Mcleod ganj more than a tourist place

Tripoto
Photo of McLeod Ganj, Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, India by Sindhu Chandra
Photo of Bhagsu Nag, Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, India by Sindhu Chandra
Photo of Bhagsu Nag, Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, India by Sindhu Chandra
Photo of McLeod Ganj, Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, India by Sindhu Chandra

If you want to beat the heat, want to party hard than usual, wanna celebrate birthday or any kind of celebration or bored from the daily monotonous routine, i will suggest you to hit this tiny Tibet, which located in Himachal pradesh.

An Unremarkable trip gives you a good inspiration and motivation, leads to a good story to share...Let's drive into more fun of the moments encountered in the trip.

know that am not a great writer as Abhi-now, i can not explain like he does, but I can pen down my experience :) I had this place on top of my bucket list,when I started reading Abhi-now stories about mc leod ganj, I fell in love with his stories about this tiny village nested at hillock with gigantic snow caped mountain view where city is live always with lush green boundaries, eateries, shopping, monasteries, waterfall, trekking, adventure sports, ufffff so much to see.

After having trekked Kedarkantha, we decided to stay back for a week to explore Himachal Pradesh, 1st thing we wanted to do is paragliding in Bir billing then Daramshala and Mcleodganj.

We reached Dharamsala by 7 pm from bir. We didn't find any buses to Mcleod ganj. Actually our plan was to stay at Dharamkot. We hired a taxi to reach there. It was an amazing route. I was mesmerized by the scenic view of this place.

We reached a village just 2 km from Mcleod ganj called Dharamkot. Some people told us that it is a great place to stay. We started searching for a stay. Few hotels were closed and the one we saw was not that great and they quoted 1500 bucks but was not worth it. We decided to check few more stays. I was hungry and I told my fellow traveler to check around for hotels. I ordered soup and bread omelette.

After filling stomach with mouthwatering soup we checked around for a vehicle to reach Mcleodganj because we did not find any hotels around there and there were no vehicles / people around that place. It was getting a bit spooky. I remember English movie "Wrong Turn", our path was looking like that. We decided not to wait and started walking down for 2 kms. It was dark and the path filled with pine trees. Oh wait I can see nothing in that dark, how will know whether these trees are pine or something else? Simple i don't know the name of these trees, too long trees. I start hallucinating - what if leopard comes or a ballu ( bear)? What to do? Even to turn-on the torch my phone battery was about to die. We tried to walk on in the dark but it wouldn't work out. Fortunately 1 point power left in the power bank and it got torch. It took 30 min for us to come down. We found one backpackers stay which was convenient for us. It was situated below the main road. We had to use stairs to reach. Again I get lost in my hallucinations - how am I gonna climb these steps when we are returning back? It doesn't makes any sense. There were almost 100 steps. How can I climb with 90 liters of bag on my back and 10 liters of bag at front? The hotel guy asked me for my ID. I checked into room and it was quite good. I was tired and thought of going to bed. Had a long hot shower and sang in my shower too. I know am a super duper bad in singing ;)

morning started a bit early before sunrise for us. 1st in our list was to hit bagsunagh temple and bagsu nagh falls. Then near by places. It took 30 mins for us to reach this temple by walk. Narrow road leading down to the waterfalls and temple. I was paying attention to the stalls that were lined up both sides of that narrow road. Visited temple, water falls, had lunch and did shopping. It was an short and memorable trip. Mcleodganj will remain as one of the best travel diary for me. I would love to go there at any time again. Okay, now let me explain the places to visit in things to do in Dharamsala and Mcleod ganj.

Places to visit in Dharamshala & Mc leodganj:

This is the kinda place where you can live closely with the nature and in peace. The tranquility that it provides. Its the place where you would find monks leading a simple and humble life. Water falls that make way to reach down and surprise you. Coffee plantations. Let me explain you main attractions and things you should do in Dharamshala.

Dal lake : beautiful lake situated amidst lush green, at an altitude of 5824 feet and excrete transcendence in serene surroundings. its just 2 KM from Mcleod ganj main market, worth of walking 2 km ;)

Kangara fort: is a fort which was constructed by the royal family of kangara and dates back 4th century its a majestic sample of architecture. it is one of the oldest fort in India, largest fort in Himalayas.

tea gardens, jwalamukhi temple, monasteries, war memorial, art galleries and museums are few places you must visit.

Things you must experience:

Triund trek and camping at Daramkot, one of the best camping in the wilderness in Himalayas with best view.

Camp stay at chrysalid at Dharamshala, situated at upper reaches of the kangara valley and surrounded by dense coniferous forest, you can visit indu nag temple if you are religious, and dont forget to try local traditional dress. But, Always remember to have a safe trip.