Chamba ⇄ Dharamshala · one-way or return

Chamba to Dharamshala taxi

Dharamshala is about 190 km and five and a half hours from Chamba, down through Banikhet and Nurpur and east along the Kangra valley. One car and one driver, with Dalhousie and Khajjiar easy to include. One all-in fare for the whole run, confirmed on WhatsApp before you travel.

Distance: ~190 kmone way by road
Time on the road: ~5.5 hrsone way
Stops on the way: 6 worth breaking for
Dharamshala sits at: 1,457 m

WhatsApp Kapil WhatsApp Sahil

Call

Book straight with the driver

Two owner-drivers. Message or call either of us.

Kapil DevOwner & driverWhatsApp 98053 05643
SahilOwner & driverWhatsApp 78075 42573

Open now · replying on WhatsApp

From the drivers

The Chowari climb into Chamba and Dalhousie.

How windy: Properly windy — worth knowing if anyone gets car sick

What Kapil and Sahil say about this road is on the Kangra to Dalhousie taxi page.

About this run

How we drive it

Chamba to Dharamshala is a five-and-a-half-hour run down the Ravi and back into the Kangra valley, and almost nobody does it as a plain transfer — Dalhousie and Khajjiar are on the way and it would be strange to drive past them.

Coming down from Chamba the road drops through Banikhet, past the Dalhousie turning and out at Nurpur onto the valley highway, then it is an easy hour and a half east to Dharamshala.

The Manimahesh yatra season brings a lot of this traffic in the other direction — pilgrims heading up to Bharmour from the Kangra side. We do those runs too, and we are straight about road conditions rather than optimistic.

One fare for this run, quoted on WhatsApp before you travel. See what's in a Kangra taxi fare.

What's in the fare

One all-in fare: car, driver, fuel, tolls, parking and permits
The same driver door to door, booked without an agent
Clean AC cars on commercial tourist-taxi permits
24×7, including pre-dawn and late-night runs
Fare confirmed on WhatsApp before the trip; cash or UPI

On the Chamba–Dharamshala run we pass

KhajjiarThe meadow, a natural halt

DalhousieJust off the road at Banikhet

BanikhetThe junction below Dalhousie

NurpurThe fort and the valley highway

Kangra townBrajeshwari Devi and the fort

McLeodganj~30 min above Dharamshala

Planning more than a transfer? See our Chamba & Manimahesh tour.

The journey

The drive, leg by leg

About 5.5 hours

Back over Chowari Jot the other way — the windy hour comes early on this one rather than late.

Pickup
Chamba town
Doorstep or hotel. Morning start; five and a half hours is a full day.
+45 min
Khajjiar
The meadow, if you have not already seen it — a natural first stop rather than a detour.
+1.5 hrs
Dalhousie and Banikhet
Along the ridge and down to the junction.
+2.75 hrs
Chowari Jot
The pass, then the winding descent. This is the part to mention if anyone travels badly.
+4 hrs
Nurpur
Out of Chamba district and onto the flat valley floor.
Arrive
Dharamshala
Via Shahpur and Gaggal, then the climb. Kotwali Bazaar or your hotel.
~190 km · ~5.5 hrs

Once you reach Dharamshala

Khajjiar on the way out

It is barely off the route from Chamba, so leaving in the morning and stopping there is far better than making a separate trip for it.

Winter

Chowari Jot holds snow in January and February. We check it before setting off and will tell you straight if it is not worth attempting that day.

Two climbs in a day

Down over Chowari and back up to Dharamshala at the end. It is a tiring drive and we plan the halts accordingly.

Want to change something? Ask on WhatsApp and we’ll send a new plan and fare.

WhatsApp Kapil WhatsApp Sahil

Before you book