The earliest known inhabitants of the region were tribals called Dasas. Later, Aryans came and they assimilated in the tribes. In the later centuries, the hill chieftains accepted suzerainty of the Mauryan empire, the Kaushans, the Guptas and Kanuaj rulers. During the Mughal period, the Rajas of the hill states made some mutually agreed arrangements which governed their relations. In the 19th century, Ranjit Singh annexed/subjugated many of the states. When the British came, they defeated Gorkhas and entered into treaties with some Rajas and annexed the kingdoms of others. The situation more or less remained unchanged till 1947. After Independence, 30 princely states of the area were united and Himachal Pradesh was formed on 15th April, 1948. With the recognition of Punjab on 1st November, 1966, certain areas belonging to it were also included in Himachal Pradesh. On 25th January, 1971, Himachal Pradesh was made a full-fledged State.

The State is bordered by Jammu & Kashmir on North, Punjab on West and South-West, Haryana on South, Uttar Pradesh on South-East and China on the East.

General
Latitude 30o 22' 40" N to 33o 12' 40" N
Longitude 75o 45' 55" E to 79o 04' 20" E
Height (From mean sea Level) 350 meter to 6975 meter
Population [2001-Census] 6077248 persons
Urban 594881 persons
Rural 5482367 persons
Geographical Area [2001] 55,673 sq. km
Density (per Sq. Km.) [2001] 109
Females per 1000 Males [2001] 970
Forest Cover [1996-97]
Reserved Forests Area 1896 sq.kms.
Protected Forests Area 43043 sq.kms.
Unclassed Forest Area 976 sq.kms.
Other Forests Area 370 sq.kms.
Forests not under control of forest Deptt. 748 sq.kms.
No. of Wild Life Sanctuaries 32

Others
Average Rainfall 1469 mm
State Animal Musk Deer
State Bird Monal
State Language Hindi & Local Dialects
Major Rivers Sutlej, Beas, Ravi, Parbati
Major Lakes Renuka, Rewalsar, Khajjiar, Dal, Beas Kund, Dasaur, Brighu, Prashar, Mani Mahesh, Chander Tal, Suraj Tal, Kareri, Sreolsar, Gobind Sagar, Nako