2026 International Lavi Fair opens in Rampur Bushahr

The four-day International Lavi Fair opened at Patbangla ground in Rampur Bushahr, Shimla district, on November 11, 2026. Governor Kavinder Gupta inaugurated the fair and visited stalls featuring Kinnauri textiles, handicrafts and other traditional products, as well as exhibitions by government departments.

The fair is associated with historic trade links between Rampur, Kinnaur and Tibet. Its programme includes shopping and cultural activities. For the fair period, local authorities introduced one-way traffic arrangements on several roads and directed heavy vehicles to use a bypass. Some traffic restrictions were to remain in force until November 30.

Notable Points

• Lavi Fair trade: The name Lavi is linked to Loe, meaning a woollen sheet, and to sheep shearing. Historical fair trade included horses, dry fruits, wool, pashmin and sheep brought by traders, exchanged for salt and jaggery from Rampur. Chaumukhi, also called Chamurthy, horses were traded there.
• Bushahr–Tibet treaty: An account of the 1679–1684 Bushahr–Tibet treaty records tax-free trade for merchants of both territories. It also records provision for a Bushahr delegation to visit five towns in western Tibet every three years: Tsaparang, Purang, Dawa, Ruthog and Gartok.
• Rampur as a trading centre: Rampur served as Bushahr’s winter capital and hosted a major November trading event. Merchants came from Kashmir, Ladakh, Yarkant and the Indian mainland, using routes that linked Indian markets with Central Asia and Tibet.