Chamba District covers an area of 6,528 sq km with elevation ranging from 2,000 to 21,000 ft. It is bounded by
Jammu and Kashmir in the North-West and West,
Lahaul and Spiti District in the north-east and east, district of
Kangra in the south-east and
Gurdaspur District (
Punjab) in the south. Chamba has two tribal areas,
Pangi and
Bharmaur; and the nomadic tribes Gujjars and
Gaddis inhabit some parts of Chamba District. The mountain systems and ranges along with river basins determine the natural divisions.
The climate of Chamba is temperate and the seasons are well defined ranging from semi-tropical to semi-arctic. The land has typical sub-Himalayan and Himalayan flora and fauna of which you can find rare specimens of fauna and avi-fauna. More than ninety percent of the population is Hindu. The main temple of Chamba City is Laxmi Narayan Temple, which was built by Sahil Varman in the sikhara style on 10th century. Brahmour has the world famous complex of the Chaurasi, with eighty-four temples, built between the 6th and 12th centuries. This complex has the oldest surviving wooden temples in the world.
The art of metal craft is the most interesting craft. The other traditional art and crafts are weaving, embroidery, painting, pottery and the woodcarving goes back to 7th to 8th century. Chamba is famous for hand-made chappals and the most popular craft is basket making. Some of the dance forms are Dhurei, Churahi Nritya, Dandaras and Sohal Nati.
The main tourist attractions are
Bhuri Singh museum,
Panchpula,
Kalatop and
Khajjiar Lake. Chamba also has a number of fairs;
Minjar is the most popular fair, which is attended by a large number of people and this fair has been declared as one of the state fairs of Himachal Pradesh.
