District
Sirmaur
| Headquarters | Nahan |
|---|---|
| Division | Shimla |
| Formed | 15 April 1948 |
| Area | 2,825 km² |
| Population (2011) | 5,29,855 |
| Density (2011) | 188 per km² |
| Literacy (2011) | 78.8 % |
| Sex ratio (2011) | 918 |
One of the four original districts of 15 April 1948, coinciding with the old state of Sirmaur. The southernmost district, it descends from the Churdhar massif to the Shivaliks and the Paonta Doon, and so contains the state's widest range of altitudes and crops.
Sirmaur was the first hill state to fall to the Gorkhas (1803) and the first to be recovered — the Battle of Jaithak (1814–15) was the hardest fighting of the Anglo-Gorkha war.
- Nahan — founded in 1621 by Raja Karam Prakash; rulers of Sirmaur carry the suffix Prakash.
- Renuka lake — the largest natural lake in Himachal Pradesh, with the Renukaji fair.
- Paonta Sahib — Guru Gobind Singh's residence 1685–88 and the Battle of Bhangani (1688).
- Pajhota agitation (1942) — the 'Bhai do na pai' movement, treated as an extension of Quit India.
- Churdhar (3,647 m) — the highest peak of the outer Himalaya in HP.
- Sirmauri Tal, the old capital, said to have been destroyed by a flood.