By road
~565-590 km from Delhi
North India · Himachal Pradesh
Dalhousie, Himachal Pradesh
Pine-scented Raj-era quiet · ~565-590 km from Delhi
Getting there
By rail
Pathankot, ~80-87 km
By air
Gaggal (Kangra) Airport, ~108-130 km; Amritsar (~208 km) has a much wider flight network
Best time to visit
March to June and October to December
Don't miss
Khajjiar ('mini Switzerland')
St. John's Church
Panchpula
Dainkund Peak
Things to do
Khajjiar meadow day trip
Colonial church walks
Panchpula picnics
Where to eat
Sources: Photo: SriniG · CC BY-SA 3.0
What to pack
Woollens, walking shoes for the mall loops
A quieter corner
Ganji Pahari's bald hilltop walk at golden hour
About Dalhousie
- Hills
- Forest
Where it is
Dalhousie is a hill station in the Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh, spread over five hills at the western end of the Dhauladhar range, at about 2,000 m.
History
Dalhousie was founded in 1854 as a sanatorium and summer retreat for the British on land acquired from the Raja of Chamba, and was named after Lord Dalhousie, then Governor-General of India. It keeps many colonial churches and bungalows, and the old princely capital of Chamba lies deeper in the hills.
People
Dalhousie's people speak Hindi and Chambeali, a Pahari language, and Gaddi shepherds of the Chamba hills move their flocks between high summer pastures and the valleys. The region is known for the Chamba rumal, a finely embroidered cloth.
Known for
- Khajjiar's meadow and lake
- Colonial churches such as St John's
- Chamba town and its temples
Did you know?
Rabindranath Tagore stayed in Dalhousie as a boy, on a journey through India with his father in 1873.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.