Dhalpur Maidan
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What it is
The open ground at the south end of Kullu, five minutes from the bazaar. Most of the year it is what it looks like: grass, a cricket match, a few stalls and the hills around it. For seven days each October it is the site of Kullu's Dussehra, when the deities of the valley's villages are carried down to attend Raghunath and the town holds a festival with an estimated 400,000 to 500,000 visitors.
Photos: Gannu03 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Kondephy (CC BY-SA 3.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
Getting there
Walk. It is at the southern end of the town, a few minutes along the highway from the bazaar and the bus stand, with the offices and a hospital around it. Anyone arriving by bus is already beside it; anyone driving should park before the ground rather than on it.
The week in October
The fair begins on Vijayadashami, the day the rest of India finishes Dussehra, and runs seven days. Palanquins come in from the valley's villages with drums and long horns, the ground fills with stalls and a wheel, and the evenings run late. The dates follow the lunar calendar and are fixed each year, so they move; the one certainty is that every room within an hour is taken months ahead.
Play the Kullu Dussehra game
Play the Kullu Dussehra game — a free browser game from HimLocal, in English and Hindi. It tells the story of how Raghunath came to Kullu, follows the journey of Hidimba Mata down from Manali, walks the rath yatra with the deities' palanquins, and joins the Kullu Nati and the fair on Dhalpur.
The rest of the year
Ten minutes and a look. What makes the empty ground worth those ten minutes is knowing what stands on it in October: it is the reason the valley's temples, including the one above the bazaar, matter the way they do. The one-day plan passes through it in the afternoon.
Going to Kullu?
One day in Kullu — the Raghunath temple, the bazaar, the ground at Dhalpur and the hill temple above the townDay plan, ready to copy and change- Stays in KulluCompare live prices
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Questions people ask
What is the Dhalpur maidan?
The open ground at the south end of Kullu town, five minutes from the bazaar. For most of the year it is grass, a cricket match and a few stalls; for seven days each October it holds Kullu's Dussehra, which the state recognises as an international festival.
When is the Kullu Dussehra held at Dhalpur?
It begins on Vijayadashami — the day the rest of India ends its Dussehra — and runs seven days, in October by the lunar calendar. The dates move each year and are fixed by the state, so check before planning around them; rooms within an hour go months ahead.
Is it worth visiting outside the fair?
For ten minutes, yes, and mainly to understand the fair: an empty ground in a town ringed by hills, which is where every village deity in the valley is carried once a year. Outside October the interest is the Raghunath temple above the bazaar rather than the grass.