Ride up high: Malana, Himachal Pradesh

"Fly through the deodars and Blue pines of the Manali valley! Start from some fields and come on over Prini and new Manali town, over the Beas river, across more cultivation and the main Kullu-Manali road, into deodar forests above, and into the Malana nalla / nullah / nala. The forests are thickly covered in a blanket of winter snow. Further up, one can see apple trees cultivated in patches below the forested zone.The village of Malana lies far below the helicopter, in the valley below. Malana is a very old village to the north-east of Kullu Valley. This solitary village in the Malana Nala, a side valley of the Parvati, is separate from the rest of the world. The peaks of Chandrakhani and Deotibba shadow the village. It is situated on a remote plateau to one side of the torrential Malana river at a height of 3030 meters above sea level. Unaffected by modern civilization, Malana has a unique lifestyle and social structure. People are strict in following their customs. Malana has been the subject of various documentaries. The existing speakers of the language Kanashi, the traditional language of the inhabitants of Malana are approximately 1800. According to the 1961 census, language speakers were 563. The majestic peaks of Chandrakhani and Deotibba shadow the village. It is situated on a remote plateau by the side of torrential Malana river at a height of 3029 m above the sea level. Unaffected by the modern civilisation, Malana has its own lifestyle and social structure. People are strict in following their customs. Malana has been the subject of various documentaries including, Malana: Globalization of a Himalayan Village, and Malana, A Lost Identity. The existing speakers of the autochthonus language Kanashi, the traditional language of the inhabitants of Malana are approximately 1700."