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
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.
