Dharamshala

Dharamshala is a hill station in one of the picturesque valleys of Himachal Pradesh surrounded on three sides with snow capped mountains. Enchanting forests of oak and conifer trees are found here that complete the scenic beauty.
Lower Dharamshala has civil offices and business establishments with courts as it is the district headquarters of Kangra district and the winter capital of Himachal Pradesh. Kotwali bazaar and Upper Dharamshala comprise of places with names which bear witness to its history like McLeod Ganj and Forsythe Ganj. Mcleod Ganj rose to international fame after it became the temporary headquarters of His Holiness Dalai Lama.
In and around Dharamshala, one can visit the Kangra Art museum at Kotwali bazar, War memorial, Kunal Pathri temple and tea gardens on way to Kunal Pathri. A days trek to the nearest snowline is also possible. There is also a beautiful Cricket stadium in the city facing the mighty Dhauladhar ranges.
Dharamshala is easily accessible by road with the nearest airport at Gaggal and broad gauge railway station at Pathankot.
Best time to visit: January to June, September to December
Languages spoken: Hindi, Pahari, English
Climate: Pleasant summers and very cold winters
Places to see: McLeodganj, Kangra Art Museum, War Memorial, Kunal Pathri Temple

Trip to Dharamshala and Mcleodganj (Part I)

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After spending time over there, we headed in a steep path downhill (thanks to the knowledge of our taxi driver), and visited a Devi’s temple in the valley below (and there was almost nobody there except for a couple of locals); we rounded off the first day by visiting the war memorial, setup to honor the armed forces.

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The deep forest behind Subhas bowli

Chamba and Mani Mahesh got replaced by Dalhousie

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While checking out from Hotel Asia, we were surprised when we were asked to pay the bill. We told that rooms were booked through Travelguru long back and we handed over printout of booking confirmation with my ID copy. But hotel authority told that they did not receive payment from Travelguru, so we must pay before we leave.

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An ancient church - St.John in the wilderness

McLeodganj – The mystical hub of Himachal

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We then moved to the church of St. John in the Wilderness between Forsyth Ganj and Mcleod Ganj. This neo-gothic stone shrine was made in 1852 following Anglian structure. It was named after John the Baptist. As the structure lies deep inside dense woods, during the olden times, they appropriately named it as St. John In The Wilderness. There is a memorial devoted to Lord Elgin, who was Viceroy of India during British raj.

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हिमाचल का अनमोल रत्न ‘त्रिउण्ड’ : आकर्षक पर्वतारोहण क्षेत्र

हिमाचल का अनमोल रत्न ‘त्रिउण्ड’ : आकर्षक पर्वतारोहण क्षेत्र

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जिस प्रकार स्वादिष्ट व्यंजनों की चर्चा भूखे व्यक्ति की भूख को ओर अधिक बढ़ा देती है उसी प्रकार त्रिउण्ड के प्राकृतिक सौंदर्य की चर्चा ने घुमक्कड़ों की लालसा को भी बढ़ा दिया होगा. जिन्होंने त्रिउण्ड की घुमक्कड़ी नहीं की है उनके मन में अवश्य ही ये प्रश्न उठ रहे होंगे कि त्रिउण्ड कैसे पहुंचा जाए,

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Chiller Chilling Summer Trip- Dharamsala & Dalhousie, Khajjiar

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The route was full of Danger & natural beauty. It is the most exotic and scenic beauty place around 22 Km from Dalhousie. Khajjiar is officially proclaimed the mini-Switzerland of India. At an altitude of 6450 ft, this saucer shaped green meadow, ringed by Devadar Trees has a lake in the middle complete with floating island. I liked horseback riding and strolling. It’s the best place to spend more time as compare to the other places. We spent around 2 hrs & enjoyed Horse riding there. We saw something that interested us. People were getting inside a big plastic ball, and being rolled till the lake. That was very interesting, something we haven’t seen before. We left in the late afternoon bidding goodbye to the charming glade of Khajjiar and our next destination was the town of Dalhousie.

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Kareri Lake ~ a poetic trail

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Gaddis are basically a nomadic tribe who mainly lead a pastoral life depending on their cattle for their livelihood and wander in the high altitude alpine meadows for green and protein rich grass for their cattle and the nectar like pure water. These gaddis seem to be the happiest souls in the world without any worry cheering and living life happily in the lap of mother nature enjoying her eternal and purest beauty to the fullest. You envy at their life for a moment and then wish if you were born a gaddi, maybe in your next life…:)

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