Palampur tea gardens
The terraced tea gardens of Palampur, 3 minutes from the centre, grew from the mid-19th century under European estate owners. Best in the morning.
Himachal Pradesh⛰ 1,300 m2 itineraries
Palampur
Palampur at 1,300 m: tea gardens under the Dhauladhar, Baijnath Temple (1204 AD) 30 minutes away, and the artists' village of Andretta — copyable plans.
Itineraries you can copy
All 2 →
Day plan · First visitClassic
One day in Palampur — the tea gardens and Andretta
A one-day Palampur plan: the tea gardens at the edge of town, then Andretta, the artists' village where Norah Richards lived. Free copyable plan.
Best Mar–May · Oct–Nov
See the plan →
1 night · 2 days · First visitClassic
Two days in Palampur — tea, Andretta and Baijnath Temple
A two-day Palampur plan: the tea gardens and Andretta on day one, then Baijnath Temple, a Shiva temple built in 1204 AD, on day two. Free copyable plan.
Best Mar–May · Oct–Nov
See the plan →Palampur is a tea town in the Kangra Valley, about 1,300 m up, with the Dhauladhar range standing behind it. The tea bush took to the climate, and European estate owners expanded the gardens from the mid-19th century. The schools, colleges and hospitals they brought shaped the town.
Palampur tea gardens start at the edge of town, about 3 minutes from the centre. Andretta, an artists' village 19 minutes away, was home to the Irish theatre artist Norah Richards from 1924. Baijnath Temple, a Shiva temple built in 1204 AD, is 30 minutes out and is the one landmark here that is worth a day on its own.
A day covers the tea gardens and Andretta; a second reaches Baijnath. See the one-day plan and the two-day plan, things to do in Palampur for the stops with timing, when to visit and how to reach Palampur.
Photos: UnpetitproleX (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Viraat Kothare (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Sumeet Jain from San Francisco, USA (CC BY-SA 2.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
Places worth the drive
On the map
Open the Palampur map →The places a Palampur day reaches, with the road time from town. Each opens on the map with its plans and pages beside it.
Before you go
All articles →
Things to do in Palampur — 5 worth the visit, and how far each is
Five things to do in Palampur sorted by distance from the town centre, with measured drive times, what each one is, and the best time of year to go.
How to reach Palampur — road, rail, nearest airport
Getting to Palampur from Dharamshala in about an hour, from Pathankot in two and a half, and from Kangra Airport, with the station at Maranda — what each needs.
The best time to visit Palampur
Palampur month by month from modelled climate figures: a cool, wet winter, a dry spring, a very wet July and August, and a clear autumn for the Dhauladhar.
Questions people ask
How many days do you need in Palampur?
One day covers the tea gardens at the edge of town and the artists' village of Andretta. A second day goes to Baijnath Temple, about 30 minutes away. Most visitors treat Palampur as a quiet base for one or two nights, with the Dhauladhar range as the backdrop for both.
Why is Palampur known for tea?
The tea bush flourished in the local climate, and mostly European estate owners expanded the gardens from the mid-19th century. That growth brought schools, colleges and hospitals to the town, and labourers who plucked, packed and moved the leaf. The terraced rows are still the town's defining view.
How rainy is Palampur?
Very. July and August bring about 710 mm and 738 mm on the modelled figures, and the town's name is read as a settlement where there is plenty of rainfall. The clearer, drier stretches are March to May and October to November, when the Dhauladhar range shows.
Photographs by Wikimedia Commons contributors (CC0, CC BY, CC BY-SA), resized; each picture is credited on its own page.