Where to stay in Dharamshala

Dharamshala isn’t really one place. It’s a town spread down a mountainside, with 600 to 800 metres of height between the bus stand at the bottom and the cafés at the top, and the part you sleep in decides what kind of trip you have.

Here’s the quick version:

• First trip, no car, want to walk everywhere: McLeod Ganj.
• Slow mornings, yoga, an early start for Triund: Dharamkot.
• Cheap beds and a social crowd: Bhagsu.
• Big views and quiet nights: Naddi.
• An early bus or work in town: Kotwali Bazaar, the lower town.
• Quiet, space, mountain views and the airport about half an hour away: Sidhpur, around Norbulingka.

That last one is our side of town. Our family has run hotels in Dharamshala since 2008, and all three of our hotels here are near Norbulingka, so read that section knowing who wrote it. We’ve tried to be straight about the downsides too.

Are Dharamshala and McLeod Ganj the same place?

Yes and no. McLeod Ganj (also written McLeodganj) is part of Dharamshala, in the same way an upper bazaar is part of the hill town below it. People say “Dharamshala” for the whole area, but it really has three parts:

• Lower Dharamshala, at around 1,250 to 1,450 m: Kotwali Bazaar, the main bus stand, banks, government offices and the HPCA cricket stadium.
• Upper Dharamshala: Forsyth Ganj, then McLeod Ganj at roughly 2,000 m, and the villages above it, Dharamkot, Bhagsu and Naddi. This is where the Tibetan community lives and where the Dalai Lama’s temple is.
• The Palampur road side: Sidhpur and Sidhbari, a few kilometres east of the lower town, home to the Norbulingka Institute and Gyuto Monastery.

By road, McLeod Ganj is about 9 to 10 km above the lower town. That’s 25 to 30 minutes on a clear day and a lot longer on a jammed one. Since January 2022 there’s also a ropeway, the Dharamshala Skyway, which does the climb in about five minutes.

The areas at a glance

Area	Best for	Watch out for
McLeod Ganj	First visits, the temple, cafés, shopping	Crowds and traffic in season
Dharamkot	Quiet, yoga courses, Triund	Steep lanes, cold nights
Bhagsu	Budget stays, cafés, the waterfall	Busy with day-trippers at weekends
Naddi	Dhauladhar views, sunsets	You’ll need taxis to eat out
Kotwali Bazaar	Buses, banks, one-night stops	The sights are all up the hill
Sidhpur (Norbulingka)	Quiet, space, airport, groups	35 to 45 min to McLeod Ganj

McLeod Ganj: the easy choice for a first visit

McLeod Ganj is the Dharamshala most people picture: the Tsuglagkhang complex with the Dalai Lama Temple, monks in maroon walking the kora, prayer flags over every lane, bookshops, momo stalls and more cafés than seems possible for a town this size. If you don’t have a car and you want to walk out of your door into all of it, stay here. Our list of things to do in Dharamshala is mostly within walking distance of the main square.

The catch is space. McLeod Ganj sits on a narrow ridge, and its roads were never built for today’s traffic. On summer weekends and holidays the main road up from the lower town can back up for a long time, parking is hard to find, and rooms on the main square can be noisy until late. If you stay here, pick a place a few minutes off the main roads, and don’t bring a car you’ll need to move every day.

Dharamkot and Bhagsu: slow mornings or a social scene

Dharamkot sits about 3 km above McLeod Ganj, at roughly 2,100 m, among pine forest. It’s where the meditation and yoga crowd ends up, and plenty of people who come for a week stay for a month. It’s also the handiest base for Triund. Galu Devi temple, where the road ends and most people start walking, is just above the village, and a lot of trekkers think the path from Dharamkot through the pines is the nicer way up. Expect steep paths, guesthouses you can only reach on foot, and properly cold nights from November.

Bhagsu (or Bhagsunag), roughly 2 km from McLeod Ganj, has grown up around the old Bhagsunag temple and the waterfall above it. It has hostels, cheap guesthouses and cafés with mountain views and loud playlists. Good if you’re on a budget or travelling solo and want company. Less good if you want silence on a Saturday, when day-trippers pack the waterfall path.

Naddi: for the views

Naddi is a village 3 to 5 km beyond McLeod Ganj, depending on the road you take, past Dal Lake, at about 2,000 m. It does one thing very well: wide, open views of the Dhauladhar, and sunsets over the Kangra valley. It’s calmer than McLeod Ganj and suits couples and families who don’t mind taking a taxi to dinner. There’s less to do on foot, so plan on a few cab rides.

Kotwali Bazaar: the lower town

The lower town is the working part of Dharamshala: the main bus stand, the market at Kotwali Bazaar, banks, hospitals, offices and the cricket stadium. At around 1,250 to 1,450 m it’s milder than the hill in winter and warmer in May and June.

It’s a sensible choice for a night before an early bus, for work, or for a match at the stadium. As a holiday base it’s less exciting, because nearly everything visitors come for is up the hill. The good news: the ropeway’s lower station is on this side, near Kotwali Bazaar, so McLeod Ganj is five minutes away when the cabins are running.

Sidhpur and the Norbulingka side: where we are

Hotel Buddha House, Quartz and Hotel Samdupling, our three Dharamshala hotels, are all near Norbulingka in Sidhpur, a few kilometres east of the lower town on the road to Palampur. Here’s the honest picture.

Why people like it

• It’s quiet. No main-square traffic and no late-night music. Fields, gardens and the Dhauladhar filling the view from the balconies.
• Norbulingka and Gyuto are close. The Norbulingka Institute, a centre for Tibetan arts, is near enough to visit before breakfast, and Gyuto Monastery at Sidhbari is a short drive. We’ve written a whole guide to Norbulingka.
• Easy arrivals. Kangra airport at Gaggal is roughly half an hour away by road. The roads on this side are wider than the lanes up the hill, so cars, tempo travellers and group transfers can reach the door.
• Room to breathe. Hotels down here aren’t squeezed onto a ridge, so gardens, parking and balconies are easier to come by.

What you give up

• McLeod Ganj is about 12 to 15 km away, roughly 35 to 45 minutes by taxi, more on a jammed day. You won’t stroll to the Dalai Lama Temple after dinner.
• There are fewer cafés and shops within walking distance. You’ll eat at the hotel or take a cab.
• It rarely snows down here. If snow on the ground is the point of your trip, stay higher up, or plan a day up the hill.

Which of our hotels?

• Hotel Samdupling for tight budgets and groups: simple private rooms, plus a bunk room that sleeps 14 with a shared washroom.
• Hotel Buddha House for a quiet, affordable stay: five room types, from a compact Cozy Queen to king rooms with private balconies, a restaurant and coffee shop, a small reading lounge with books on Buddhism and local culture, and space for groups of up to 50. You book directly by phone or WhatsApp.
• Quartz for more comfort: a 3-star hotel with balcony rooms facing the Dhauladhar, a Junior Suite, a Master Room and Suite rooms, a garden and a restaurant. You can book it online.

Getting between the areas

Route	Distance	By road
Lower town to McLeod Ganj	9 to 10 km	25 to 30 min (5 min by ropeway)
Norbulingka to McLeod Ganj	12 to 15 km	35 to 45 min
Norbulingka to Kangra airport	10 to 15 km	About 30 min
Kangra airport to McLeod Ganj	15 to 18 km	45 to 60 min
McLeod Ganj to Dharamkot	About 3 km	10 min, or a steep walk
McLeod Ganj to Naddi	3 to 5 km	10 to 15 min

These are clear-day times. Add a good margin on summer weekends. Our Dharamshala to McLeod Ganj guide goes into the ropeway, buses and taxis in more detail.

• Taxis are the easiest way around. Local taxis mostly work on fixed rates set by the taxi unions, so agree the fare before you set off.
• Local buses shuttle between the lower town bus stand and McLeod Ganj through the day. They’re cheap and slow, and you’ll stand when they’re full.
• The ropeway runs about 1.8 km between its lower station near Kotwali Bazaar and an upper station on Temple Road in McLeod Ganj. It stops in bad weather, and fares have gone up since it opened, so check at the counter.
• On foot, McLeod Ganj to Bhagsu, Dharamkot or Naddi is very doable if you don’t mind hills.

Which area suits your trip?

• First visit without a car: McLeod Ganj.
• Travelling with parents or small children: Naddi or the Norbulingka side, where it’s calmer and cars can get to the hotel.
• Doing Triund: Dharamkot, or McLeod Ganj if you want more choice. Start early either way.
• A week or more, working remotely: Dharamkot or Bhagsu for cafés and company. Our side if you’d rather have quiet and a desk by a window.
• Flying in or out of Kangra: the Norbulingka side, about half an hour from the airport.
• A group, a retreat or an event: somewhere buses can actually reach. Buddha House has space for up to 50 people.
• Hoping for snow: stay up the hill. McLeod Ganj, Dharamkot and Naddi can get snow on cold spells, usually between late December and February. The lower town mostly gets rain, and nobody can promise snow on a particular date.

For the weather month by month, see the best time to visit Dharamshala.

Still torn? Call or WhatsApp Hotel Buddha House on +91 76500 90909 with your dates and what you’d like to do, and we’ll give you an honest answer about where to stay.