BharatSangraha

Kangra & Dhauladhar · Western Himalaya & Trans-Himalaya

Terrain and eco-zones

Humid subtropical on the floor, temperate to alpine on the slope, with rainfall that is extreme by any Indian standard outside Meghalaya. Dharamshala records roughly 2,900–3,000 mm a year, and the great majority of it falls between late June and mid-September. Winter brings snow above about 1,800 m and occasional snow to McLeodganj itself; the valley floor rarely freezes.

Landforms

The Dhauladhar — a single granite and gneiss wall with no foothill buffer, culminating near Hanuman ka TibbaAlluvial fans and boulder beds where each torrent debouches onto the valley floorKuhl-irrigated terraces cut into those fans, some of them several centuries oldShivalik sandstone ridges along the southern rim, low, eroded and porousThe Pong reservoir basin where the Beas leaves the hills

Rivers and waters

Beas — collects every stream in the region and turns west across it before dropping to the plainBanganga — the Kangra fort river, joining the Majhi below the fort spurNeugal and Bundla — the Palampur torrents, dry gravel beds for nine months and destructive for threeBinwa — the Baijnath riverUhl — the Chota Bhangal river, dammed and diverted for the Shanan power schemeGaj and Manuni — Dharamshala's drainage, feeding the Pong basin

Through the year

SeasonMonthsTypicalWhat it is like
WinterDecember–February2–18 °CSnow on the Dhauladhar down to about 1,800 m, clear air, and the sharpest views of the year. Kuhl flow drops and the fields go to wheat.
SpringMarch–April10–28 °CRhododendron on the slope, the first tea flush from mid-April, and the Dholru songs that mark the turn of the Chaitra month.
SummerMay–mid June18–35 °CHot and hazy on the floor, pleasant above 1,500 m. Gaddi flocks move up through the passes towards Chamba and Lahaul in this window.
MonsoonLate June–mid September18–30 °CThe defining season. Continuous cloud, landslides on every hill road, and cloudbursts on the Dhauladhar torrents that have repeatedly destroyed bridges and riverside building at Dharamshala and Palampur.
Post-monsoonOctober–November8–25 °CClear and dry, the autumn tea flush, and the best walking on the slope before the passes close.

Best time to visitMarch to early June and mid-September to November. Avoid the deep monsoon unless the point is to see what the rainfall actually means, in which case nowhere in India north of Cherrapunji does it better.

The climate, landforms, rivers and seasons of Kangra & Dhauladhar, and the best time of year to visit. (5)