Nahan is a town in

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and is the headquarters of the

Sirmaur District Sirmaur is the southernmost district of Himachal Pradesh, northern India. It is largely mountainous and rural, with 90% of its population living in villages. Some of its towns include the capital Nahan, Tuheri, Bhawan, Shamra, UchaTik ...

It was the capital of the former

Sirmur Sirmur (also spelled as Sirmor, Sirmaur, Sirmour, or Sirmoor) was an independent kingdom in India, founded in 1616, located in the region that is now the Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh. The state was also known as Nahan, after its main ...

princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj, British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, ...

.Nahan is also known as the Town of ponds.

Geography

Nahan is located at . It has an average elevation of 932 metres.

Demographics

India

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

, Nahan tehsil had a population of 35000. Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. Nahan has an average literacy rate of 85%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 86%, and female literacy is 79%. In Nahan, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age. According to

2011 Census of India The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Information ...

, Nahan has a population of 56000. The sex ratio was 916 females per thousand males and literacy rate stood at 83.4% with male literacy at 87.01% and female literacy at 76.71%.

Nahan Town

Nahan is situated on a hill top in the

Shiwalik Hills The Sivalik Hills, also known as the Shivalik Hills and Churia Hills, are a mountain range of the outer Himalayas that stretches over about from the Indus River eastwards close to the Brahmaputra River, spanning the northern parts of the Indian ...

, overlooking green hills. Traditionally,

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

s and

prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

s are linked with the origin of Nahan. The city was founded as in 1621 by Raja Karam Prakash. Another version recalls a saint who lived with a companion named Nahar on the site where the Nahan palace now stands. "Nahar" means 'don't kill' and the town probably takes its name from an incident when a king was trying to kill a lion and the saint said Nahar, that is 'do not kill it'. The name of the saint was Baba Banwari Das. Another version is that Nahar means Lion in Sanskrit. At the place where Nahan is, Lions were there so it was named Nahar and latter called Nahan, which is distortion of Nahar At an altitude of 932 m, Nahan is a used as a base for visits to the surrounding areas such as

Renuka Lake Renuka lake is in the Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh in India and it is 672 m above the sea level. It is the largest lake in Himachal Pradesh, with a circumference of about 3214 m. This lake was named after the goddess Renuka and is design ...

, Paonta Sahib,

Trilokpur Trilokpur () is a Hindu temple site in Himachal Pradesh, India. It is located on an hillock about 24 km south-west of Nahan at an elevation of about 430 m. The temple is an amalgam of Indo-Persian styles of architecture. The name Trilo ...

and the

Suketi Suketi is a village in Sirmaur District, Himachal Pradesh, India. It has Asia's oldest Fossil park Shivalik Fossil Park. Details At a distance of 21 km from Nahan, it displays lifesize fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) models of prehistoric a ...

Fossil Park. It is watered by a man-made

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

and has several temples and gardens. Nahan has got the crown to organize the second Municipal Corporation in India, after Kolkata. Underground sewerage system in this town is unbeatable and hence it bears the title to be a neat and clean town. Well planned streets make all the long distances calm and traffic-free. The narrow fields are used by the pedestrians to move fast on foot to avoid traffic. The Municipal Corporation Office is also situated near to the Pakka Tank. The Sirmour district has been extensively criss-crossed by rivers and the streams and most of them having perennial water flow of considerable volume. With the result, fishing on the rivers and streams has been an old pastime in the district. The mulle, Masheer, Gid and Mirror cap varieties are found on a large scale, helping in the economic well being of the people. Industrially, Sirmour district was not much advanced. The first such unit was set up in 1875, which was taken over by the govt. In 1964 A.D. The Chief items of this foundry were cane crusher, cast iron and black sheet panes flour mills, centrifugal pumps mono-block pump sets and other agricultural implements and accessories. This Foundry was overtaken by the Britishers during the British Rule in India. This foundry is situated near the Kalisthan Temple. Also, there is a house opposite to the Nahan Foundry which was constructed by Britishers for the general manager of the foundry in 1945, currently in possession of government as Sessions House where the District & Sessions Judge of Nahan resides.

Places of interest

The gentle level walks of Villa Round and Hospital Round (Chakkar Ke Sadak) are evocative of the city's past. The hub of Nahan's activities is Chaugan. The Mall Road is one of the favourite place of the youngsters after the college campus to walk along, specially in evening. Evening walk is one of the most common habit found in the citizens of Nahan. People regularly go for evening walk in the market and on The Mall. People like to meet in market and also visit the homes of friends on regular basis, mostly during this evening walk. Gift shops, Rosin & Turpentine factory and local temples are among the other major attractions. Other places of visit include Markanda (8 km from Nahan), Jamta, and Renuka Ji Lake (35 km). In the heart of Nahan town is Rani Tal, where a large temple and a water pond from the days of ex-rulers of Sirmaur state can be seen. Ducks and cranes can be seen playing in the Ranital pond, and Ranital Garden further adds to the charm. Pakka Talab is one of the other ponds which has been renovated. There is a big in the Pakka Tank, and the garden seats are being installed. Pakka Tank is also the place to celebrate two most important festivals of the town, that is BamanDwadshi Fair and Gugga Peer Fair. Pakka tank is also well known for its wholesale vegetable market, which recently shifted to Kanshiwalla. The one and only Railway reservation centre of Nahan is also situated in the Panchayat Ghar, Pakka Tank. Gunnu Ghat is the center of the Nahan City. All short-cuts leads to everywhere from this center point. Historical Miyan Ka mandir is very popular and gets good gathering on Krishna janam Ashtmi.

Religious places

Rani Tal Shiv Temple, Nahan, Himachal Pradesh

*Shri Digambar Jain Mandir *Shiv Ji Temple Saltevni *Kalisthan Temple *Jagannath Temple *Rani Tal Shiv Temple *Shiva Parvati Temple, Kumhar Gali (300 years old) *Gurudwara Dashmesh Asthaan, Nahan *Gurudwara Jhanda Ji, Shimla Road, Nahan *Shri Krishna Temple, Nahan Cantt. *Miyan Ka Mandir *Lakshmi Narayan Temple, Upper Street *Shudh Dhaar Shiv Mandir *Nainidhar Shiv Mandir *Bhagnari Shiv Mandir *Sanatan Dharam Mandir *Mata Balasundari Temple, Hospital Round *Masjid Shamsher Ganj, Police line *Lakhdata peer ji, Kacha tank* *Jamia Masjid

Nearby places

* Paonta Sahib: 45 km * Rajban : 55 km *Rama Dhaun : 14 km *

Kala Amb {{Infobox settlement , name = Kala Amb , other_name = , nickname = Kala Puadh , settlement_type = town , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption ...

: 17 km *

: 21 km *

: 23 km * Dhaulakuan : 24 km *Giri Nagar: 28 km *

Renuka Renuka, also known as Yellamma, is a Hindu goddess worshipped predominantly in the South Indian states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and western state of Maharashtra. She is also known as the mother of Parashurama ...

: 35 km *Kotla-Molar: 55 km * Palnoo: 50 km *

Yamunanagar Yamunanagar (), is a city and a municipal corporation in Yamunanagar district in the Indian state of Haryana. This town is known for the cluster of plywood units and paper industries. It provides timber to larger industries. The older town is ...

: 65 km *

Ambala Ambala () is a city and a municipal corporation in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India, located on the border with the Indian state of Punjab and in proximity to both states capital Chandigarh. Politically, Ambala has two sub-area ...

: 65 km *

Chandigarh Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which al ...

: 85 km *

Dehradun Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislative As ...

: 92 km *

Mussorie Mussoorie is a hill station and a municipal board, near Dehradun, Dehradun city in the Dehradun district of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is about from the state capital of Dehradun and north of the n ...

: 125 km *

Sarahan Sarahan is a small town in Himachal Pradesh of India. It is the site of the Bhimakali Temple, originally known as Bhimadevi Temple (Bhīmā Kālī), dedicated to the mother goddess Bhimakali, presiding deity of the rulers of the former Bus ...

: 43 km *

Sadhaura Sadhaura is a city, near Yamunanagar city with Municipal Committee in Yamunanagar district in the Indian state of Haryana. A city of Yamunanagar, it is of great historic significance. Sadhaura is very old town many historical temples/Dargah are ...

: 31 km * Mandhana : 35 km *Jamta : 13 km *Jaitak Fort : 18 km *

Shimla Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, List of renamed Indian cities and states#Himachal Pradesh, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the States and union territories of India, northern Indian state of Himachal Prade ...

: 135 km

Climate

Suketi Fossil Park

Fossil Park, also known as

Shivalik Fossil Park Shivalik Fossil Park, also known as the Suketi Fossil Park , is a notified National Geo-heritage Monument Shiwaliks The Sivalik Hills, also known as the Shivalik Hills and Churia Hills, are a mountain range of the outer Himalayas that stretches over about from the Indus River eastwards close to the Brahmaputra River, spanning the northern parts of the Indian ...

, consisting mainly of soft sandstone and clay rocks, the park at present has six sets of life-size models, of Stegodonganesa, Sivatherium, Hexaprotodon sivalensis, Colosschelys atlas, Paramachaerdus and Crocodilia,

Mesozoic The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceo ...

animals which once thrived in the region. On 31 October 2010, Senior lecturer of commissioned Interns of Department of Geological Survey, found around two and half feet long ivory, buried in Sand soil. The age of the ivory is being told as around 150,000 years, on bases of carbon dating done in the region in the past.

Trilokpur Temple

Raja Dip Prakash built

Temple in 1573 and it is situated at a distance of 23 km from Nahan and 6 km from Kala Amb, the gateway to Nahan from

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ar ...

. Trilokpur is a place of great religious importance. The temple of the goddess Mahamaya Bala Sundri is attracts ''lakhs'' of devotees from all over northern India, especially from Haryana and Himachal. A fair is held twice a year during the

Navratra Navaratri is an annual Hindu festivals, Hindu festival observed in the honour of the goddess Durga. It spans over nine nights (and ten days), first in the month of Chaitra (March/April of the Gregorian calendar), and again in the month of ...

in April and October when a large number of devotees visit this temple and pay their respects to the goddess.

Dhaula Kuan

Dhaulakuan - On the road to Paonta Sahib 20 km from Nahan, it is worth while to stop and see a sprawling orchard consisting of citrus plants and mangoes and a fruit canning factory of various kinds of juices, jams, pickles and canned fruits. A little away from Dhaula Kuan is Kastasan Devi temple where Raja Jagat Singh defeated the advancing army of Rustam Qadir

Rohilla Rohillas are a community of Pashtun ancestry, historically found in Rohilkhand, a region in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It forms the largest Pashtun diaspora community in India, and has given its name to the Rohilkhand region. The Ro ...

in a great battle. Their victory is commemorated in the Devi Temple, built in gratitude by the Raja. Dhaula Kuan also has a research station of H.P., KVV where useful research on tropical fruits is carried out.

Giri Nagar

Situated at a distance of 5 km from Dhaula Kuan, Nahan- Paonta Sahib main highway, this town has a power house of 60 MW capacity, constructed after diverting the Giri river through a 6 km long tunnel. This town situated on the Giri river so called GIRI NAGAR.It has a power house of 60 MW capacity and supply the power to the Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.

Transport infrastructure

Air

The nearest airport is Chandigarh, with Dehradun as an option.

Shimla Airport Shimla Airport is a regional airport located in Jubbarhatti, from Shimla, in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Kingfisher Airlines used to operate the sole daily flight from Delhi, but could not carry more than 28 passengers on its retur ...

is the next nearest airport.

Rail

The nearest railway stations are Barara, Ambala, Chandigarh and Kalka, which are connected by a regular bus service. Yamunanagar is another rail station close to the town

Road

Nahan is well connected to Himachal and rest of India through

National Highway 7 The following highways are numbered 7. For roads numbered A7, see list of A7 roads. Route 7, or Highway 7, may refer to: International * Asian Highway 7 * European route E07 * European route E007 Afghanistan * Kunduz-Khomri Highway (A7) Alb ...

and National Highway 907A. Nahan is approachable from many directions by road: via Baila from Rajban, via Dehra Dun through Paonta Sahib; via Panchkula-Naraingarh-Kala Amb from Chandigarh, via Yamunanagar-Hathanikund from Haryana and via Solan-Kumarhatti from Shimla. There are regular bus services linking it to the other towns like Shimla, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Delhi and Haridwar. If you are coming from Delhi, the best and shortest route option is to take the road via Saha. For Saha, take a right exit from NH1 after crossing Shahbad and then the bridge on River Markanda.

Fairs and festivals

Vaaman Dwadshi

Nahan celebrates Vaaman Dwadshi towards the end of the

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

, when fifty-two

cult image In the practice of religion, a cult image is a human-made object that is venerated or worshipped for the deity, spirit or daemon that it embodies or represents. In several traditions, including the ancient religions of Egypt, Greece and Rome ...

s of local gods are carried in procession to Jagannath Temple, where they are floated ceremoniously in a pool and are restored at midnight to their niches.

Gugga Peer Fair

A fair is celebrated in Nahan to mark the honour of Gogaji (गोगाजी) also known as Gugga (is a folk deity of Rajasthan state in India). He is an eminent warrior-hero of the region. Hindus and Muslims alike honor him. He is also venerated as a saint and even as 'snake-god'. He is known as Goga among the Hindus and Jahar Peer among the Muslims. The Kaimkhani Muslims claim descent from him and regard him as a peer (saint).

Jamta Fair

The Ashtami(अष्टमी) Fair is organised in the village Jamta(जमटा) by the Gram Panchayat(ग्राम पंचायत) every year, two days prior the "DUSSHEHRA"(दशहरा) festival.

Education facilities

The boarding school available at Judda Ka Johar is about 5 km from the main town and is directly run and managed by HRD Ministry of India. Students from distant places come to get education in this institute. Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar medical college, Nahan is the newest medical college in Himachal. Its first students started in 2016 with an intake capacity of 100. Colleges of Himachal Pradesh is in Nahan which provides a dual degree course. Shastri as well as B.A. degree can be availed from this college. The college has its own building and provides a hostel for the boys. Govt. Post Graduate College is the only centre for the graduation and post graduation Courses of H.P University. Students from distant places come here for there higher education. The college provides the Hostel Facility to the girls. Near to this town 2 engineering colleges namel
Himalayan Group Of Professional Institutions
Kala-amb (20 km) and Green Hills Engg College, Kumarhatti (About 60 km) are available. Himachal may have been ranked amongst the best in the country with regard to health and education but the picture in the district of Sirmaur in this regard does not seem to be too rosy. Sirmaur also has number of Computer Education centres. Other schools available are *Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Nahan
Career Academy Senior Secondary School
*

Carmel Convent School Carmel Convent School is a group of Catholic schools in India. It has branches in Delhi, Giridih, Gorakhpur, Bhopal, Bangalore, Rourkela, Khopoli, Faridabad, Jorhat, Chandigarh, Gwalior, Kolkata, Durgapur, Madhupur, Dhanbad, Mancherial, Luckn ...

* Army Public School Nahan *A.V.N public school *D.A.V Public School
Sirmaur Hills Public School
*Holy Heart Public School * Silver Bells Public School Nahan (Middle School) *S.V.N Public School *Model Primary School *Shamsher Senior Secondary School *Cantt Primary School *Mandir Primary School *Parangat Primary School
Aastha Special School (for special children)

References

External links

Yellow pages on nahanOfficial web page
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Sirmaur district