Dharamshala is one of the popular hill station located in the Kangra district, Himachal known for its wonderful surroundings which have amidst pine trees, tea gardens with the snow covered mountains. It's home to His Holiness, the Dalai Lama.
The word “Dharamshala” means, an inn which is attached to a temple. Dharamshala's history has been greatly influenced by both Hinduism and Buddhism. Several monasteries were built in the 8th century by the Tibetan immigrants.
The Hindu inhabitants of the region are the Gaddis who worship lord Shiva and Mata Durga. Dharamshala was developed as mostly a summer retreat for the British and their troops, who had seized control of the town in 1848.
Later it became the administrative capital of District Kangra in 1852. But unfortunately, its days of glory were short lived, as the town suffered a serious setback and due to the earthquake of 1905 there were the loss of many lives.
The Tibetan Buddhist roots of Dharamshala stretch back into the 8th century, although most of the local population long since reverted to Hindu. A District headquarters in Kangra became too crowded and the British moved two of their regiments in the late 1840s to what is now Dharamsala. This now grew to be district headquarters of Kangra, and the very location is now well known as the Police Lines.
Dharamsala was mooted to be the summer capital of the country But this was not to be, as much of the town was destroyed in the earthquake of 4th April 1905 which was measured as 7.8 magnitude, where 10,000 people were killed over in this sparsely populated area. Currently, it is a very popular place for foreigners and students of Buddhism.
One of the best thing in dharmashala is its sport activity, and fishing which attracts most of the foreigners and student to visit there again n again.The Kangra Valley`s attractive waterways offer excellent fishing, the best catch being mahseer, a fish which thrives in rapidly flowing water. Others are mali, saul, bachwa and shingara.
Places to Visit in Dharamshala
- Dall Lake This is around 11 km. The lake lies amidst hills with straight beautiful fir trees.
- Kunal Pathri This is around 3 km. To reach at the rock temple of the local goddess, there is a level walk from Kotwali Bazar
- Dehra Gopipur Its around 56 km. It is situated on the banks of the Beas.
- Dharamkot Its around 11 km and its Situated on a hill. Due to its picnic spot affords it provide a panoramic view of the Kangra district and Dhauladhar.
- Bhagsunath Its 11 km. its one of the popular picnic spot as it has an old temple, a spring, slate quarries and a small but beautiful waterfall.
- Nurpur:its about 95 km from Dharamshala and 24 km. from Pathankot. Nurpur has one very famous old fort and also a temple of Baij Raj. Its famous for its Nurpuri shawls
- Machhrial & Tatwani Its about 25 km away from dharmshala. Tatwani has a hot springs. Beside this there is a big waterfall at Machhrial.
- Kareri Its about 1,983 metres. its about 13 km from the Kareri Rest House. It’s a is Kareri lake, surrounded by green meadows, oak with surrounded by the pine trees.
- Lord Elgin`s Memorial Its about 8 km. There’s a Church of St. John in the wilderness has a monument to Lord Elgin, who is the Viceroy of India, died at Dharamshala and was buried here in 1863.
- Sujanpur Tira Its about 80 km. This is historic town famous for Kangra paintings of the time of Raja Sansar Chand. There is an old palace open to visitors and Holi festival is celebrated decoratively there.
- Triund Its near about 2,827 metres and 17 km. Its lies at the foot of the perpetually snowclad Dhauladhar. It affords a wonderful n marvellous view of the snow above and the valley below.
Hotel in Dharamshala provide the different range of accommodation options for all tourist visiting the city. Varies from luxurious Deluxe hotel and Heritage hotel, to medium priced and reasonably cheap hotel. Here is a complete list of hotels in Dharamshala
- Hotel Palace Heights Dharamsala
- Grace Cottage Dharamsala
- Asia Health Resorts Dharamsala
- Chonor House Dharamsala
- Hotel Hari Kothi Dharamsala
- Snow Hermitage Resorts
- Hotel Anupam Resorts
- Meghavan Holiday Resort
- Hotel Him Queen
- By Air – To reach Dharamshala the nearest airport is Kangra which is located at a distance of 10 km from Dharamshala and the second air port is in Gaggal which is located at a distance of 13 km.
- By Rail – You can also reach Dharamshala by rail. The nearest railway station is in Pathankot at a distance of 90 km where as Kangra Railway station on narrow guage railway line is only 17 km from Dharamshala.
- By Road – From Delhi and Chandigarh there are regular bus and Taxi Services. Delhi is about 520 km and Chandigarh is about 252 km from Dharamshala.