PERCHED on five beautiful and densely wooded hills — Kathlag, Potreyn, Terah, Bakrota and Bhangora — varying in altitude from 6000 feet to 7500 feet on the western end of the milky Dhauladhar, Dalhousie is a popular hill station. It is located at distance of 51 km from Chamba, and 80 km from Pathankot, the nearest railway station. The nearest airport is at Gaggal in Kangra district at a distance of 100 km.

Nature has, indeed, been very generous to Dalhousie in that it bestowed upon it a salubrious climate, invigorating air, serene atmosphere, chaste environment and rich flora and fauna. The main town as it stands today has two important chowks. One is Charing Cross popularly known as Subhas Chowk and the other is the General Post Office (GPO) popularly known as Gandhi Chowk. The famous Mall Roads of Dalhousie are known as North Terah Mall and South Terah Mall. The North Terah Mall is called Thandi Sarak (cool road) by the natives as it is less exposed to the sun and the South Terah Mall is called Garam Sarak (warm road) because it is better exposed to the sun. Vehicular traffic is prohibited on the South Terah Mall. A beautiful view of the valleys below the plains is obtained from the Mall. It provides a calm, quite and delightful walk.

Dalhousie was first conceived of as the site for a sanatorium. A project for the formation of a sanatorium in Chamba hills originated with Lt Colonel Napier of Maglala. Chamba state was directly under British control, subject to an annual tribute of Rs 12,000. The state authorities were approached by the Government of India with a view to the establishment of a sanatorium within its territory in the year 1851. A site was selected on the western end of the Dhauladhars where Dyankund breaks into spurs. The lowest spur Kathlag was considered the most suitable. Dr Blemenger of the 49th Native Infantry was directed to proceed to the proposed site for making a on-the-spot evaluation of the place. He submitted his final report in October 1852. Based on his observations the Government of India gave its sanction for acquiring sufficient land for the project in September 1853. Consequently, an area 3 miles long and 1½ miles wide consisting of the hills of Kathlag, Potreyn, Terah, Bakrota and Bhangora was acquired from the Raja, at the price of an annual reduction of Rs 2000 from the annual tribute of Rs 12000.

As the sanatorium was founded during the time of Lord Dalhousie, it holds his name. This name was recommended by Sir Donald Mcleod. It was sanctioned by the Government of India in February 1854 and since then the sanatorium has been called ‘Dalhousie’.

In 1856, Captain Fagan was employed under the orders of the East India Company to mark out lines of supply and communication for the proposed station. The station was then marked off into sites, roads carved out and rules laid down for the preservation of the environment.

On the acquisition of the estate, it was first attached to Kangra district of Punjab state but later, in August 1861, it was transferred of Gurdaspur district of Punjab. Up to this time nothing had been done towards the construction of the sanatorium except making a road to it from the plains.

In the year 1860-61 potable water supply was made available. The Terah (now called Moti Tibba) and Potreyn Malls were also constructed. Bakrota Mall was constructed during the year 1861-63. The station was at this time a purely civil station.

In 1986, it was determined that the barracks for the sanatorium should be built on the Balun plateau below Terah. Fresh land was, therefore, acquired from Chamba state for this purpose. At the same time Bakloh Hill, 14 miles from Dalhousie towards the plains, was taken for establishing the cantonment for the 4th Gorkha Regiment. For this a further reduction of Rs 5000 was allowed in the amount to be paid by the Raja in the annual tribute.

In 1870-71, a beautiful palace was erected by the Raja of Chamba as his summer residence in Jandarighat. It is a very well maintained palace and even now the royal family of Chamba lives there during the summers.

Dalhousie town was declared municipal area on July 17, 1867. The years 1933 to 1939 witnessed strong laws being made and enforced to preserve the beauty and character of the town. Building byelaws prohibited construction of new residential buildings covering an area of less than half an acre except in the bazaar, Kathlag and Lohali wards. Building byelaws also laid down that no building should have more than three storeys and a minimum gap of 50 feet between two houses should be maintained. Traffic byelaws restricted traffic on the Malls so that pedestrians could walk undisturbed. At the time when these byelaws were framed only the Area Commander, Jalandhar area, the Commissioner, Jalandhar division, and flagged cars were allowed to enter the Malls without restriction. With the passage of time the values and needs of life have changed and we see a few departures made here and there.

The beauty and the bracing air of this hill station has attracted many a great personality to it from time to time. Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore visited Dalhousie in his childhood with his father. They stayed in a building called Snowdon situated in upper Bakrota which is occupied by the Zemini Project these days. He fell in love with the natural beauty of the place and recorded his impressions about Dalhousie in his work My Reminiscences. He said, "My eyes had no rest the day long as great was my fear lest anything should escape them. Why, oh! Why had we to leave such spot behind, cried my heart. Why could we not stay on there forever."

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, when released from jail on parole on health grounds, chose Dalhousie for convalescing. He spent seven months beginning in May 1937 in Dalhousie where he stayed in a house called Kynance, near the General Post Office, belonging to Dr Dharamvir of Lahore. Dharamvir’s wife happened to be Netaji’s class fellow. At a distance of 1 km from the GPO on Jandarighat road is a natural water source called Subhas Bowli. It is said the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose used to drink water from this source during his stay in Dalhousie. Netaji recouped his health considerably in Dalhousie.

Snowdon, Kynance and Subhas bowli are great pilgrimage places for Bengali tourists who never miss visiting these sites which are associated with famous Bengalis.

Still another great revolutionary and freedom fighter Ajit Singh, uncle of martyr Bhagat Singh, stayed in Dalhousie in 1947. He died in Dalhousie within hours of the declaration of Independence. An elegant samadhi has been built in memory of this great freedom fighter at Panchpulla, at a distance of 3 km from the GPO. Grateful Indians pay homage to this great soul whenever they visit this place. A gurgling stream flowing from amidst woods from the Dyankund side not only adds to the beauty of the place but is also the main source of water for construction in the town and is also used for drinking during the summer months when the town faces a scarcity of water.

Pandit Nehru visited Dalhousie in 1954 to preside over the Dalhousie centenary celebrations. Fascinated by the beauty of the place he said, "one of the finest hill stations in India is Dalhousie from the point of beauty, climate and agreeable surroundings."

Dalhousie, besides being a beautiful tourist spot, has also turned out to be a good educational centre. Besides various schools run by state and the central government, there are many excellent public schools in Dalhousie. The most reputed school, especially for the girls, is the Sacred Heart Convent School founded in 1901. It is a Christian institution run by the Institute of the Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary which has its headquarters in New Delhi and major headquarters at Brussels in Belgium. The school is situated on top of the Potreyn Hill and has excellent facilities of study rooms and a hostel.

The other reputed school is Dalhousie Public School. The school was founded in April 1970. During a short span of 30 years, it has earned a reputation of being one of the best residential schools for both boys and girls. The Hilltop School located on Bakrota Hill is still another fine institution.

Besides natives, Dalhousie houses a large settlement of Tibetans. A Central School and a Handicraft Centre is being run by them in middle Bakrota.

While summer sees a heavy tourist rush in the place, it snows heavily in winter and as a result the rush of tourists decreases. Even the natives shifts to warmer places in the plains during winter. As the saying goes except a few government officials there are only three Ls living in Dalhousie in winter. These three Ls are lalas, (shopkeepers), langoors (lemurs) and lamas (Buddhist monks).