Jammu

Jammu, often called the “City of Temples,” has a long history as the main urban centre of the Jammu hills and the winter capital of the region. Early references link the area to small hill states and Rajput clans; one tradition associates the founding of the town with a ruler named Jambu Lochan, from whom the name “Jammu” is said to derive. For centuries, the area consisted of fortified hill settlements above the Tawi River, controlling routes between the plains of Punjab and the mountains leading towards Kashmir and the Chenab valley.

A major turning point came in the 19th century, when Maharaja Gulab Singh, a Dogra commander under the Sikh Empire, was recognised by the British as the ruler of the new princely state of Jammu & Kashmir (1846). Jammu became his key base and the winter capital, while Srinagar served as the summer capital. Dogra maharajas built palaces (Mubarak Mandi, Amar Mahal), temples (Raghunath, Ranbireshwar) and administrative buildings, shaping the city’s character.

After Independence, Jammu remained the winter capital of the state and later of the Union Territory of J&K. It developed as an administrative, educational and military hub, while its old bazaars, temples and forts preserved the flavour of a historic Dogra hill city facing the plains.