MANALI
Former home and gallery of Russian painter Nicholas Roerich, with Himalayan landscape paintings and a small garden. Niche interest - skip unless you're already at Naggar Castle and have an extra 45 minutes.
Russian painter, philosopher and archaeologist Nicholas Roerich purchased this estate in Naggar in 1928-29 after negotiating with the Raja of Mandi, and lived and worked here until his death in 1947, producing many paintings from his Himalayan Series capturing the surrounding peaks. The gallery was established in 1962 by his son Svetoslav Roerich to house and display his father's work, and is now jointly maintained through a trust involving the Himachal Pradesh government and Russian cultural authorities. It remains one of the few sites in India dedicated to a single foreign artist's life and legacy, alongside the Urusvati Himalayan Research Institute Roerich also founded on the property.
