Palanquins and crowds on the ground at Kullu during the Dussehra fair

area1 min from Kullu

Dhalpur Maidan

Dhalpur is the open ground at the south end of Kullu: empty grass for most of the year, and the site of the state's largest fair for seven days each October.

Photo: Himalayaputra · CC BY-SA 4.0

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 the largest gathering in the state.

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.

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.

Plans that include this

All 3 plans that stop here →

Kullu town along the Beas with wooded hills behind it

Day plan · First visittemples-heritage

One day in Kullu — the Raghunath temple, the bazaar, the ground at Dhalpur and the hill temple above the town

A day in Kullu town: the Raghunath temple at Sultanpur, the shawl bazaar, the Dhalpur fair ground and the carved hill temple at Bhekhli, with measured times.

Best Mar–Jun · Sep–Nov

See the plan →

The wooden shrine and courtyard at Bijli Mahadev on its ridge

1 night · 2 days · First visittemples-heritage

Two days in Kullu — the ridge temple on the first morning, the town, the river and the stone temple at Bajaura on the second

Two days in Kullu: the climb to Bijli Mahadev on the first morning, then Dhalpur, rafting at Pirdi and the stone temple at Bajaura, with measured road times.

Best Mar–Jun · Sep–Nov

See the plan →

Palanquins and crowds on the Dhalpur ground at Kullu during Dussehra

2 nights · 3 days · festivalfestivals

Three days at Kullu's Dussehra — the ground before it fills, the chariot on the first day, and the ridge on the morning after

Three days at Kullu's Dussehra: the maidan and temple before the fair starts, the chariot on the first day, and the climb to Bijli Mahadev on the morning after.

Best Oct

See the plan →

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 is the largest gathering in the state.

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.