Short answer: Palampur's tea gardens are best visited from April to October, when the bushes are being plucked and the factories are working. Walk the estates around town in the morning with the Dhauladhar behind, visit a cooperative tea factory, and buy GI-tagged Kangra green or black tea directly. Palampur is 40 km from Gaggal Airport and about an hour from Dharamshala.
There is something about walking through a tea garden at nine in the morning. The rows of bushes are dark green and glossy, pluckers move along with baskets on their backs, and above everything sits a line of snow peaks. Palampur gives you that, an hour from Dharamshala.
A little history
Tea came to the Kangra valley in the 1840s and 1850s, when the British planted it on an experimental basis. It took hold around Palampur, and for a while Kangra tea won medals in London and Amsterdam. The 1905 earthquake devastated the industry, and many estates were later broken up. Today Kangra tea is grown on a smaller scale and carries a Geographical Indication (GI) tag. You get a light, fragrant cup quite unlike Assam’s.
When to go
- April–May: the first flush, when the most prized leaves are plucked
- June–October: plucking continues; lush through the monsoon
- November–March: quiet, with factories mostly idle, but the gardens are still beautiful with snow on the range
Where to walk
- Around Palampur town: estates line the roads towards Bundla and Neugal; ask your driver for the best stretch that day
- Wah Tea Estate: one of the best-known estates, with wide views
- Bir tea gardens: if you are going on to Bir, there are lovely gardens around the landing site
Always walk on paths and ask before going between rows; these are working farms.
Factory visits
In season, the Palampur cooperative tea factory and some private estates show visitors how leaf becomes tea: withering, rolling, oxidising, drying and sorting. It ends with tasting. Our Palampur Tea & Andretta tour includes a visit when factories are working.
What to buy
- Kangra green tea, the local speciality
- Kangra black (orthodox) tea, light and floral
- Small packs make good gifts, so buy directly from the factory or estate shops
A day in Palampur from Dharamshala
- Morning: drive to Palampur (about an hour), and walk a tea estate
- Late morning: tea factory visit (in season)
- Lunch: Neugal Khad café, with the gorge and mountains in view
- Afternoon: the Andretta pottery studio and Sobha Singh Art Gallery
- Evening: Baijnath temple aarti, or back to Dharamshala via Chamunda
Getting there
Gaggal Airport to Palampur is about 40 km, and Pathankot to Palampur about 115 km. The Kangra Valley toy train also stops nearby at Maranda.
Quick questions
What is special about Kangra tea?
Kangra tea is a GI-tagged tea from the Kangra valley, known for a light, fragrant cup. Both green and black teas are made, in small volumes compared with Assam or Darjeeling.
Can you visit a tea factory in Palampur?
Yes, during the plucking season. The cooperative factory and some private estates welcome visitors, and we arrange visits on our Palampur tour.
Written by the team at Ankush Travels, a tour and taxi company in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh. We run these routes every week. Spotted something out of date? Tell us on WhatsApp.