Solan district of Himachal Pradesh

Solan is one of the 12 districts of Himachal Pradesh bounded by Shimla district in the North and by Ropar District of Punjab and Ambala district of Harayana in the south, by Sirmaur District in the east and by Bilaspur district in the west. Mandi District touches the boundary of Solan district in norht-east. The district derived its name from Solan town and came into existence on 1st September, 1972 due to the reorganization of the districts of the state.

Solan is better known as the "mushroom city of India" because of the mushroom centre situated at Chambaghat. Some of the worth visiting places in Solan include the Shoolini Mata temple (Solan is named after the goddess Shoolini), the Jatoli Shiv temple and the Yungdrung Tibetan Monastery, also near Nauni. Kasauli is a popular hill station and home to an Army and Air Force base. The three hundred year old Gurkha Fort at Nauni provides a panoramic view of the entire area.

Facts & Figures

Date of formation	1st September, 1972
Area	1936 sq. km
Latitude	between 30.05 and 31.15 degree North
Longitude	between 76.42 and 77.20 degree East
Altitude	varies from 300 to 3,000 metres
Population	5, 00,557
Population Density	258 per sq. km
Male	2, 70,291
Female	2, 30,266
Sex ratio	852
Literacy Rate	82%
No. of Tehsils	5
No. of Sub-Tehsil	2
No. of Villages	2536
No. of Panchayats	198
No. of Sub-Division	4
No. of Block	5
Assembly seats	5
STD Code	01792
Postal Code	173212
Major Religions	Hindu, Sikh, Muslim,Buddhism
Languages spoken	Hindi, Punjabi, Pahari, English
Best time to visit	April to June and October to November

How to Reach

Solan is well connected by rail and road. It hardly takes 2 hours from Chandigarh by bus. You can also reach the town by train from Kalka (in Haryana) which has narrow gauge railway track. Kalka is 40 km from Kasauli and 44 km from Solan. The train journey may be slow but comfortable; you can get to see some beautiful landscapes during the journey.