Dalhousie or Dharamshala?Do both: the five-day circuit by car
If you have five days, the honest answer to "Dalhousie or Dharamshala" is both. The two towns are 120 km apart across the Chamba road, and a car makes a loop of them from Delhi: 560 km up NH-44 to Dalhousie on day one, Khajjiar and the Kalatop forest on day two, the crossing to McLeodganj via Chamba on day three, the Dalai Lama temple, Bhagsu and Triund on day four, and 475 km home via Kangra and Una on day five. It is about 1,300 km in all. A sedan bills ₹16,500 for the five days on the 300 km per day minimum; an Innova Crysta ₹27,000. If you truly have only one town in you, the comparison page settles it in a paragraph.
Updated · Fares from the published rate card, Sedan ₹11/km to Tempo ₹23/km
- The loop
- 5 days · ~1,300 km
- Delhi to Dalhousie
- 560 km · 10–11 hrs
- Dalhousie to Dharamshala
- 120 km · 4–5 hrs
- Sedan, 5 days
- ₹16,500
The two towns get compared because they are the same distance from Delhi and both sit in the Dhauladhar foothills, but they are not alternatives so much as opposites. Dalhousie is colonial and quiet, a ridge of churches and pine with Khajjiar’s meadow behind it. Dharamshala’s upper town, McLeodganj, is Tibetan and busy, with the Dalai Lama’s temple, the Bhagsu walk, the cafés and the Triund trek. Choosing one means missing the other kind of hill town; the circuit means you do not have to.
The distances and times below are from the site’s corridor data and from the drivers who run this loop. Fares follow the rate card: Sedan ₹11/km, Ertiga or SUV ₹15/km, Innova Crysta ₹18/km and a 12-seater Tempo Traveller ₹23/km, on a 300 km per day minimum, tolls and Himachal entry at actual.
The loop
The circuit, day by day and kilometre by kilometre
Kilometre marks are cumulative from Delhi. Up the Pathankot side, across the Chamba road, down the Kangra side.
- km0
NH-44Day 1: Delhi to Dalhousie
5 am start · 10–11 hrsNH-44 through Karnal, Ambala, Ludhiana and Jalandhar to Pathankot, 480 km of four-lane road, then the 80 km climb through Dunera and Banikhet. Breakfast at Murthal, lunch at Pathankot, Dalhousie’s Mall by late afternoon.
Halt: Night: Dalhousie
- km560
LocalDay 2: Dalhousie, Khajjiar and Kalatop
Local day · 60 kmDainkund Peak in the morning if the sky is clear, then the 22 km through the Kalatop deodar forest to the Khajjiar meadow for the afternoon, and back to Dalhousie for the evening on Gandhi Chowk. St John’s church and Panchpula fill the gaps. The car bills a normal day.
Halt: Night: Dalhousie or Khajjiar
- km620
Chamba roadDay 3: Dalhousie to McLeodganj via Chamba
120 km · 4–5 hrsDown to Chamba, 50 km, for the Laxmi Narayan temples and the Bhuri Singh museum, then the Chamba–Jot–Chuwari road over the Jot pass and down into the Kangra valley, joining the Dharamshala road near Shahpur. Slow, high and the best drive of the loop. In heavy rain the driver takes the Pathankot road instead, 170 km and four and a half hours.
Halt: Night: McLeodganj
- km740
LocalDay 4: McLeodganj, Bhagsu and Triund
Local day · 30 kmThe Dalai Lama temple and the Namgyal monastery in the morning, the Bhagsu waterfall walk after lunch, and Naddi for the sunset. The fit do Triund instead, nine kilometres up from Dharamkot and back the same day. The HPCA cricket ground and the Kangra fort are the alternatives for a family.
Halt: Night: McLeodganj
- km770
NH-503, NH-44Day 5: Dharamshala to Delhi
475 km · 9–10 hrsDown through Kangra and Una on NH-503 to Rupnagar and NH-44 at Ambala. Leave by seven and the plains section is behind you by noon; Delhi for dinner. The Kangra valley in the morning light is the last reward of the trip.
Halt: Home
- km1245
Delhi
Evening of day 5About 1,245 km on the loop with the local days counted, 1,300 with the detours most people add. Five days at the rate card, tolls and Himachal entry at actual.
The five-day Dalhousie and Dharamshala circuit at a glance
Distances from the site’s corridor data; the Chamba crossing from the drivers who run it. The local days bill the 300 km minimum, which is why the five-day fare is a flat figure rather than the sum of the legs.
| Day | From → to | Km | Hours | Night | What you see |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Delhi → Dalhousie | 560 | 10–11 | Dalhousie | NH-44, the Pathankot climb, the Mall |
| 2 | Dalhousie → Khajjiar → Dalhousie | 60 | 2 driving | Dalhousie | Dainkund, Kalatop, Khajjiar meadow |
| 3 | Dalhousie → Chamba → McLeodganj | 120 | 4–5 | McLeodganj | Chamba temples, the Jot pass, Kangra valley |
| 4 | McLeodganj local | 30 | 1 driving | McLeodganj | Dalai Lama temple, Bhagsu, Naddi or Triund |
| 5 | Dharamshala → Delhi | 475 | 9–10 | Home | Kangra, Una, NH-44 |
| Total | The loop | ~1,245 | ~28 driving | 4 nights | Two hill towns, one drive |
The Chamba road is closed by snow in deep winter and slow in the monsoon; the Pathankot alternative for day 3 is 170 km and four and a half hours. Fares: Sedan ₹16,500, Ertiga ₹22,500, Innova Crysta ₹27,000, 12-seater Tempo Traveller ₹34,500 for the five days.
The verdict
Dalhousie or Dharamshala: if I can only do one, which one?
Dharamshala if you want things to do; Dalhousie if you want nothing to do. McLeodganj has the Tibetan temple and monastery, the cafés, the Bhagsu and Naddi walks and, above all, Triund, one of the best day treks in the state; it is also 80 km closer to Delhi, which on a weekend matters. Dalhousie has a Mall that empties by nine, pine forest, colonial churches and Khajjiar, and it is the town for older travellers, couples and anyone who found Shimla too loud.
The comparison page sets the two against each other point by point, with costs and a rating, and is the page to read if the decision is genuinely one or the other. This guide is for the rest of us.
McLeodganjThe crossing
What is the road from Dalhousie to Dharamshala like, and is it safe?
There are two roads and they are very different. The direct one drops from Dalhousie to Chamba on the Ravi, then climbs out of the Chamba valley over the Jot pass at about 2,200 metres and descends through Chuwari into the Kangra valley, meeting the Dharamshala road near Shahpur: about 120 km and four to five hours, two lanes throughout, hairpins on both sides of the pass, and the finest scenery of the whole trip. In clear weather from April to June and October to November it is the road to take.
The other is the road you came up: back down to Pathankot and along the Kangra highway to Dharamshala, about 170 km and four and a half hours, all of it wide and none of it dramatic. The drivers switch to it when the Jot road has snow, which it does from late December to February, and in the monsoon after heavy rain, when the Chamba side is prone to landslides. Either way the day is a driving day with Chamba town as the midpoint stop.
Kalatop · day 2Fewer days
Can the circuit be done in four days, or three?
Four days works if you leave Delhi on a Friday night and drive through the night, arriving in Dalhousie for breakfast; Khajjiar that afternoon, the crossing on day two, McLeodganj on day three, home on day four. It costs a night’s sleep and gains a day. Three days does not work: it is two eleven-hour drives with the crossing squeezed between them and no time in either town. If three days is what you have, pick one town, and pick Dharamshala for the shorter drive.
Going the other way round, Dharamshala first, is equally good and puts the longer drive at the end, when the road home is the one you know. Families with children usually prefer Dalhousie first so the quiet town comes before the busy one.
Cost
What does the five-day circuit cost by car?
The loop is about 1,245 km, which at ₹11/km is ₹13,695 for a sedan; but five days at the 300 km per day minimum is ₹16,500, and the higher figure is what bills. That is the honest arithmetic of the rate card: the two local days in the hills count as full days because the car and driver are with you. An Ertiga is ₹22,500, an Innova Crysta ₹27,000 and a 12-seater Tempo Traveller ₹34,500 for the same five days, fuel and driver included. Himachal entry, the tolls on NH-44, and parking are paid at actual.
Compared with two separate round trips, which would bill ₹12,320 for Dalhousie and ₹10,450 for Dharamshala for a sedan, ₹22,770 together, the circuit costs less and drives less. From Chandigarh or Amritsar the loop is shorter still; the corridor pages for those cities quote the one-way legs.
Season
When is the best time for the Dalhousie and Dharamshala circuit?
April to June and October to November, when the Jot road is open and dry and both towns are at their best. Early October is the pick: the monsoon has washed the air, the Dhauladhar snow line is sharp above McLeodganj, and the Khajjiar meadow is still green. December to February gives Dalhousie and Khajjiar snow but closes the direct crossing, so the loop runs via Pathankot; the monsoon, July to mid-September, brings the heaviest rain in the state to Dharamshala and is the time to avoid.
Bhagsu · day 4Vehicle
Which vehicle should I take on the circuit?
A sedan copes with every road on the loop, including the Jot pass, in the dry months. For a family with luggage, or for anyone who suffers on hairpins, an Innova Crysta is the more comfortable car and the one the drivers prefer for the Chamba crossing. Groups of eight or more travel best in a 12-seater Tempo Traveller, which keeps everyone together and, at ₹34,500 for five days, is less per head than two cars.
Fare box
The five-day circuit from Delhi
Five days at the 300 km per day minimum, which exceeds the loop’s actual distance. Fuel and driver included; Himachal entry, tolls and parking at actual. The four-day overnight version bills 1,245 km at the vehicle rate instead.
- Outstation trips bill a 300 km/day minimum; tolls, parking and state permits are extra at actual.
- Driver allowance and fuel are included. No advance for most bookings; pay after the trip.
- Fixed fares, no festival or weekend surge.
| Vehicle | Seats | Rate | Five-day circuit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sedan (Swift Dzire, Etios) | 4 | ₹11/km | ₹16,500 |
| Ertiga / SUV | 6 | ₹15/km | ₹22,500 |
| Innova Crysta | 6–7 | ₹18/km | ₹27,000 |
| Tempo Traveller (12-seater) | 12 | ₹23/km | ₹34,500 |
1,500 km billed over five days (5 × 300 km). Starting from Chandigarh or Amritsar shortens the loop; ask for the fare from your city.
In pictures
Two towns, one loop
Day 2Khajjiar
The meadow on day two.
Day 1–2St John’s, Dalhousie
The oldest church on the ridge.
Day 3–4McLeodganj
The Tibetan upper town.
Day 4HPCA ground
Cricket under the Dhauladhar.
Day 2Panchpula
The waterfall walk out of Dalhousie.
Three things the drivers would tell you
Do the crossing in daylight
Leave Dalhousie by eight on day three. The Jot road is a road for the morning; nobody should be on the Chuwari side after dark.
Book Khajjiar or McLeodganj rooms first
Dalhousie has rooms; McLeodganj on a weekend does not. Fix the nights, then give us the dates.
Ask for the Pathankot fallback in rain
If the monsoon is late or the forecast is bad, the drivers take the Pathankot road on day three without being asked. It is an hour longer and worth it.
Questions people ask
Frequently asked questions
Our team is here to help. Contact us for personalized assistance.
Where to go next
Book the trip, or keep reading
- Dharamshala vs DalhousieThe head-to-head
- Delhi to Dalhousie cab560 km · 10–11 hrs
- Delhi to Dharamshala cab475 km · 9–10 hrs
Dalhousie–Khajjiar tourDay two- Dharamshala–McLeodganj tourDay four
Amritsar, Dharamshala & Dalhousie packageThe three-town version- Dalhousie travel guideThe town in detail
- Dharamshala in two daysThe itinerary