Palampur

Palampur is a hill town in Kangra district of northwestern Himachal Pradesh, at an altitude of about 1,300 metres. Its name is read as a blend of pani, water, and alam, abode, with pur for settlement, a fitting description of a place that receives heavy monsoon rain. Summers are mild and winters cool.

The town's character comes from tea. From the middle of the 19th century, mainly European planters found that the tea bush thrived here, and the spread of their estates brought schools, colleges and hospitals, as well as a workforce of pickers, packers and carriers. The gardens still frame the town. Palampur lies about 112 km from Pathankot and 233 km from Chandigarh, and has its own railway station at Maranda.