Chamba City Map Poster

About Chamba

Chamba is also known for its Chambeli (a local breed of goats) and the soft, warm wool it provides. The name "Chamba" comes from the Sanskrit word "champa", which means a tree with fragrant flowers. The town was originally named Champavati after Champavati Devi, who is said to have founded Chamba in 920 AD along with her husband Raja Sahil Varman of the Kullu Valley region in present-day Himachal Pradesh state. However, over time, people started calling it by different names such as Chamapuri or Cham Bhatiyara ("the city on the hill"), and eventually came to be called simply as Champa or later on changed into today's name: 'Chambe'(छम्बे). In fact even now when locals call their village they say that we are living at chambe (place where there are lots of trees).