Destination 04 · Day 7
Rampur
After three nights at nearly four thousand metres, a town on a river, a carved palace, and air thick enough to breathe without thinking.
The old capital
Bushahr’s river town.
Rampur, often called Rampur Bushahr, was the winter capital of the princely state of Bushahr, which once controlled much of the trade route between the plains and Tibet along the Sutlej. The town climbs in terraces above the river, its houses stacked against the hillside.
Its best-known building is the Padam Palace, built in the early twentieth century with carved wooden balconies in a blend of Himachali and colonial styles. Rampur is also known for the Lavi fair, an old trading fair held each November — not during this journey, but a sign of how long this has been a meeting point between the mountains and the plains.
On this journey Rampur is a reward and a decompression chamber: the night after the longest drive, at a third of Kaza’s altitude, before the final road home.
At a glance
Rampur on the route
Day 7 · night 7
Where Rampur falls in the eight days. See the itinerary.
~1,000 m
Approximate altitude, rounded. 31.45° N, 77.63° E.
A river town
Terraced houses above the fast green Sutlej, and the towers of Padam Palace.
The decompression night
At about a quarter of Kaza’s altitude, the air feels thick and the night mild.
The descent
Watching the landscape play in reverse.
Day 7 runs from the cold desert of Spiti back down to the Sutlej and through Kinnaur. The bare rock gives way to pine, the pine to terraced fields and orchards, and the villages around Rampur appear green even in winter. It is the longest drive of the trip, and the most dramatic change of scene.
Day 7 in the itineraryPadam Palace
Carved wood and a river below.
The palace of the former Bushahr rulers stands at the heart of the town, its towers and carved balconies a reminder that Rampur once sat on a trade road between the plains and Tibet. On this journey it is a landmark to look out for on the last evening in the mountains, rather than a scheduled visit.
Next on the road · Rampur to Delhi