Traveling is good
A small town, surrounded by lofty hill ranges on all the sides, Chamba is home to many temples in the Shikara style and hill type architecture. Its climate of course would attract the heat weary tourists in summers. Those who wish to enjoy snowfall can visit Chamba in the winter months.
Some of the exquisite temples in this town are Laxmi Narayan Temple, Champavati Temple, Vajreshwari Temple, Chamunda Devi Temple, Hari Rai Temple and Bansi Gopal Temple. A heritage building is the Akhand Chandi Palace, originally the Palace of the Raja of Chamba, Sahil Verman. It hasnow been turned into the Government College. The Chowgan is Chamba’s wide concourse which is the hub of much of the towns activity and also serves as its promenade.
One of the most beautiful sanctuaries in Himachal Pradesh is the Kalatop Khajjiar Wildlife Sanctuary in Chamba. Of historical interest is the display in the Bhuri Singh Museum and for the famous Chamba Rumal (handkerchief with finely embroidered miniature painting) one should visit Rang Mahal.
Best time to visit: March to October for scenic beauty and December to February for enjoying snowfall
Languages spoken: Hindi, Pahari
Climate: Pleasant summers, Cold in winters with snowfall
Holy places: Laxmi Narayan Temple, Champavati Temple, Vajreshwari Temple, Chamunda Devi Temple, Hari Rai Temple, Bansi Gopal Temple, St. Andrews Church, Manimahesh Lake, Chatrari
Natural Attractions: Kalatop Khajjar Wildlife Sanctuary
Heritage Attractions: Akhand Chandi Palace, Rang Mahal, Bhuri Singh Museum, Bharmour
it just cant be explained in words the joy of driving in rain and that too on Delhi Panipat road.It was raining so heavily that on few occasions the wiper would prove to be futile.It was an awesome drive till Chandigarh, barring few diversions due to construction work going on on few stretches.
After crossing the city we were on the Nangal Una road that road was not bad either but had no comparison to delhi-ambala highway!
While checking out from Hotel Asia, we were surprised when we were asked to pay the bill. We told that rooms were booked through Travelguru long back and we handed over printout of booking confirmation with my ID copy. But hotel authority told that they did not receive payment from Travelguru, so we must pay before we leave.
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पूछने पर पता चला की वहां किसी और का कमरा बुक नहीं है और अगली तीन रातों के लिए हम लोग अकेले ही वहां रूकने वाले हैं | हम लोग रूम में पहुंचे और ‘मेरे द्वारा सरकारी होटल के चयन’ विषय पर पत्नी जी का भाषण सुना | एक बार फिर मामले को सँभालते हुए मैंने शीघ्र सोने का प्रस्ताव रखा जो कुछ संक्षिप्त टिपण्णीयों के बाद मंजूर हो गया |
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Down to earth from heaven, our vehicle proceeded through roads making inroads into sea of deodars. Crossing the valleys and forests our next stop was the famous Khajjiar. This is a relatively small Himalyan meadow and a shallow lake surrounded by mighty pines and devdars all around. One of the most favoured tourist stop was but a bit of disappointment. The meadow was dull and lake looked like a pit of stagnated water with lot of rubbish thrown around. And to add to it, there were stalls selling anything from popcorn to buddhee ke baal on the meadow itself. May be it would be more enchanting when it is monsoon green or winter white. Here again a temple awaited us namely KhajjiNag. A typical Himachali temple in wood and sloping roof has a black stone idol of the Nag devta. Nag worship is quite common in this part of Himalaya with Khajji nag, BhagsuNag and many more.
Again travelling down in setting sun and through darkening valleys we finally reached Chamba, located on the banks of river Ravi. Chamba is a part of settlement between 2 mighty Himalayan ranges Dhauladhar in the south and Pir Panjal in the North. Chamba got its name from Champavati, daughter of Shailavarma. The town was founded in 10’Th or 11’Th century. The name of the king is written differently in many places, Sahilvarma, Shalivahan and Shailverma. Chamba looked like a cheerful town with packed shops of fabric, chappals, mithais and chaat. Not to forget the roadside sellers with radishes and oranges and berries. This temple town is home to some of the exquisite stone architecture blended with intricate wood carvings.