Mandi, which is also known as the miniature Kashi is famous for its religious shrines and great ethnicity. The shrines wearing the sleet blankets, the trodden avenues, scantily clad in snow reflect tranquillity in every aspect.

Mandi is the central most district of Himachal Pradesh of India. This ethnic town covers an area of 3,950 square kilometres. It is scantily dispersed on the banks of the river Beas and fondles the foothills of the Shivalik ranges. It is located at an elevation of 2,495 feet. Kangra lies to its north-western side, Kullu surrounds its eastern side, Arki village of Solan is bounded to its south, Shimla lies in its south-west and Hamirpur and Bilaspur lie in its western side. Beas and Sutlej are the two main rivers, which enter the region via Kullu and Bajaura. Most of the parts of this terrain is dominated by mountain ranges, which are in between interfered with irregular thwart shafts. Amongst all the ranges, the most distinct is the Jalori range which is connected to Shimla and Kullu through a pass known as the Jalori Pass. This range dissects the Sutlej and the Beas rivers and is generally covered with beryl pine trees. The highest peak of this range is the Shikari Devi, which is situated at an elevation of 11,060 feet. This compass is flaunted with three other ranges which are the Nargu, which is located at a height of 13,000 feet and is a continuance of the Bir Bhangal. The second one is the Ghoghar-Ki-Dhar and the last one is the Sikandar range, which originates from the meeting point of Bilaspur and Suket. This place is named after the great Turkish invader Sikandar Lodhi. The highest point of this district is about 13,000 feet, which is situated on the Kullu border, while the lowest point, which is situated near Sandhol is of 1,800 feet. The plain area of this region comprises of the Balh valley. Due to the abundance of precipitous land in this hilly terrain, cultivation is impossible and as a reason, the terrain is covered with forests which are enriched in beryl pine, deodhar, spruce, chil, silver fir, oaks etc.

The history of Mandi dates back to pre-historic era. Earlier, this district was merged with Suket. The name of this region was derived from the Rishi Mandavya as this great saint had practised severe penance and austerities on this soil. The rulers of this region are believed to be the descendants of Pandavas of Mahabharata. There brave warriors mainly belonged to the Chandravanshi group of Rajputs. They had their origins from the Sena dynasty of Bengal. This dynasty had ruled over Delhi for over 1,700 years in Indraprastha, which is the present day Delhi. During their reigning period, the then ruler Khemraj was defied by this own ministers and was forced to leave Delhi. He then settled in Bengal and he, with his successors ruled over this eastern region for 350 years. But his successor could not maintain the legacy and was forced to driven out to the northern hills. It was here in the Suket region, that Bir Sen had established his kingdom. Both these princely states were administered separately by various rulers. Finally, after India got freedom, on 15th April, 1948, the district was formed by merging Suket into its territory.

Mandi is famously referred as the Varanasi of the northern hilly region. While Kashi or Varanasi has 80 temples, this hilly terrain proudly flaunts 81 temples on its holy soil. This miniature Kashi is worth visiting not only for attaining religious harmony, but also to enjoy the splendid work of the nature. Some of the religious spots include the famous temples such as Trilokinath Shiva, Bhutnath, Shyamakali, Ardhanarishvara, Panchvaktra etc. Besides, Sundernagar, Jogindernagar, Prashar, Rewalsar lakes are also worth seeing.