This Town in India Was Never Conquered for a Millennium: Chamba

Chamba was a princely state during the British colonial era, and the capital of a kingdom which never had any successful invasion for around a millennium. Even the emperor Akbar and later Aurangzeb failed to acquire this territory.

The founder of this lush green valley where river Ravi flows by, was Raja Sahil Verman. Chamba was built on the request of his daughter Champavati. Chamba was named after her.

Yes this time I will take you on a journey to this small yet happy town.

First thing – Parking area – if you coming by your own vehicle.

Parking area is at the old bus stand where you need to keep your 4 wheeler and charges are Rs. 100 for 12 hrs. Avoid parking area inside the town, though they are free but if your car gets stuck, nobody will rescue you for hours. Only shop owners take the risk to park there. So remember to park only in the Old Bus Stand.

What to see

1.) Chamunda Devi Temple

It was raining on our day 1, and we were wearing ponchos while we walked in this town near Chaugan area. Everybody looked at us us as if some aliens had visited their land. I thought it would be better to slow down for this day but my elder brother Dr. Amit Vakil (who lives in Chamba) pushed us to at least cover one spot here and that too in rain. And so we went to see Chamunda Devi temple with him.

Chamba is a very religious town, so mostly the main places of interest are just temples.

And this temple was built by Raja Umed singh in the year 1762, and is entirely made of wood. Earlier it could only be reached through some 400 steps cut out from the stone pathway, but now it is easily accessible trough 3 km long road from Chamba which we of-course opted in this heavy rain.

The temple is dedicated to goddess Kali and we witnessed aarti here. I was also surprised to see few people who came to attend it even in this rain.

Navratri is the busiest time of the year here when 1thousands of pilgrims travel from different parts of India to pay their homage to the goddess.

I have been to many temples but here in the rain the temperature was freezingly cold and covering it on camera was a life time experience.

2.) Laxmi Narayana Temple

Our day 2 was blessed with sunlight, so we went to see the main temple of this town - Laxmi Narayan temple.

You need to walk and need to climb lot of stairs to reach this place as you come from Chaugan.

It was built by Raja Sahil verman in 10th century AD who is also believed to be the founder of modern Chamba.

There is a metallic image of Garuda on the high pillar at the main gate of the temple and as usual just like any temple in India surrounded by shops selling various religious items.

Laxmi Narayana temple has a group of 6 temples known for its fine classical forms, temple has been built in Shikhara style with wooden chatris.

It is believed that idol of Lord Vishnu at this temple has been made of a rare marble that was bought here from Vidhyanchal mountains. It is said that Raja Sahil Verman sacrificed 8 of his sons to get the marble. Finally, his eldest son Yugkal succeeded in acquiring the marble and the temple was made.

3.) Sui Mata Temple

I always love to roam around the cozy narrow streets of towns in the mountains. Chamba also give you this feel. Crossing these streets, we reached the site from where we needed to climb some 200 stairs to reach Sui Mata Temple which is dedicated to the Queen of Sahil Verman named Sui.

You can also reach this place by road but we preferred stairs just to experience the town.

There is an interesting story behind this temple as well. Legends says that this place Chamba had no rain for years and King Sahil verman tried to please the gods in almost all possible ways and then Brahmins told him that he needed to sacrifice his son or wife to bring water to his Kingdom.

The queen could not bear the son getting sacrificed which Raja was going to do though with heavy heart. So she sacrificed herself first and from that day water started flowing in the kingdom. There has never been a shortage of it.

This temple in her remembrance was built and every year around March 15 till April 1, a fair is organised where people of Chamba pay their respect to the queen who laid down her life for the welfare of her people.

4.) Champavati Temple

I wasn't able to go there due to shortage of time. It is situated near Gandhi gate and is made in remembrance of Raja Sahil Varman daughter Champa.

5.) Bhuri Singh Museum

The museum was founded in year 1908 to honour Raja Bhuri Singh. It is very close to Chaugan. Entry ticket is Rs. 40/- (as on January 2020) for Indian nationality and Rs. 100/- for foreigner. If you want to take photos here then you need to pay Rs. 50/- extra for it.

It has rich collection of carved doors from the old palace, frescoes, miniature paintings, sculptures, some old scripts, paintings, royal palki and old collection of Chamba ruler coins. Because no invasions happened in chamba, even today everything is very well preserved. You must see this place also to know the history.

MARKET OF CHAMBA

Chamba is a small place and most of the market revolve around Chaugan. What is Chaugan? It is the heart and hub of all the activity in here. The famous Manjir Mela is held in the playground.

Chaugan is closed for public after Dussehra to April to carry out maintenance. Market around it, is just like any main bazaar of India.

Shopping in Chamba

Every place have something special thing to offer and so does Chamba. There are 2 famous things which you can purchase from this Main bazaar.

1.) Embroidered leather slippers for women and simple yet designer leather slippers for men. These slippers are hand made and are very durable. Don't forget that you are in India. Bargain as much as you can. And in which personally I am truly a failure so here Gaurav doing this work for both of us :D

2.) Another famous thing here is handkerchief, commonly known as Chamba rumal. It is famous for its embroidery and size. Lalita aunty had received not one but three National awards for this art work it and you know what, she is the mother of Amit Vakil bhaiya. Yes you can say, house of creative people.

Where to stay

We stayed at my big brother Amit bhaiya place. He had made a guest house in name of Lazy mojo Inn at Mangla which is roughly 3-5 km from main city. As the matter of fact the best place to stay.

Here, they have their own parking area and this double story building have 6 well furnished rooms. Check my youtube video for it.

They have their own kitchen in which they only organic food and most of the veggies they grow in their own little farm.

You have full access to the terrace which give you the city view which can't have from anywhere.

If you anytime plan for Chamba, and need a homely stay, you can contact Amit bhaiya for the same. Numbers and email mentioned in my video.

How to reach Chamba 

1.) By Flight 

Nearest Airport is at Kangra which is like 117 km.

2.) By Buses 

There are no direct buses for Chamba from Delhi. From Delhi you can take a bus till Pathankot and from here you need to change the bus. Alternatively you can also take taxi from here.

3.) By train 

Nearest railway station is at Pathankot. From Pathankot, Chamba is around 115 km.

So this is all about Chamba. Will be back with another travel location Khajjiar very soon.

Also would like to request you guys to check out the video which I had made for this place. Please subscribe the channel on YouTube and I will keep coming back with more travel locations. For now stay at home and stay blessed.