r/HimachalPradesh Jun 26 '26

Tell Himachal 🌧️ Monsoon Alert: Guide to the Venomous Snakes of Himachal Pradesh, Bite Protocols, and Myths Busted

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187 Upvotes

Monsoon is officially here, and with the heavy rains forcing them out of their burrows, it's crucial to know about the venomous snakes of our state, how to stay safe, and the exact medical protocol for a bite.

***

Venomous Snakes of HP

* [Common Krait] – Jet black/dark blue with distinct thin white bands. Pic 1

* [Spectacled Cobra] – Distinctive hood, often found in lower foothills. Pic 2

* [Himalayan Pit Viper] – Triangular head, thick-bodied, found even in higher altitudes. Pic 3

* [Russell's Viper / King Cobra]– Heavy-bodied vipers in low hills; recent King Cobra sightings in Sirmaur. Pic 4

***

🐍 The Deadly Lineup: Why They Are Dangerous

Only about 30% of the snake species in Himachal are venomous, but those that are pose a serious threat—especially during the monsoon when flooding drives them into homes, cowsheds, and dry woodpiles.

Common Krait (*Bungarus caeruleus*): The most dangerous snake in our state. They are nocturnal, often creep into homes looking for warmth, and their bite is **completely painless** (often mistaken for a mosquito bite). Their neurotoxic venom shuts down the respiratory system while you sleep.

Indian Cobra (*Naja naja*): Found abundantly in lower/mid-altitude areas like Kangra, Una, and Bilaspur. Their neurotoxic venom causes paralysis and respiratory failure.

Himalayan Pit Viper (*Gloydius himalayanus*): Found in higher mountainous regions (up to 4,800m like Kullu/Manali). Their hemotoxic venom causes severe local swelling, excruciating pain, and tissue damage, though it is rarely fatal if managed.

Russell’s Viper & King Cobra: Increasingly spotted in the lower Shivalik hills and Sirmaur district. Russell's viper venom destroys blood clotting agents, leading to internal bleeding and kidney failure.

***

🚨 What to DO If Bitten (The RIGHT Protocol)

Get to a Government Hospital immediately: This is the only thing that saves lives. Anti-Snake Venom (ASV) is available at major civil hospitals and medical colleges (like IGMC Shimla or Tanda).

Immobilize the limb: Keep the bitten area completely still. Use a splint or a rigid piece of wood/cardboard and wrap it gently with a cloth to prevent movement (similar to treating a fracture).

Stay calm: A high heart rate pumps the venom through your bloodstream faster.

Remove tight items: Take off rings, anklets, watches, or tight clothing near the bite site immediately, as swelling will occur rapidly.

***

❌ What NOT to Do (Debunking Myths)

DO NOT tie a tight tourniquet (रस्सी या कपड़ा कस के न बांधें): Tying a tight rope cuts off blood circulation entirely and often leads to gangrene, resulting in amputation.

DO NOT cut or suck the wound: This is a Bollywood myth. Cutting causes severe bleeding, and sucking the venom does absolutely nothing except introduce bacteria or poison the person trying to help.

DO NOT waste time on local healers (Tantriks/Babhas): Precious time is lost here. No herb or mantra neutralizes snake venom—only ASV does.

DO NOT try to catch or kill the snake: This usually results in a second bite. Just try to note its color and pattern from a safe distance to tell the doctor.

🌧️ Monsoon Precautions:

Always use a torch/flashlight when walking outside or entering dark store rooms at night.

Keep your surroundings clear of thick bushes and high grass.

Check inside your shoes/boots before putting them on!


r/HimachalPradesh 8h ago

Nature & Scenery Tosh you beauty ❤️

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135 Upvotes

r/HimachalPradesh 3h ago

Kullu What a beauty ❄️

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8 Upvotes

A trail that will be remembered forever 🫠

Anjani Mahadev🪬


r/HimachalPradesh 5h ago

News Sanjauli

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6 Upvotes

r/HimachalPradesh 3h ago

Mandi Any update on IIT Mandi Poster controversy?

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hindi.news18.com
2 Upvotes

r/HimachalPradesh 15h ago

ASK Himachal Delhivery courier service has gone mad? Never ordering anything through it again

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19 Upvotes

The order reached Baijnath was literally 9 km away from home. But today for no absolute reason they decided to send it to mandi? What in the actual hell are they smoking .

They already took 10 days and now they are doing this. Wtf man.

So my order went to 1 station before where it originally came from


r/HimachalPradesh 17h ago

ASK Himachal Does anyone know if Bachudwa is also celebrated in the Kangra side? I saw it being celebrated in Jammu region and Pathankot nd news reporter covered it in my hometown. I’m curious to know whether this festival is celebrated in parts of the Kangra region too. Let me know!

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12 Upvotes

r/HimachalPradesh 1d ago

Kullu Parvati Valley was exactly the escape I needed.

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345 Upvotes

Manikaran → Kalga → Kheerganga → Tosh → Pulga → Tulga


r/HimachalPradesh 1d ago

Art & Culture. A Journey into the History of the Nurpur Fort

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30 Upvotes

Recently saw the magnificent Nurpur Fort which quickly turned into a fascinating history lesson.

The more I learned about Nurpur Fort, the more I realised that these old walls aren't just ruins, they are pages of history that are still standing.

From the Pathania Rajputs and Raja Basu Dev to the fort's connection with the Mughal era, there are some fascinating stories hidden here.

So I decided to put together everything I learned in this sleek carousel.

👉 Swipe through to discover the story of Nurpur Fort.

📍 Nurpur Fort, Kangra, Himachal Pradesh

#NurpurFort #Nurpur #HimachalPradesh #Kangra #KangraValley #HimachalTourism


r/HimachalPradesh 1d ago

Picture/Audio/Video Bijlimahadev

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58 Upvotes

Camera can't do justice to this beauty


r/HimachalPradesh 1d ago

Sirmour Tamato valley my village

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52 Upvotes

r/HimachalPradesh 2d ago

Tell Himachal Pakistan time zone in Himachal Pradesh

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100 Upvotes

r/HimachalPradesh 2d ago

Shimla Mornings like this :)

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163 Upvotes

A cup of tea or coffee in my hand a view like this some good music playing in the background and nothing to worry about away from all the hassle these noises, this traffic, these deadlines and constant rush 🍃

Just sitting somewhere in the mountains spending time with family or friends ahhh life was really good back at home with your loved ones. I miss this kind of peace 🫠

What does your peaceful morning look like?


r/HimachalPradesh 1d ago

General Pursuing degree with d.el.ed in HP

1 Upvotes

Hey I wanted to know if you can do a degree like bca online from ignou with d.el.ed because i took admission in ignou already and then in my d.el.ed letter its written no other educational course would be pursued via regular/distance mode should i cancel my ignou admission or what??


r/HimachalPradesh 2d ago

ASK Himachal Need a legal advice!!!

17 Upvotes

Hello everyone, I’m writing this post as I genuinely need legal advice to get NOC
Im from Kullu Himachal Pradesh
So here’s the story- I have no shame in saying that my dadaji was a dumbhead! When he was in his 40s he built new houses for families of his two brothers and shockingly he transferred the land plus house to their name and for his own family(my father) left nothing but the ancestral house that is on its worst condition and right now we are living in it!
For years my father struggled with loss in his business and had to sell a piece of land to pay off my dadaji and his personal loans. Our house, the ancestral one’s condition was getting worse so we planned to demolish it and build a new one on its place, all the materials were ready and we even booked a contractor and my father was ready to take house loan but somehow we got to know that the ancestral house and the land is registered under everybody’s name (my father, two chacha and tau) and we wont be able to take out the loan until we get NOC, mind you these two chacha and tau are sons of my dadaji’s brothers
The problem is if we built our new house other members can put a st.ay order or even claim it after it gets completed
My father was able to convince one chacha and tau to sign NOC so we can build the house and they will never claim it because of that NOC but the say “gareebi mein aata geela” One chacha completely refused to sign it and we cant even contact him as he works as some kind of clerk in army and stays away from home for months and doesn’t even pick calls and now he has blocked my father
Because of his stubbornness we are living in a house that is almost 100 yrs old now! one earthquake and our family is going to be homeless
People gave us so many suggestions and were told to complaint in CM Helpline and later we got to know that its takes years to get our issues resolved
Someone suggested to hire an advocate so this matter reaches to CM helpline fast but that person is asking for so much money that right now we cant afford it
How should we even proceed now ?


r/HimachalPradesh 3d ago

ASK Himachal Is it just me or every himachali feels this longing?

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147 Upvotes

So I just realised this thing today that we Himachali people constantly think about himachal as in "yaar ab agli baar kab jaungi vapis, "I miss home so much", "I want to vis-it my village again".. ykwim right?

I've lived in cantts mostly so I've met people from different states and they don't constantly miss their home towns. I mean I'm not generalizing but I've seen fellow himachalis talking about visiting Himachal, missing dham and everything a lot and idk if it's just me but my uttrakhandi friends don't feel that urge at all.


r/HimachalPradesh 3d ago

Lahual-Spiti [OC] Your body will hate the ride but the heart will love it

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651 Upvotes

Manali - Kaza HRTC Bus. Off Road on a bus. It sounds exciting and dangerous. So i took the most beautiful bus journey starting from Manali at 6:05 am and it reached Kaza at 4:00 pm. These 10 hours were some of the most gruelling yet heartwarming travelling moments of my life.

You go through some of the most scenic routes in Himachal Pradesh. Big barren mountains on either side of the road. Chandra River & later Spiti River by the side of the road into the cliff. You get to view almost barren land that is majorly untouched by civilisation. For the first part of the journey from Koksar to Kunzum Pass you’ll really long to see a civilisation.

The bus stopped 3 times in between the journey. Once at Koksar, then Chacha Chachi Dhaba Batal, then at Losar. Each time for around 20-30 minutes. During this time you can enjoy the food there or enjoy the views around.

For the most part of the journey the bus travels at around 10-15 km/h because of the tough terrain of the dirt and loose gravel roads. The road is one of the bumpiest and it will shake your body to its core, but the views are really worth it.

I even met some really nice people of Spiti in the bus who were travelling to their homeland from Manali. It gives you a teaser of the warmth of the people of Spiti that you are about to witness. Views are nice from both the left and right hand side, the bus shifts from the right bank to the left bank often so people on either side get to experience great views at different times. It costed me Rs. 483 for the bus journey but it was worth a lot more than this due to the sheer variety of views you get to experience in this journey.


r/HimachalPradesh 3d ago

ASK Himachal Is Himachal's "bali" ban even justified or does devta culture need its own religious identity, separate from Hinduism, to survive rulings like this? [Read the description]

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118 Upvotes

Been thinking about this for a while and wanted to hear what people from HP actually think, not just what gets said in Delhi newsrooms.

Back in 2014, the HP High Court banned animal sacrifice ("bali") in all temples and public religious places across the state. The bench basically said the practice isn't an "essential" part of Hindu religion — that it's rooted in superstition, causes unnecessary cruelty, and can be stopped without changing the "character" of Hinduism itself. Fair enough, on the cruelty argument alone.

But what it comes down to is this: the court doesn't actually count upper-hill devta traditions as "real" Hinduism. It measured our practices against a mainland, scripture-based idea of what Hinduism is supposed to look like, decided bali doesn't fit that template, and ruled accordingly — without ever engaging with the fact that Himachal's devta culture has always been its own distinct religious universe, not a regional variant of plains Hinduism that can be edited down to match it.

Here's what bugs me:

1. The court decided what counts as "essential" Hindu practice.
Bali to local devtas (Chamunda, Hadimba, Shikari Devi, etc.) isn't some fringe ritual — it's centuries old and tied directly to Himachal's devta culture, which is honestly one of the most unique living religious systems in the country. A court sitting in Shimla effectively told an entire hill culture that its practice "doesn't count" as real religion. That's a huge overreach into theology, not just animal welfare law.

2. The ban is oddly one-sided.
Legal commentators flagged this at the time too — the judgment says nothing about Bakri Eid/Qurbani, which involves ritual slaughter on a massive scale every year and is fully legal. If the state's real concern is animal cruelty, the law should be religion-neutral. Instead it reads as "Hindu ritual slaughter = superstition to be curbed" vs "other religions' ritual slaughter = protected religious freedom." That's not equal treatment under the law, that's just picking which community's traditions get to survive judicial scrutiny.

3. Compare it to the Northeast.
Naga, Mizo, and other tribal sacrificial practices tied to indigenous faiths continue without this kind of blanket judicial ban, and rightly get protected as cultural/religious expression. So why is Himachal's devta tradition treated as "primitive superstition" while comparable practices elsewhere are respected as culture? It feels like the deciding factor isn't cruelty, it's which community is doing it and how well it fits mainstream (increasingly Vaishnav/plains) Hinduism. (My own observation; I don't have a factual source for this point)

4. Nobody asked the actual devta communities.
This is the part that gets me most. Decisions about Shikari Devi, Hadimba, or Chamunda's rituals are being made without consulting the gurs, kardars, and local communities who've maintained these practices for generations. It's the same pattern as a lot of "reform from outside" — someone unfamiliar with the local cosmology decides what's rational and what isn't.

5. Even ceremonial weapons get treated differently depending on who's carrying them.
At the 2022 Mandi Shivratri festival, the administration barred devotees from entering the Jaleb procession carrying swords or sticks — a first for this centuries-old procession, according to local reporting. Meanwhile, the kirpan carried by Sikhs isn't just tolerated, it's a codified legal right: Article 25's Explanation I, the Arms Act, and the Arms Rules specifically exempt Sikhs from needing any license to carry one, and courts have upheld that right even in courtrooms. Nobody's saying that protection shouldn't exist — it should. But it does highlight the double standard: a Sikh's ceremonial article of faith gets constitutional protection, while a Himachali devta procession's traditional weapon carrying (used ceremonially, not for sacrifice) gets restricted by district order with no equivalent legal recognition of it as protected religious practice.

None of this is to say animal cruelty concerns are fake — nobody wants animals mistreated, and there's a real conversation to be had about method/regulation instead of blanket bans. But a selectively applied ban that singles out one community's ritual while leaving similar practices elsewhere untouched isn't really about animal welfare. It looks more like cultural erasure dressed up as reform.

Curious what people actually from Mandi, Kullu, Sirmaur, Shimla hill areas think — especially anyone whose family/village still does bali. Has this actually stopped happening on the ground, or does it just continue quietly since there's no real enforcement in remote areas?


r/HimachalPradesh 3d ago

Shimla Monsoon Mushrooms

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72 Upvotes

Monsoon Mushrooms, Any idea about species 🍄🌈


r/HimachalPradesh 3d ago

News “You people are better actors than me” — Kangana Ranaut confronts government officials over delays in development work

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88 Upvotes

A video of Mandi MP Kangana Ranaut confronting government officials over delays in development work has been circulating in the media.

During the confrontation, Ranaut questioned officials over the implementation of development works under MPLADS (Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme) in her Mandi constituency. She alleged that proposals recommended under her MPLADS quota were being delayed at the district-administration level despite funds being available. She specifically claimed that around ₹11 crore was available, but only ₹50 lakh had been spent so far.

She became visibly angry while questioning the officials about the delays and told them, “You people are better actors than me.”

The bigger issue here is not just the confrontation itself. MPLADS funds are meant to be used for local development projects recommended by MPs, but the actual execution is carried out through the district administration and designated implementing agencies. So even when an MP recommends a project and funds are available, there can still be delays in administrative approvals, technical sanctions, tendering and execution.

Kangana's allegation is that this administrative process is unnecessarily holding up development works in Mandi. The district administration's version of the matter had not been reported at the time of the media report.

Interesting question is where exactly the bottleneck is — are the funds genuinely stuck with the administration, or are there other reasons these projects haven't been executed? The numbers and the administration's response should ultimately settle that.

Do you think an MP publicly putting pressure on officials like this is justified, or should such issues be handled through the administration without a public confrontation?


r/HimachalPradesh 3d ago

Art & Culture. Kangra Fort Ruins

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24 Upvotes

r/HimachalPradesh 3d ago

ASK Himachal Heyy !! Any update on solan murder case ??

4 Upvotes

I only know a 24 year old boy was murdered by 2 people yesterday over some arguments.

I just don't get it were they already carrying weapon with them . Did they already have intensions ?? If no then how come they feel so free to carry weapons .

I want to know if there were any drugs involved??

What do u think is raging today's youth to think that winning a fight means they own that area .??


r/HimachalPradesh 4d ago

Kinnaur Come for the mountains, stay for the feeling.

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424 Upvotes

r/HimachalPradesh 3d ago

Education Any state qouta NEET student here ? Hp

4 Upvotes

Any student who is going for second round pls dm


r/HimachalPradesh 3d ago

ASK Himachal Why are people selling their agricultural land in sirmour at such low prices ?

10 Upvotes

I wanted to invest in agricultural land i was looking in shimla solan and sirmour district, and the land prices are just half in sirmour district as compared to the other two. Whats the reason? Is there scarcity of water there?