Kinnaur is a remote mountainous district between Shimla and Tibetan border. The region was de-restricted in 1991 and travel to and around Kinnaur is now possible with easy-to-obtain permits. Kinnaur is bound to the north by the formidable Zanskar Range, which forms the border with Tibet. The region is drained by the Sutlej River, which flows from close to Mt. Kailash in Tibet. To the south, the Himalayas forms the backdrop of the region, with Kinnaur Kailash (6050 m) one of its most spectacular peaks. South of Kinnaur Kailash is the popular Sangla valley, which has been described as one of the most scenic in the entire Himalaya.
Kinnauri is the major indigenous language and it has about 12 different dialects. One of these is called Sangnaur, and is only spoken in the village of the same name, near Puh. The roads in upper Kinnaur rank as some of the most spectacular in the Himalayas, passing through into the trans-Himalayas of upper Kinnaur and Spiti, without crossing a mountain pass.