Thinking about the land that cradled Buddhism, I looked forward to my trip to Dharamshala, another city with a predominant Buddhist culture. Born and brought up in Gurugram, where I never saw any Buddhist architecture. I was entirely unfamiliar to concepts like stupas, thangkas, pagodas and prayer wheels. Dharamshala is all about vibrant Tibetan flags, beautiful rolling prayer wheels and the rejuvenating sound of the ringing bells and chirping birds. My first day was dedicated to exploring the beautiful Norbulingka Institute of Tibetan Culture. Built in an authentic traditional Tibetan style, the institute is nestled in a lovely garden of meandering paths, flowing streams, ponds and bridges. The tranquillity here is a refreshing breathe from the ever honking and bustling of city life. Day two saw the adventurer in me setting off on a much memorable trek to Triund. The nine-kilometre trek from McLeod Ganj to Triund beholds a panoramic view of Kangra Valley. The trek gradually steepened and the roads narrowed as I moved further. To my good luck, a small snack shop midway, provided refreshments. A hot cup of the most delicious adrak wali chai and a few biscuits later, I further headed up, making my way through a hilly route that kept narrowing led me up to the summit point of the hill. The view from top was something that I will cherish forever. Locals call it ‘Magic View Mountain’ because of the panoramic view it offers. Another interesting but not as exhausting as Triund was the two-kilometre trek to Bhagsu Falls on my third day of the trip. The effect of the cold water and the lush greenery around made it a perfect site to rejuvenate myself as I enjoyed the underlying scenic beauty. Bhagsu Temple is the most loved attraction here. As much as
Thinking about the land that cradled Buddhism, I looked forward to my trip to Dharamshala, another city with a predominant Buddhist culture. Born and brought up in Gurugram, where I never saw any Buddhist architecture. I was entirely unfamiliar to concepts like stupas, thangkas, pagodas and prayer wheels. Dharamshala is all about vibrant Tibetan flags, beautiful rolling prayer wheels and the rejuvenating sound of the ringing bells and chirping birds. My first day was dedicated to exploring the beautiful
McLeodganj is a beautiful weekend getaway for those who live in NCR, Punjab or Haryana. It is a much-loved destination to live the midst of nature. McLeod promises something or the other for everyone and for every soul. With the unpredictable summers of Delhi which causes sweat-dreaded hot days with the mercury racing along the 45° mark. It's the worst season to be living in Delhi and most Delhiites will agree to me. So, this summer, as soon as the mausam vibhaag made the predictions, I decided to head up to north, to a cooler climate. My destination was McLeod Ganj, Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh. I chose to drive and hence, left home before the break of dawn. I drove initially taking NH1 and later steering to NH503. I must appreciate and acknowledge the fact that the highway department has done a fantastic job in making the roads and keeping them well-maintained. The drive was more of fun as it was smooth and comfortable. I was full of picturesque landscapes and I felt like getting down and clicking pictures every five minutes. I rolled the car windows down and took the fresh air in, it was then when I knew, coming here was an excellent decision. The distance of approximately 500 km was covered in close to 9 hours, with a 50-60-minute halt at Chandigarh, for a scrumptious lunch and few brief halts along the highway for tea and refreshments. McLeod Ganj was surprisingly different from rest of hill station I had been to. Yes, there were the hills and the snow-covered mountain ranges at the distance, the fresh air was cool enough to arouse our nostrils and we could almost feel it detoxifying our lungs. The certain smell from the pine trees and the virgin surrounding left us smitten,
McLeodganj is a beautiful weekend getaway for those who live in NCR, Punjab or Haryana. It is a much-loved destination to live the midst of nature. McLeod promises something or the other for everyone and for every soul. With the unpredictable summers of Delhi which causes sweat-dreaded hot days with the mercury racing along the 45° mark. It’s the worst season to be living in Delhi and most Delhiites will agree to me. So, this summer, as soon as the
Tucked away in the Garhwal Himalayas, at 2620 meters into the sky that’s approximately 7000 ft above sea level, enroute to Gangotri comes a quaint little village – Harsil. Set amidst pine trees and apple orchards, the town is famous for more things than one. It’s a trekker’s paradise, known to offer spectacular views of the Himalayan mountain peaks. It is well known for its local apple produce and is also famed for making an appearance in the super hit Bollywood movie by director Raj Kapoor – ‘Ram Teri Ganga Maili’. The town was still in its pristine condition – uncluttered, neat and serene… waiting to sing her own tale. I tried to picture something of it, by setting out to explore the place. I started off with a visit to the local and the ancient Kalp Kedareshwar temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. From here, I could see the stream of turquoise blue Ganges water and though I had met mother Ganga only a few hours earlier in Gangotri, still could not resist climbing down towards the banks to catch Her glimpse. Down at the banks, there was no one except a village woman drinking the holy waters from the cusp of her hand. On seeing me, she smiled and offered a few drops to me as well! Chilly winds were making me skittish but the warmth of her smile comforted me. Do you know how the place gets its name? She asked in her broken Hindi. Even before I could give out my reply, she started her narration... Once, Rivers Bhagirathi and Jalandhari had an argument about which was more significant. Lord Vishnu aka Hari intervened by taking the form of a stone or shila (Hari-shila or Harsil), and absorbed their anger. Even today, the waters of the two
Tucked away in the Garhwal Himalayas, at 2620 meters into the sky that’s approximately 7000 ft above sea level, enroute to Gangotri comes a quaint little village – Harsil. Set amidst pine trees and apple orchards, the town is famous for more things than one. It’s a trekker’s paradise, known to offer spectacular views of the Himalayan mountain peaks. It is well known for its local apple produce and is also famed for making an appearance in the super hit
I was planning a trip to Auli (a popular ski and winter sports destination in Chamoli, Uttrakhand) since quite some time, but was never able to finalize my travel plans. Every time one or the other reason played showstopper but finally everything got materialized last weekend. So, I booked my train tickets, packed my bags and left Delhi on 21st January. Next day I reached Haridwar and from there I took a private cab which further took me till Joshimath. From Joshimath, the only way is using a ropeway! I took the ropeway for Auli. The ticket costed Rs. 500 per person (return journey included). The cable car runs only at fixed times during the day, and the last one runs at 4:30 PM. The car can take 25 passengers in one go, but will not start until it had a minimum of 10 persons on board. I took the car at 10:30 AM, and the moment the car started its upward journey, a strange sense of excitement engulfed me. While going up, the moment the car crossed tower number 3, the kids in my car started shouting "snow-snow" as we passed through some small patches of snow on trees and roads below. The terrain slowly started turning white from dark green as we continued our journey upwards. Tall fir and pine trees, most of them covered in snow, offered a great visual treat. Then suddenly, everything turned white below us as we passed tower number 7. And I could see great peaks like Nanda Devi (second highest peak in India after K2) on our left side, and just behind my back were the three famous peaks: The Lotus (Kamal peak), the Horse's Saddle peak, and the Elephant peak. They simply looked so majestic! I got down from tower no.
I was planning a trip to Auli (a popular ski and winter sports destination in Chamoli, Uttrakhand) since quite some time, but was never able to finalize my travel plans. Every time one or the other reason played showstopper but finally everything got materialized last weekend. So, I booked my train tickets, packed my bags and left Delhi on 21st January. Next day I reached Haridwar and from there I took a private cab which further took me till Joshimath.
