Thursday, June 23, 2011

Himachal Trip Part - II

Next morning, we left our camp and went to see Khajiar, also known as 'Switzerland of India'. It is basically a plain field surrounded by trees and mountains. There was a golf course at this place during the times of English. But if you go there in summer, it is more of a picnic spot. The pic here would tell you that due to the adventure activities like paragliding, zorbing etc. it is a famous tourist attraction. I had never tried zorbing, so I did give it a go. Other than that, there was not much to do.
If you get your hands on DvD of 'The Blue Umbrella' which is shot almost entirely here, you would know how beautiful this place is when its not treated as an amusement park, i.e. during winters when its completely hidden in snow. Even the lake is frozen.

After that we took a taxis to Dharamshala, our next destination. The road passes through many villages, so there is not much to look for in terms of natural beauty. But, the villages themselves are good to look at.

Getting there
I did not know too much about Dharamshala. So, after getting there we came to know that Mcleodganj is the place people come to, which is a few km from there. As we got to know at the bus stand, that state transport has bus service to Delhi but all the tickets to Delhi were booked at that point. So, book your tickets in advance during summers.

Staying there
The chances of getting a decent economical hotel were looking slim in the peak season for tourists in Mcleodganj, so we had to go up till Bhagsu to get a place to stay.
There are many good restaurants, so we had dinner and after some roaming around got ready for the next day.



It started raining in the morning, and the view from our hotel was breathtaking, as dense clouds were passing right in front of us at a good speed.
Our initial plan was to see both Mcleodganj and Dharamshala and head back for Delhi the same day. But I was so delighted with the place where we stayed in Bhagsu and the market in Mcleodganj cannot be seen in a single day that I decided to stay for another day. Three more of my friends also decided to stay, the other seven of them were in a hurry, as they did not want to use any more holidays.
So, they booked their tickets for an overnight journey in a bus at a private tour operator at some Rs.600.

Sight seeing
Considering that 7 of us were leaving in the evening, we hired a taxi that would take us to all the important places in the day at Rs.800 per taxi, which I found to be very economical.
The main stops were
1.Church of St. john in the Wilderness (Built 1852)
The setting of the church was very beautiful and it was a perfect start to the day, as the rain made it look even more exquisite.






2.Dalai Lama temple
I had never been to a buddhist temple, and my very first was The Dalai Lama temple. It was very peaceful and serene. We sat there for a while to feel the quietude and we could feel the difference. A hot drink was also offered to us, which we drank and after looking at some amazing statues of Buddha we took off for our next stop.





3. Bhagsunag Temple
It is an old temple and has a history associated with it and the waterfall which is some distance away from it. The trek, waterfall and temple package makes a visit to this place worthwhile.









After few other stops, like Dal lake etc. we bid farewell to our 7 friends and had dinner at a tibetan restaurant. The food was delicious and cheap.

Next morning we again took the option of hiring a taxi and we saw:
1.Triund
It is a place where experienced trekkers start their 14 km trek. The road is not made for a car, and at some point I felt we might slip down the valley. But the view from above was great.



2. Tea Garden





















3.Kunal Pathri temple




















4.War Memorial















5.Museum of Kangra Art



Special mention has to be made about the market and shops in Mcleodganj. They sell art pieces, accessories, ornaments etc , all from the Tibetan and Buddhist culture. Also, the prices are not too steep. The colourful shawls and woolen clothes are also something to look forward to. As you can see in these photos.