Tourism

Hoshiarpur’s mythical antiquity reaches back to the Mahabharata, one of two Sanskrit epics of ancient India, with various sites here linked to its valiant heroes, the Pandavas. They are said to have spent their 13 years in exile at Dasuya. Excavations in the district have revealed evidence of Palaeolithic inhabitation, the Indus Valley civilisation, and 1,000-year-old Gandhara art. Perhaps the most well-known of these sites is Dholbaha with evidence of it having been a flourishing temple town between 700-1200 AD. Hoshiarpur has a long border with Himachal Pradesh and is located at the foothills of the Shivalik range, making it a hub for trade between the hills and plains. Even today, Hoshiarpur is a thriving market town, known particularly for its inlay work, the finest examples of which can be purchased at the Cottage Industries Corporation, and Gunesh Jain in Dabbi Bazaar, amongst others. Places of interest to visitors include the 400-year-old Biranwala temple in nearby Balachaur, the pre-historic artefacts from Dholbaha at the Hoshiarpur Archeological Museum, and the Takhni-Rehmapur Wildlife Sanctuary.