Palampur is a hill station and a municipal corporation situated in the Kangra District in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It is surrounded by pine forests and flanked by the Dhauladhar ranges. There are numerous streams flowing from the mountains to the plains, from Palampur. The combination of greenery, snowclad mountains and water gives Palampur a distinctive look.
Palampur is located in the Kangra Valley. It is a famous hill station and was once a part of the Jalandhar kingdom. The town came into being when Dr. Jameson, the superintendent of Botanical Gardens, introduced the tea bush from Almora in 1849. The bush thrived in the climatic conditions of Palampur and became the focal point of the European tea estate owners with an exception of the famous Wah Tea Estate which was owned by Nawab Muhammad Hayat Khan and his descendants, until 1947. Since then, the Kangra tea of Palampur has become internationally renowned.
Palampur is a state legislative constituency in Himachal Pradesh. Lala Kanhiya Lal Butail, was the first representative of Palampur. Palampur is the hometown of the senior BJP leader and former Chief Minister Shanta Kumar. Congress and the Bhartiya Janata Party are the dominant political parties. BJP leaders from Palampur include Ch. Sarvan Kumar, Praveen Sharma and Shiv Kumar. For Congress, the Butail family has been significant. Kunj Behari Lal Butail served as an MLA for over a decade and was the first Pradesh Congress Committee President. The current MLA is Ashish Butail.