DHARMSALA, a hill-station and sanatorium of the Punjab, India, situated on a spur of the Dhaola Dhar, 16 m. north-east of Kangra town, at an elevation of some 6,000 ft. Pop. (193r) 6,359. The spur is thickly wooded with oak and other trees; behind it the pine-clad slopes of the mountain tower towards the jagged peaks of the higher range, snow-clad for half the year; while below stretches the luxuriant cultivation of the Kangra valley.
In 1855 Dharmsala was made the headquarters of the Kangra district of the Punjab in place of Kangra, and became the centre of a European settlement and cantonment, largely occupied by Gurkha regiments. The station was destroyed by earthquake in 1905.