The McLeod Ganj Trail
It would be accurate to quote that the pandemic, if not anything has turned most of us into travel enthusiasts. I always had the inclination to travel and explore because who does not? But however, I always thought that I would have enough time for this in my life. But then COVID happened, and we were locked inside our home which made us realize that given any opportunity to travel with our loved ones, we should always go for it.
With the same thought, I decided to travel to Mcleod Ganj, Dharamshala this March. I wanted to escape from the everyday routines of my WFH environment and dive into the nature’s lap for peace and resonance and thus planned the entire trip.
I travelled with one of my friend and, we boarded an overnight bus from Delhi and reached Dharamshala at 7 AM in the morning. We thought lets ditch the usual hospitality of hotels and went ahead to book ourselves bunk beds in one of the backpacking hostels. There are multiple hostel options available in McLeod Ganj like Moustache, Alt Life, Hostel World, Zostel etc., however we decided to stay in Hosteller which was a 30 minutes’ drive from the bus stand.
DAY 1
We checked in around 1 PM. post-resting we decided to explore the nearby places for the first day. At first, we started out with Bhagsu Market to check the local handicrafts and pampered ourselves with some shopping. We then moved to the well-known cafe in town, the SHIVA Cafe. A small trek from the market, close to the Bhagsu Waterfall, SHIVA Cafe is a must visit for everyone. The place offers an incredible ambience of outdoor sitting with a scenic view and some nice english numbers playing at the background making you enjoy your meal a little more than extra. Post food we went to see the waterfall and finally retuned back to the hostel and call it a day.
DAY 2
We woke up early the next day and post some light breakfast at the hostel, decided to travel around McLeod Ganj. We started out with the McLeod Ganj market and then went on to visit the St. John in the Wilderness Church. St. John in the Wilderness is an Anglican Church dedicated to John the Baptist, situated at a distance of 2 Kms from the main market. Set amidst deodar forest and built in neo-Gothic architecture, the Church is known for its Belgian stained-glass windows and beautiful design. We spent some time at the church and then came back to the market to grab our lunch.
Post Lunch, we decided to go around the market for a little longer. All monasteries around Dharamshala and McLeod Ganj were closed because of COVID, hence we missed out on that bit for this time.
Once we exhausted the market, we decided to go to Dharamkot situated at a distance of 2 KM from McLeod Ganj. Dharamkot-a Hippie Village in the Himalayas, is a spot with wide views of the Kangra Valley and the Dhauladhar ranges. We trekked all our way to the village that would last to around 30 minutes with lovely greenery up close. We finally ended our adventurous day with dinner in Dharamkot and then travelled back to the hostel.
DAY 3
For the 3rd day, we decided to travel to Palampur to see the tea gardens. It takes around 2 hours to reach Palampur from Mcleod Ganj. There are multiple ways to travel — you can either take a local bus or hire a taxi. We started little late for the day and reached Palampur at around 5 PM and spent some time gazing and going around the gardens.
After a perfect well spent time, we came back to Mcleod Ganj to finally end the day with dinner in Kalimpong Restaurant. A Pan Asian Restaurant situated in the main market, the dim sums they offer are a must try and the place is highly recommended.
DAY 4
The final day — who likes departing from amazing places where you make memories, right? We thought of making the most out of it by staying at the hostel and getting to know people around. Finally, by evening we packed all our belongings and after a quick goodbye, boarded the bus to come back to Delhi.
Below sharing some personal recommendations as Must Visits:
· Triund Trek/Kareri Lake
· St. John in the Wilderness Church
· Bhagsu Waterfall
· SHIVA Cafe
· Monasteries (If they are open)
· Tibet Kitchen
· Dharamkot — Moonlight Cafe for Food
· Dharamshala Cricket Stadium
· Sunset Point (Naddi)
· Palampur (If tea gardens excite you)
· Kalimpong Restaurant
Although we could not cover the treks and some places because of time constraints, but the overall experience has been quite amazing. I do look forward to visiting more places sooner when situation eases down a little, I am fully vaccinated and frankly, when it will be safer to travel again.
