Dalhousie

Situated in and around five beautiful and densely wooded hills Kathlag, Potreyn, Terah, Bakrota and Bhangora ranging from 1525 meters (5000 ft.) to 2738 mts. (7800 ft.) on the western foot of the Dhauladhar range of the Himalayas, Dalhousie is a popular hill station in Chamba District, Himachal Pradesh. The gorgeous Dalhousie town is much quieter than the other two famous hill stations in Himachal Pradesh (Shimla and Manali).

Established in 1854, Dalhousie has one of the most spectacular settings for a hill station, with its snow capped

peaks, bracing climate, colourful valleys, old British buildings etc. During peak season, over 700 tourists visit this hill station in a day. Dalhousie was developed on land purchased by the British in1853 from the Raja of  the Princely State, Chamba and was made into a sanatorium and hill resort of the British. The settlement was named after the erstwhile Viceroy of India,  Lord Dalhousie (1848-56).

The hill station is famous not only for its magnificent beauty, but also for the ancient temples, colonial buildings, mall roads, churches and temples of which some of them are now declared as heritage monuments. During the pre-partition days, distinguished personalities like Ravindranath Tagore, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru used to visit Dalhousie. Nehru quotes about Dalhousie as "One of the finest hill stations from the beauty point of view, climate and agreeable surroundings. It is not a flashy hill station like some other and there are few amusements there… for my part, I would rather go to Dalhousie than almost any hill station in India, Kashmir apart".  Rabindranath Tagore, the famous Indian poet wrote his first poem here. 

This serene resort still has a touch of the British occupancy with its colonial style buildings and houses remaining intact. Along with this, the veneer of Tibetan culture has added a touch of the exotic to Dalhousie. Huge rocks  carved in low relief and painted in the Tibetan style are seen along roadsides. A Central School, a small prayer hall  and a Handicraft Centre selling mainly carpets and prayer mats is being run by the Tibetans in middle Bakrota Hill. The three level Malls which were laid in the early 1860's in Dalhousie are roads in and around Moti Tibba, Potreyn hill and Bakrota hills which remain the main centres of activity in Dalhousie. G.P.O square is the heart of Dalhousie town where most of the good restaurants, hotels, banks handicraft emporia, Tibetan market etc are located. 

On a clear day it is fascinating to see the rivers Chenab, the Beas and the Ravi meandering down the greyish pink vista of the valleys of Dalhousie. There are also magnificent views of the Chamba Valley, Pangi hills and the mighty Dhauladhar range with its awe-inspiring snow covered peaks filling the entire horizon. It is a pleasure to see attractive cottages and villas cling to the deodar and pine mantled hills of Dalhousie, the Pink and red rhododendrons in bloom and the trees dressed in different shades of green. Today, the hill station is famous for a number of good schools in the locality and the presence of the army.