District
Chamba
| Headquarters | Chamba |
|---|---|
| Division | Kangra |
| Formed | 15 April 1948 |
| Area | 6,528 km² |
| Population (2011) | 5,19,080 |
| Density (2011) | 80 per km² |
| Literacy (2011) | 72.17 % |
| Sex ratio (2011) | 986 |
One of the four original districts created on 15 April 1948 (with Mandi, Sirmaur and Mahasu). It preserves the territory of Chamba state, the oldest continuously ruled princely state in the region, and has the lowest literacy rate of any HP district.
Chamba holds the densest concentration of early temple architecture and epigraphy in the state, because it lay outside the reach of most invasions — Mughal and Sikh authority here was always nominal.
- Bharmour (Brahmpura) — the original capital; the Chaurasi temple complex with the 7th-century Lakshana Devi temple.
- Laxmi Narayan temple group at Chamba town, begun by Sahil Varman.
- Bhuri Singh Museum (1908) — Chamba rumals, Pahari paintings, inscriptions.
- Minjar fair — held in Chamba in July/August, a state-level fair.
- Pangi and Bharmour — tribal areas (Pangwala and Gaddi).