Lakshmi Narayan Temples, Chamba
temple · 1 min from Chamba
Day planFirst visitTemples & heritagerelaxed
A slow temples walk in Chamba — Hari Rai, Bansi Gopal and the old town
A slow morning walk through Chamba's old temples: Hari Rai, Bansi Gopal, the Lakshmi Narayan group and Champavati, ending on the Chaugan. Free, copyable.
A morning for the old temples of Chamba, all within a few minutes of each other. It starts at Hari Rai Temple, passes the Bansi Gopal tower, then reaches the Lakshmi Narayan temples and Champavati Temple, and ends on the Chaugan.
It is the slower, temples-only cousin of the one-day plan; the two-day plan adds Chhatrari. Timing is in when to visit Chamba, and the full list is things to do in Chamba.
Photos: Ms Sarah Welch (CC0) · Ms Sarah Welch (CC0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
Who this is for
Anyone with a free morning in Chamba, or who likes to look at carving rather than chase sights.
Day by day
Day 1
Five old-town temples and the green
All on foot, a minute or two apart; the point is to look at the carving.
- 09:00Hari Rai Temple, ChambaA stone tower under a wooden cap, with figures set into niches and a small shrine in front.
- ↓ a short walk09:45Shri Bansi Gopal Temple, ChambaAnother old stone tower beside the Chaugan. Little is published about it, so look and move on.
- ↓ a short walk10:30Lakshmi Narayan Group of Temples, ChambaThe row of Vaishnava temples built between the 10th and 19th centuries.
- ↓ a short walk11:30Champavati Temple, ChambaThe 10th-century temple the town is named for.
- ↓ a short walk12:30ChauganThe long green that all the temples face; sit down and look at the towers from there.
Getting there
Chamba is about 40 km from Dalhousie, roughly 90 minutes by car or bus. See how to reach Chamba for the full table.
Where to stay
Stay in Chamba itself; every stop is within a minute or two of the Chaugan.
Know before you go
- Go early, when the stone is in side light and the lanes are empty.
- Keep your voice low and ask before photographing inside any shrine.
Places on this route
Other ways to do it
All Chamba itineraries →
Day plan · First visitTemples & heritage
One day in Chamba — the old town on foot
A one-day Chamba plan on foot: Champavati Temple, the Lakshmi Narayan temples, the Chaugan, the Bhuri Singh Museum and Chamunda Devi. Free, copyable.
Best Mar–Jun · Oct–Nov
See the plan →
1 night · 2 days · First visitTemples & heritage
Two days in Chamba — the old town and Chhatrari
A two-day Chamba plan: the old-town temples and the hill temple on day one, then a day trip to the 8th-century Shakti Devi Temple. Free, copyable.
Best Mar–Jun · Oct–Nov
See the plan →Questions people ask
How long does the Chamba temples walk take?
About half a day at a relaxed pace. The five stops are a minute or two apart on foot, so the time goes on looking at the carving and sitting on the Chaugan. Start at nine to have the lanes and the side light to yourself.
Which temples does it include?
Hari Rai Temple, the Bansi Gopal temple, the Lakshmi Narayan group built between the 10th and 19th centuries, and the 10th-century Champavati Temple, finishing on the Chaugan, the long green all of them face and where the Minjar fair is held.
Is this the same as the one-day Chamba plan?
No. The one-day plan also takes in the Bhuri Singh Museum and the hill temple of Chamunda Devi, so it needs a car for one stop. This walk stays in the old town and gives the temples more time, with no driving at all.