Rampur & its Padam Palace

Rampur is located around 130 km from Shimla on the banks of river Satluj. As soon as you enter the town, a large statue of Hanuman welcomes you. Little ahead on the road are some hotels and restaurants followed by lovely old buildings on both sides. An old wooden building now works as police headquarters. Small Narsimha Temple in stone with wooden embellishments around it sits close to the bank of Satluj. On the right hand side is another ancient temple Raghunath Temple with a dharamshala surrounding it on all sides. The highlight of this erstwhile capital of princely state of Bushahr is Padam Palace, built almost a century ago by Raja Padam Singh who was the father of current chief minister of Himachal Pradesh—Virbhadra Singh. It is a lovely mix of European style stone structure at the base and intricate woodwork typical of Bushahr region on top. There is a lovely fountain in the lawns in front of the palace. In one corner of lawn stands an open pavilion in blue color with intricately carved ceiling. Palace is not open to the public but you can go around the corridors and peep inside from colorful glass panels of its designer windows. Walking on the main road of Rampur is like walking through a page of history of Bushahr kingdom.