A little of Little Lhasa!

August 2012

Post by G

There is so much to see and do in Himachal Pradesh. When we wanted to start exploring the Himachal, the first destination that came to our mind was Dharamshala.  Of course, I am counting out Shimla and Kasauli, which are quick getaways from Chandigarh.  And, most frequented as well.  Accompanied by our friends who were visiting us from Hyderabad, we headed out to our first long drive in our Bolero.  It was August and monsoons had set in.  The drive was expected to be good, but one had to be careful of the rains and the occasional mud slide as we reach greater heights while driving to McLeod Ganj.

There are really 3 pockets you can visit in this region –

Kangra – Fort, museum
Palampur – Tea estate, adventure sports like para gliding and sailing, Andretta artist village, Buddhist Monastery at Bir,Jwalamukhi Temple McLeod Ganj and Dharamshala – Seat of Tibetan government in exile, trekking, coffee shop and great food.

On this trip, we mainly focused on McLeod Ganj and spent some time at Kangra on our way back.  Palampur is a trip in its own right and we hope to go up there sometime soon.

Drive:

Chandigarh – Anandpur Sahib – Nangal – Una – Amb – Kangra – Dharamshala – McLeod Ganj

Chandigarh to McLeod Ganj is 241 km. Up to Nangal the roads are excellent, and again improves closer to Kangra where you start climbing uphill. The ‘bad patch’ is under construction and  hopefully will be upgraded to good condition by the time you undertake the trip. 

Beautiful sunset as we crossed River Beas
55 km from our destination

We set off on a Friday afternoon from Chandigarh.  We stopped at a roadside Vaishno Dhaba in Amb.  It was run by an elderly couple who cooked lunch for us.  It was very tasty and in some sense helped us carry along all the way to McLeod Ganj.  The terrain changes after Amb and the climb begins.  We were driving out of the sultry weather in Chandigarh and the cool breeze that awaited us as we climbed was most welcome.   For those of us who are thinking of Dharamshala and want to actually go to the place that Dalai Lama has made famous, we are actually referring to McLedo Ganj (or upper Dharamshala).  Dharamshala is more the administrative capital of the Kangra district while McLeod Ganj is the capital of the Tibetan Government-in-exile.  We reached McLeod Ganj by nightfall.  The place is unimaginably small and you will be past the town in 5 minutes flat. But, therein lies the charm! At the downtown square, we encountered the vibrant night life of McLeod Ganj.  Like any downtown, there was a traffic jam of sorts even late in the evening.  

We stayed at Flourishing Flora, a small B&B run by a family.  It is on the Dharamkot road, opposite the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts.  The stay is quite light on the pocket and if you are ok with ‘only one towel per room’ policy of the place, then I would highly recommend this. The place also doubles up as a nice nursery and their food is very good. Since the family runs the place, you will have to plan your meal timings in advance.  That said, it is an excellent choice and we have no regrets with the place.  We rested the night and it was a well deserved break after the 7 hour drive from Chandigarh.

View from Cafe Illiterati

On Saturday morning, we set off on foot to the Dalai Lama’s temple.  I have to confess that this is no architectural marvel, but the place holds much significance to the Tibetan population worldwide. It is a sanctuary of sorts. Once inside, you will find the devout going about their prayers and tourists like us clicking away photographs.  We spotted the residence of the Dalai Lama.  It is quite an unassuming quarter within the temple complex.  But, heavily guarded though.  We were told that the Dalai Lama enjoys protection provided by the Para Commandos, Intelligence Bureau, Himachal Pradesh in addition to the police of the Tibetan government in exile. While in the temple, you cannot definitely miss the loud chanting of prayers by young Buddhist monks on one side, while their colleagues try and distract them.  This, we are told, is to help strengthen their concentration.  It is quite a sight to see young boy-monks in orange and red robes going about their religious training with such diligence. The ornate carvings inside the temple where the statues are kept are quite intricate and detailed.  The road leading to the temple is quite a shopper’s delight. You will find vendors on both sides of the narrow road, selling religious curios, sweaters, handicrafts, silver jewellery, beads and of course, delightful eateries dotted the path.  The temple has a book store which can be very attractive for someone into Buddhist studies.

After the temple, we decided to walk down to the Tibetan Library on the Jogibara Road. On the way, we spotted a cafe with an unusual name, Illiterati. We made a note to visit this place on our way back.  The library is situated within the offices of the Tibetan Government in Exile.  It was interesting to see the various office of the government – Home, Foreign Affairs, Education etc.  They even have a department for Chinese Language Studies. Ironical of sorts, don’t you think? The library was closed since it was a government holiday and we quickly made our way back to Cafe Illiterati. This place has lots of books an excellent menu.  But, what takes the cake is the view from the balcony.  We ordered some tea, pasta and sat there far longer than we planned to.  What is the point of going on a holiday, if you can’t relax and take things as they are offered?  

Map of McLeod Ganj

We decided to spend some time shopping. When people found out that we are from Bangalore, their reaction was very warm.  A lot of them have been to Bangalore and have stayed there.  The proximity of Bylakuppe, another Tibetan settlement, to Bangalore is another important reason for this affinity.  We often wondered if the migration of Tibetans to India is a subject of the past.  We found our answer here. One of the assistants in the shop barely spoke Hindi or English. This was strange.  While paying the bills, when we asked the shop owner she said that this girl (in her late teens) had just reached Dharamshala about three months ago from Tibet and she is in the process of learning the language. When we think of international relations and the human struggle for identity and existence it is stories such as these that stand out   make it all worth it.

There are quite a few places to see in McLeod Ganj – the Dal late, the Bhagsu falls, St Johns Church, maybe a quick trip to Dharamkot. We chose to drive down to the Bhagsu temple – a shrine of Lord Shiva also called Bhagsunath. Like most other structures in the region, this temple was destroyed in the great Kangra earthquake of 1904. It has since been rebuilt and enjoys the patronage of the local units of the Indian Army. 

Tired as we were, our interest was still very much high.  For dinner, we went to a Tibetan vegetarian restaurant. 

Where Gods descend to play. Dharmashala Cricket Stadium

We checked out early Sunday morning.  Our destination was the Kangra Fort.  We stopped at the Dharamshala Cricket Stadium.  It has to be one of the most picturesque cricket stadiums in the world.  Don’t blame a fielder if he drops a catch at the boundary, for he may be admiring the beautiful Dhauladhar ranges in the background.

The Kangra fort, like many of its counterparts, is maintained by the Archeological Survey of India.  It is supposed to be the largest fort in the Himalayas.  At the ticket counter, do look out for a staff of the royal family selling audio tour of the fort.  It is Rs. 100 per person and completely worth it. Without the accompanying explanation on the head set, the visit to the fort will do utter injustice to the rich past.  The views from the fort are breathtaking to say the least.  It can get very hot, so please do take a bottle of water with you and a cap is recommended.   At a quick pace, you need about 2 – 2 ½ hours to tour the fort. 

The drive back to Chandigarh was pleasant.  Enroute, we saw groups of devotees going to the Jwalamukhi temple.  The mighty Beas cuts across the high way at some point and it is worth a halt.  The entire route is dotted with dhabas who serve excellent food.  Don’t bother about the calories. Load ‘em up! :)

We were back in Chandigarh in time for dinner.

In case you are planning a trip, here are some of the stay options - 

Heritage/Mid range - http://www.kangragroup.com/villa.html  

Basic but neat - Flourishing Flora http://www.mcleodganjhomestay.net/

HP tourism has 3 properties. Hotel Kashmir is supposed to have really good view. Since it is govt. run, service may not be top class. But recommended for superb location and view http://hptdc.nic.in/cir0302.htm#htbud