Dharamshala & Mcleod Ganj
Any well meaning friend or relative will tell you to avoid visiting mountains in monsoon, for the obvious reasons of safety. But if you are an obstinate adventure enthusiast like Gaurav and Gunjan, you will head straight to the very spot that you have been advised against 😉. And should you do so, we can assure you that you will experience the North Indian mountains at their very best. Today I am sharing with you our journey to Dharamshala and Mcleod Ganj. Both our parents were skeptical about us touring in the mountains during rain but since we had already been to Kausani (Uttrakhand) in monsoon, we knew there couldn’t be a better time of the year to pay our first visit to the Himachal mountains. (Not that we are suggesting you take this as an advise, kindly ensure all safety measures before heading to the mountains.)
Our journey began with
Chandigarh from where we booked a taxi for the whole trip. Chandigarh welcomes us on our monsoon trip
with a beautiful rain.
Our first destination was
Dharamshala, distance from Chandigarh to Dharamshala is approx 236km which will take you around 5hour to complete. On our way, the first stop we took was at Shri Keshgarh Saheb
Gurudwara situated at a distance of about 102km from Chandigarh.
Shri Keshgarh Saheb Gurudwara is regarded as one of the five sacred "Takhats" or seats of Sikh religion. It is on the main Rupnagar-Nangal Road and one has to walk a certain distance to reach the shrine, built on the hillock. It was here in 1699, on the Baisakhi day (13th April), Tenth Master Guru Gobind Singh Ji created Khalsa by baptizing five beloved Sikhs known as "Pani Piaras".
The next stop we took was at Jwalamukhi temple, in Kangra Himachal Pradesh. Famous for being a temple that doesn’t house any idol, the Jwalamukhi Temple is among the 51 total Shakti Peethas in India. The temple is situated 35 km south of Kangra valley in the town of Jwalamukhi in Himachal Pradesh. The temple is dedicated to Jwalamukhi- the Goddess of Light. If you are planning to visit the temple don’t be in a hurry as the queue in the temple is relatively long and you will end up waiting for hours before you get inside.
The kind of rush we
experienced at Jwala Ji was similar to the one we experienced while visiting
the Shakti Peeth at Haridwar. But when you finally have the darshan of Mata the
long waiting hours doesn’t really matter. Another shakti peeth you can visit is Shri Bajreshwari Devi Temple at Kangra, situated at a distance of about 3 km from Kangra city, Shri Bajreshwari Devi Temple is dedicated to Devi Durga.
From there we headed
straight to our destination at dharamashala. Situated at an elevation of around
1457 meters, the city is divided into two distinct sections. Kotwali Bazaar and the surrounding markets are known as "Lower Dharamshala" or just Dharamshala. Further up the mountain is Mcleodganj. Dharamshala is one of
the cleanest cities we have been to. Like a lot other mountain towns and
cities, Dharamshala is also a quiet and serene place where you can relax in the
cool breezes and soothing green view. Although we were a bit tired from our
long journey since morning, the ever so enthralling mountains kept calling us,
so we checked in at the hotel and headed straight to the road to explore and
experience the fresh mountain air.
Our stay there was at
Hotel Pine Valley, a wonderful property which has an amazing hill view to
offer. The three most important things we look for in our stay arrangements is
hospitality, food and location. On all the parameters, Hotel Pine Valley
receives an A+ from us. The night we arrived, I asked for simple home cooked
style daal chawal for dinner as travelling the curvy mountain roads after so
long had made me a bit dizzy. The dinner was so simply and homely that I ended
up overeating. The next morning gave us an opportunity to explore the beauty of
the dharamshala from our very own hotel window.
After enjoying another amazing culinary delight served by very friendly hotel staff we headed to explore Dharamshala and Mcleodganj, our 1st destination was St.John in the wilderness Church. I guess on this trip we were destined to be blessed by God at every destination. St.John in the wilderness is an Anglican Church. It was built in 1852 and is located near Dharamshala, on the way to Mcleodganj, at Forsyth Gunj. It is set amidst deodar forest, and is built in neo-Gothic architecture.
The church is surrounded
on all sides by majestic deodar trees, the rustic appearance of the church
amidst the thick forest gives the location a mystic feel. To reach the Church
you have to walk a few meters downhill on stoned pathway. But given the
beautiful surroundings its hardly any pain. Overall the place is very beautiful
and peaceful, you can easily spend hours here just admiring the surroundings.
A few kilometers from St.John Church are situated two very beautiful locations, Dal Lake and Sunset point at Naddi. Both the locations are an A grade to fulfill your photographic desires. Dal lake is a small lake surrounded on all sides by tall deodar trees. And at an elevation of a few meters from here is situated the Sunset point. We visited the site during afternoon so although we couldn’t really enjoy the sunset view but still we enjoyed the magical effects of mist and monsoon clouds at their best. From the sunset point there goes a trail to Shri Gunna Devi Temple from among the mountains, if you have time on your itinerary you can explore this too.
Our taxi driver tried very hard to talk us out of visiting these two sites, but we are delighted we didn’t get convince. It usually happens when you hire a taxi for your journey and if you don’t already know where all to visit. The driver for the obvious reason to save his fuel and energy will usually try to skip the places which although are good but not so popular. It benefitted us that we googled all the to go destinations in depth in advance.
And yes I almost forgot
to mention one very special thing you will find at the sunset point, the tapris
selling the mouthwatering momos and maggi. It’ll be a shame if you leave
Mcleodganj without eating these.
Next on the list was one
of the most famous destination of Mcleodganj, the Bhagsunag waterfall. The
waterfall is situated at a distance of approx. 2km from main market of
bhagsunag village. To reach the top of the waterfall you have to walk a small
distance on foot on an uphill staircase. The location is a perfect feast to
your visual senses but you must be prepared to encounter a huge crowd there
should you plan to visit it during peak season. Given its location, bhagsunag
waterfall serves as a perfect destination for a day picnic. When at the fall
you might be tempted to take a dip but the chilled water is definite to give
you second thoughts. But if you are accompanied by a water sport junkie husband
like mine, you cant really save yourself from getting drenched.
Our last destination for the day was Namgyal
Monastery at Mcleod Ganj. Founded in the early 16th century the
Namgyal Monastery is the personal
monastery of the 14th Dalai Lama. Another name for this temple-complex is
Namgyal Tantric College. The temple compound is large and sparkling clean. I
have always been fascinated by the Buddhists colorful flags. But it was here
that I got to know it's meaning. The prayer flags are bright and beautiful, but
their colours aren't just for show. Each hue signifies an element — and the
flags are always arranged in a specific order, from left to right: blue, white,
red, green, yellow. Blue represents the sky, white represents the air, red
symbolizes fire, green symbolizes water, and yellow symbolizes earth. All five
colours together signify balance. Inside the temple you will find large prayer
wheels. Such wheels are a common sight in Buddhist temple, they can be made
from metal, wood, stone, leather or coarse cotton. Traditionally, a mantra is written in Tibetan
language, on the outside
of the wheel. The mantra Om
mani padme hum is most
commonly used, but other mantras may be used as well. According to the Tibetan
Buddhist tradition
based on the lineage texts regarding prayer wheels, spinning such a wheel will
have much the same meritorious effect as orally reciting the prayers.
Next day of the trip was booked for exploring the city of Dharamshala. One of the most prized possessions of Dharamshala is its Cricket Stadium, known as Himachal Pradesh Cricket Stadium (HPCS). It is one of the highest sports ground of the world. The main stand is built in Tibetan Architectural style. The stadium is open for tourists throughout the year. Best time of the day to visit is 09:00 am to 05:00 pm.
Next amazing place that Dharamsala offers is War Memorial, built to commemorate the memory of those who fought valiantly for the honor of the country. This place is ideally located in the pine forest of Dharamshala and offers a very pleasant walk through the woods. During the operations of 1947-48, 1962, 1965, and 1971 and various peacekeeping missions, many soldiers lost their lives, and it was in their memory that the War Memorial was built with the names of those many heroes inscribed on the stone. The place is very artistically designed.
Kangra district in Himachal Pradesh is famous for its"Kangra Tea". Situated on both sides of the road connecting Dharamshala to Palampur, the tea gardens are a sight to behold. While there isn't muhc to do, you can easily spend hours just soaking in the beautiful surroundings.
With that our trip to Dharamshala and Mcleodganj ended. From here we headed straight to Dalhousie. More on it in our next blog.
PS: Throughout McleodGanj you will find something very beautiful, should you care to focus on the trivial. It's the wall murals. They are really thought provoking.
Very beautifully written... I got full imagination of beautiful scenes there are in Himachal....
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