Lavi Fair

A historic international trade fair famous for bartering pashmina, dry fruits, and rare Himalayan mountain horses.

The fair perpetuates the historic trade treaty between Bushahr state and Tibet, and has for centuries sustained the economy of the hill communities.

A great market rises on the Satluj river flats. Pastoral clans from Kinnaur, Spiti and Lahaul sell yak wool, pashmina shawls, dried fruits and the prized Kinnauri apples, with Himachali Nati dance performances in the evenings.

Before trading begins, traders and local leaders worship the waters of the Satluj and pay homage to the old royal court. The Himachal government also hosts a ceremonial flag-raising and cultural programmes.

Locals believe that trading at Lavi keeps the family provided for through the hard winter months, and that the Satluj's blessings keep the mountain trade routes safe.

The fair is over 300 years old, begun in the reign of Raja Kehari Singh to boost trade with Tibet. It has since grown into an international cultural fair.

November at Rampur on the Sutlej, and it is a trade fair before it is anything else — it began as the market where Bushahr dealt with Tibet. Shawls, wool, dried fruit, horses and herbal medicine change hands, Kinnauri caps are everywhere, and there is Nati dancing. It is properly cold by then.