°N, 76.80–78.00°E (~145 × 113 km)
- SRTM tiles: 4 (2×2 grid: N31E076, N31E077, N32E076, N32E077)
- Elevation range: ~800 m (Aut gorge) to 6632 m (Parbati Parbat)
River System
The Beas and its tributaries carve the district:
- Beas River — main trunk from Beas Kund to Aut
- Parvati River — joining at Bhuntar
- Tirthan River — draining GHNP
- Sainj River — draining Sainj Valley
- Solang Nala — Manali’s ski valley
- Jiwa Nal — Lahaul approach
Protected Areas
The expanded extent captures:
- Great Himalayan National Park (754 km², UNESCO World Heritage 2014)
- Khirganga National Park (710 km², est. 2010)
- Together protecting ~3,000+ km² of interconnected landscape
Biodiversity Gradient
Seven biomes along the elevation gradient, from subtropical pine forests (1000 m) to nival ice fields (6600 m). The biodiversity survey documents 316 bird species, snow leopard habitat, Western Tragopan (world’s largest population in GHNP), 50+ medicinal plant species, and the ecological impacts of hydroelectric development and tourism.
Source: domains/parbati/kullu/kullu-valleys.org, kullu/kullu_mesh.py (347 lines), parbati-biodiversity.org (406 lines, ~21 KB)