"All work and no play makes jack a dull boy" is a common maxim liked by all. It rightly befits Kullu, which provides good facilities as well as opportunities for games. The government has taken various measures to promote sports in the valley.

The landscapes of Kullu are such that they provide an ideal setting for adventure sports, either it is river rafting, rock climbing or trekking. To train the interested people in this field, a training centre is functional in Manali. Not just that a lot more is provided other than adventure sports, various sports training centres are also run in the valley where people can learn their favorite sport and excel in that. Following are the training centres that run in the valley:

Directorate of Mountaineering and Allied Sports
This institute established in 1961 aims at training the youth in adventure sports and thereby developing their abound personality. It is run by the government of Himachal Pradesh and conducts activities viz. rock-climbing, trekking, water rafting, skiing, mountaineering and adventure courses. The Directorate offers all these adventure activities to one and all by way of live training courses.

The interested applicants should directly correspond with the training centre for course booking. The essential qualification for any course is matriculation and knowledge of Hindi and English is required. Candidates are selected for the course on first-cum-first served basis, subject to fulfillment of all conditions. The minimum age required is 12 years for any course except for skiing. A fee concession is granted to residents of Himachal Pradesh. The institute provides hostel facility. The instructors here are quite efficient and are experienced in National and International expeditions. The government of Himachal Pradesh award certificates.

Youth Services and Sports Department
The department for youth services and sports is conducting various coaching courses for the youth of the district. The various coaching courses for games like football, hockey, kabaddi, kho-kho, handball, table tennis, basketball and volleyball are conducted.

The District Sports Officer grants donations for the promotion of various games. The application forms to seek admission to the coaching courses can be obtained from the DSO. Coaching classes for these are conducted in Kullu, except for volleyball that are held in Manali. These classes are conducted free of cost, whereas the certificates are awarded to only those candidates who attend the camp. DSO, Kullu, issues the certificates on behalf of the government of Himachal Pradesh.

Martial Arts
Though there is no specific institution run by the government that provides training in martial arts, yet there are a number of private training centres that conduct classes for this purpose. All these coaching centres are registered under Deputy Commissioner of Kullu. They have varying fees for the course and teach various forms of art.

Styles of martial art prevalent in the valley are Okinava, Goje-ryu, Shigo kou, Tiakwando, Shito-ryu and Judo.