Chamba (India)

Chamba is perhaps not one of the essential places to see when visiting India, but it will certainly delight anyone who makes the effort to get there.

Though famous primarily for its Hindu temples, the town also has many buildings dating from colonial times, which results in an amazing mixture of architectural styles! The temple complex ofLakshmi Narayan, built in the 10th century by Raja Sahil Verman, is Chamba's most remarkable in my opinion. Relatively small, it stands facing splendid mountains and is mainly frequented by locals who go there to pray, or simply to chat. Even the monkeys leaping from roof to roof do so in an entirely leisurely, relaxed manner!

Imagine little hillside streets, an immense green in the center and a river flowing by and you will have a realistic picture of this small, unpretentious Indian town. To visit Chamba is above all to enjoy the pleasure of greeting children on their way to school, listening to the women praying at the temple, and savoring a cup of chai tea with locals who seem to have been here forever. In short, it is to discover an India little affected by mass Western tourism. And it's for these reasons I was won over by this town!