Trip to Dalhousie and Dharamshala
Hello everyone,
Hope you all had a great time reading my first travel story.
Now here I am going to share my another experience with you all, a 3 day trip to Dalhousie and Dharamshala in the month of February. This was my first trip after 15 days of marriage.
We were two couples I and my spouse, a cousin and his wife. We started our journey in the night from Agra to Dalhousie in our car. We had a few breaks in our journey to enjoy the sightseeing while long drive, cold but pleasant weather, relishing local food on the way.
Let me give you a brief description of these cities. Dalhousie is a hill station in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It is situated on 5 hills surrounded by snow-capped peaks and had been a summer retreat for Britishers. Dharamshala is near to Dalhousie and has been the Dalai Lama's residence and is surrounded by dense forest.
So while entering the state of Himachal Pradesh, we could experience some cold breeze coming from the Himalayas, beautiful and mesmerizing natural beauty of mountains. These experiences were itself mind soothing and peaceful. It was around 10 in the morning when we reached our hotel in Dalhousie. We quickly checked in and got ready to explore the beautiful scenic surroundings that the city had.
We first visited the Chamera Lake formed as a reservoir of Chamera Dam, it is a pretty lake surrounded by mountains and remote villages on its banks. As an activity, we did a boat ride of 30 mins which took us to the remote locations of the lake. It was really a goose-bumpy experience as there was deep water surrounded by mountains and no visible human settlements around. We even got to know from the driver that those remote villages have no connections to the city except the lake, so people have to ride through the boat to come to the city for work, education, medical etc. Afterward, we visited a famous Devi temple nearby and returned to our hotel exhausted with full day journey and explorations. We had dinner and rested well to prepare ourselves for another day full of activities.
Day 2 - We woke up early in the morning, got ready and started for visiting Daikund Peak. It is the tallest peak in the region, covered with snow and have beautiful valleys in surroundings. After a drive of a couple of hours from Dalhousie, we reached foothills of Daikund peak. We had to trek for few KMs to reach the peak. It was slippery due to water being flown down the trek. When we moved further it was difficult to trek because the area was covered with heavy snow. After trekking for sometime we could find some places to simply observe nature with beautiful mountains on both sides. The beauty we experienced during this short trek is difficult to explain in words. Unfortunately, we decided to not go further as our hearts were pumping very fast and we were panting a lot due to the steepness of the trek to peak. So, we took rest for a couple of minutes and trekked down our way to foothills of Daikund peak. But, really guys it is a must visit place in Dalhousie.
Then we started for a place usually referred to as "Mini Switzerland of India" known as Khajjiar. It has beautiful green plains surrounded by forests. People usually visit here with family and kids to have picnics. So at one side, we could see a lot of kids playing with families and other side people enjoying a horse ride.
We also found a few adventurous activities happening in the region. We opted for Paragliding. It was a wonderful and thrilling experience. Our organizer took us to the foothills of another peak and from there we crossed and climbed the small jungle to reach the top of the peak which was take off point for Paragliding in the region. We could see a lot of people waiting for their turn, the activity was halted for a couple of hours due to lack of winds. When we had right winds people started to take off turn by turn. This was my first adventurous activity, so I was really excited and nervous too. My pilot informed me about all operating and safety instructions. We had to run from the hilltop until glider takes off, so as the moment he started to count 1..2..3 my heart started pumping very hard and I started to run like a hell. The moment I could realize anything I was in the air, flying over the deep mountain valley. I could see the rocks and trees downhill. My pilot showed me how to change the directions of the glider by zig-zagging it. After flying for 10 mins, we landed on another hill. This was one of its kind experience, chilling and thrilling. I felt so proud to hold the courage to do it. Afterward, we had lunch and started to reach back to Dalhousie. This way a thrilling day full of different experiences, on one hand, we visited the tallest peak of the region and on other, we had such a nice adventure. So we said Goodbye to Dalhousie and started our journey to Dharamshala in the evening itself. After a few hours drive, we reached McLeod Ganj which is the prime place in Dharamshala.
Day 3 - As usual we got ready in the morning to explore McLeod Ganj. When we reached the main market, we observed there were lots of foreign tourists around, who also wanted to experience Tibetan culture. We had breakfast at one of the local shops. The good things about visiting any hill station are usually you get good food in local markets, people are simple and helpful. After our breakfast, we started for Bhangsu Waterfall which is situated 3 KM away from McLeod Ganj behind Bhangsunath Temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva. Reaching a waterfall requires around 30 mins of climb over the hill. When we reached there after so much hard work, we found there was hardly any water, so we just clicked some pictures and came back with a bit of disappointment.
We also visited a famous monastery in the city Namgyal Monastery often referred to as Dalai Lama's Temple. There, we found a few Tibetan Monks chanting prayers. The monastery was peaceful, sacred and carries a lot of historical and cultural values. After experiencing a bit of Tibetan culture and rituals we came out and roamed in the market. Afterward, we went to the sunset point of the city but unfortunately didn't get the chance to see the setting Sun due to clouds.
With all these mixed experiences we packed our bags and readied ourselves to go back home. This trip was certainly full of new experiences and adventure.
Hope you all had a great time reading my first travel story.
Now here I am going to share my another experience with you all, a 3 day trip to Dalhousie and Dharamshala in the month of February. This was my first trip after 15 days of marriage.
We were two couples I and my spouse, a cousin and his wife. We started our journey in the night from Agra to Dalhousie in our car. We had a few breaks in our journey to enjoy the sightseeing while long drive, cold but pleasant weather, relishing local food on the way.
Let me give you a brief description of these cities. Dalhousie is a hill station in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It is situated on 5 hills surrounded by snow-capped peaks and had been a summer retreat for Britishers. Dharamshala is near to Dalhousie and has been the Dalai Lama's residence and is surrounded by dense forest.
So while entering the state of Himachal Pradesh, we could experience some cold breeze coming from the Himalayas, beautiful and mesmerizing natural beauty of mountains. These experiences were itself mind soothing and peaceful. It was around 10 in the morning when we reached our hotel in Dalhousie. We quickly checked in and got ready to explore the beautiful scenic surroundings that the city had.
We first visited the Chamera Lake formed as a reservoir of Chamera Dam, it is a pretty lake surrounded by mountains and remote villages on its banks. As an activity, we did a boat ride of 30 mins which took us to the remote locations of the lake. It was really a goose-bumpy experience as there was deep water surrounded by mountains and no visible human settlements around. We even got to know from the driver that those remote villages have no connections to the city except the lake, so people have to ride through the boat to come to the city for work, education, medical etc. Afterward, we visited a famous Devi temple nearby and returned to our hotel exhausted with full day journey and explorations. We had dinner and rested well to prepare ourselves for another day full of activities.
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| Chamera Lake |
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| Daikund Peak |
Then we started for a place usually referred to as "Mini Switzerland of India" known as Khajjiar. It has beautiful green plains surrounded by forests. People usually visit here with family and kids to have picnics. So at one side, we could see a lot of kids playing with families and other side people enjoying a horse ride.
 |
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| Khajjiar |
Day 3 - As usual we got ready in the morning to explore McLeod Ganj. When we reached the main market, we observed there were lots of foreign tourists around, who also wanted to experience Tibetan culture. We had breakfast at one of the local shops. The good things about visiting any hill station are usually you get good food in local markets, people are simple and helpful. After our breakfast, we started for Bhangsu Waterfall which is situated 3 KM away from McLeod Ganj behind Bhangsunath Temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva. Reaching a waterfall requires around 30 mins of climb over the hill. When we reached there after so much hard work, we found there was hardly any water, so we just clicked some pictures and came back with a bit of disappointment.
We also visited a famous monastery in the city Namgyal Monastery often referred to as Dalai Lama's Temple. There, we found a few Tibetan Monks chanting prayers. The monastery was peaceful, sacred and carries a lot of historical and cultural values. After experiencing a bit of Tibetan culture and rituals we came out and roamed in the market. Afterward, we went to the sunset point of the city but unfortunately didn't get the chance to see the setting Sun due to clouds.
With all these mixed experiences we packed our bags and readied ourselves to go back home. This trip was certainly full of new experiences and adventure.
Beautiful places....
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