MY TRIP TO DHARAMSHALA, HIMACHAL PRADESH

June 14th 2012

^{Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh.....residence of the exiled Dalai Lama and the home of the exiled Tibetans since the 1960s. .. Dharamshala is located in the Kangra Valley and lies amidst the high Dhauladhar mountains.}

^{Since 8 years back when my colleague told me about beautiful Dharamshala, I had nurtured a desire to visit the place.  I had conjured in my mind a paradise surrounded by Tibetan and Buddha culture and monasteries amdist beautiful mountains and lakes.} 

The drive from Simla to Dharamshala is breathtaking. As we pass the district of Bilaspur, we see the Gobind Sagar lake which is an artificial lake formed as a result of the world famous Bhakra Dam on the river Sutlej.

^{One crosses such other beautiful districts like Mandi, Hamirpur, Una and finally the beautiful Kangra Valley.}  

<sup>We finally reached our hotel at McLeodGanj, home to Dalai Lama and Tibetans. The hotel (Anand Palace) was a terrible disappointment and we were forced to shift to another hotel (Royal Palace), but no hotel there seemed to have any beautiful view, other than facing either construction or another hotel or traffic loaded streets. 

 We were shaken a bit on arrival. Where were all those beautiful mountains and lakes and other landscapes that we had seen on our way.  Where was all that peace, all the spirituality that we had conjured up in our minds.</sup>

^{The main attraction closeby we were told was the McLoedGanj market. This is like any other market and nothing exciting. Besides there is no place to walk with traffic screeching at you and no great delight shopping there.}  

^{We visited the Monastery of Dalai Lama but it seemed to have a kind of isolated existence, lacking somewhat in spirit and it seemed void of any kind of Tibetan rituals. A strange sight were the 'Real' brand of Orange Juices, Britiannia biscuits, 'lays' wafers and chocolates all stocked up around the Buddha idols. We asked the reason and were told they are  offerings!. We also visited the Norbulingka Institute which depicts various forms of Tibetan culture. But again it seemed to have a more commercial angle to it than anything else.}

^{All this made Dharamshala score very low in my recommended holiday destinations.  I kept asking myself why when even author William Dalrymple mentions it in his book Nine lives under the chapter 'Old Monks'. Why did I seem so disappointed with the place.}

^{To some extent, I guess the place lacks an identity of its own.  It is a melange of sorts. But this also later seemed very interesting.}

^{Walking on an uphill road, very close to our hotel, we were quite surprised at what we saw.  The whole Hippies culture. Mediation, yoga, tantriks, drugs all going on very openly.  I felt I was watching Dev Anand’s 1971 movie Hare Rama, Hare Krishna which depicted the Hippies culture prevalent in India those days and to me it was quite amazing to know that all of it still exists just the same way, here at Dharamshala.}

^{So there is melange of culture that you witness. The red-robed refugee Tibetan monks,  the hippies, the crowd of  Punjabi folk during weekends and then the local Himachal people, all co-existing with each other, accepting very peacefully each other’s differences and all that seems to make for Dharmashala.}

 ^{You keep searching for some particular identity or spirit to attach the place with. But don’t find one.} 

^{Well you also then realise the beauty is not found on ground. One has to move up to experience the real Dharamshala.}

^{One of the main attractions of Dharamshala is Triund hill, 2,895 metres above sea level. Jewel of Dharamshala, Triund is a one day trek at the upper reaches of McLeodGanj, located at a distance of about 9 kilometres from McLeodGanj and 17 km from Dharamshala.} 

^{This was my first major mountainous trek. We did the trek from Galu Devi temple which is located at a height of 2,300 meters. So the trek to Truind is in essence 595 metres which took us 2 and half hours to reach the top.(in our naivety we believed we had done all of 2,895 metres!!). If you ask any of the local taximen or rickshaw drivers, they say it is a just a bit of climb from Galu Devi and then a straight walk.... Perhaps that's why we saw families with small kids who set out to attempt the climb. It is clearly not that easy!!!}

 <sup>It is a steep climb all the way, only a bit of straight walk here and there. While  coming down we did the entire trek down to McLeodGanj which took us 4 hours which is about 800 metres downhill (as McLeodGanj is located at 2,082 metres above sea level).  The downhill again proved interesting... to see a whole set of locals having let out their humble homes to foreigners (a lot of Israelis) who try to imbibe the Indian culture of yoga and mediation and the works, well in their own ways!!. What is interesting to see is the locals living their lives untouched by these foreign elements, yet housing them very beautifully. Guess that is the spirit of India and Indians... tolerant, hospitable and welcoming all. 

Triund hosts the majestic views bestowed upon by nature and possibly in the whole world the nearest snowline in the entire Himalayan mountain range, here snowline is located at the shortest distance of about 13 km (Distance from McLeodGanj).</sup>

 

<sup>From Truind Hill one can go further to Illaqa which is located at a height of 3,300 metres where one can see the snow-capped Dauladhar peak at its closest (the mountain peak of Dauladhar is at a height of 4,800 metres above sea level).

However, we left it for the next time. Perhaps if we had planned better, we could have camped one night at Truind Hill and taken off to Illaqa early next morning.

My first major trek to the Triund Hill,  meeting scores of travellers from different parts of the world, reaching the top to witness the beautiful snow capped Dauladhar ranges, testing and stretching my body limits. Well that was the high point of Dharamshala for me.</sup>

^{At the end of the Himachal Trip, I realise I had visited Shimla too, but Dharamshala was more captivating for me with all its differences and varied experiences and at the end of it you forget the noisy crowds, bad roads, the dirt and the screeching horns and what stays in the mind is a lot of beauty.}