Misty Monsoons & McLeod Ganj......

History can be so astonishing even in its inconsequential corners, like for example how do you name a place and then that place for eternity is known as such, without anyone to question.....I was so amazed to know that Dharamshala was so named coz when the British annexed that empty piece of land in the middle of 19th Century, it only had 1 Hindu rest house, dharamshala and so came along the name....McLeod Ganj came some years later to accommodate the bulging crowds at Kangra. The British moved two regiments to Dharamshala, in few years it had two important places of civilian settlement, McLeod Ganj and Forsyth Ganj, named after their Divisional Commissioners.

But all this was to change in the post-Independence era when, Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, set up the Government of Tibet in exile in 1960,  McLeod Ganj became his official residence and home to several Buddhist monasteries and thousands of Tibetan refugees. This place is today bustling with tourists and is a sought after holiday destinations for many across the plains.

For me Dharamsahala & McLeod Ganj were both disappointing as I am neither a religious traveler neither appreciate the half-heart-ed-ugly-urbanization of the hill-stations. So like most other hill stations in the country this place is over-crowded, unsymmetrical and chaotic, but it was notably clean in most parts and the weather comfortably cold and rainy making it very misty; and the mist hiding away the ugliness and making the place feel magical!

To beat the disappointment I goggled up and found a favorite trek point that could be done in a day - The place was called Triund and is about 9-7-5 kms one side walk up depending on where you start your trek from. As we missed the first half of the day to the rains we took the easy way out at 5kms.

(You can start the trek frm McLeod Ganj (9kms), near the Tibetian school (7kms) or the Goolu Temple (5kms).

Almost all the blogs (amateur/picnickers) mention this one as a 'easy day trek' and trust me there is nothing easy about it and I am still nursing my aching body! The trek from Goolu Devi temple is a medium steep till the mid-point (abt 3kms and took us abt 1hr 15mins) and from here it’s a very steep climb up and it took us equal time to cover the next 2 kms. The view through the trek was a mix of dense forest and open valley and settlements below; The Cricket Stadium @ Dharamshla makes a spectacular focal point to the view. (You can do the trek on your own or hire a local guide)

  

After a lot of huffing-puffing we made it to the summit; there are 3 makeshift shops selling hot tea, maggi and daal-chawal, very basic but delightfully warm and comforting after the climb; No toilets so you are on your own; On a good-weather night you can camp beneath the stars and you won't be disappointed. We were late and had to walk down before sunset as its difficult and slippery to walk in the dark and there are dangers of meeting the original inhabitants (bear, cheetahs) so either you stay-put  and climb down the next day (in an off-season you can easily rent a tent & sleeping bag and there are 2 permanent structures as well) or climb down before sunset. In season you might have to book in advance, as the place gets really crowded.

Apart from the eventful trek, all that I remember of the trip is F-O-O-D, the place is bustling with eateries and you can get everything from continental to PAN Asian (Chinese/Tibetien/Korean to even Vegetarian Japanese) apart from the very Indian daal-chawal-kukkad-shukkad!

Seems like the place is very popular for weed and everyone knows how and where to get it (except for us,coz no one picked our clues); While HOMP(highway on my plate) has a lot of recommended places, I wasn't particularly impressed with any so the trick is to try everything out!

In that category(trying everything) 2 of the places made it to the top of my list- 1 small tucked in bakery - 'Tibetian Bakery' was a real surprise, specially the Yak cheese cake, never had anything like that before! And then there is the Mandala Café close to the Bhudhist Temple; The Yogurt Cake was worth a try there.

I wasn't particularly impressed with the momo’s either, I still dote on the ones @ Chanakyapuri, New Delhi.

So in-all  McLeod Ganj is for foodies who want to enjoy a variety of food and not feel guilty about it, as the weather there is perfect and the steep lanes will help you digest well.You can just eat-sleep-relax....and if you are going in off season you don't need to book in advance, just walk in and negotiate...We stayed at a small and cozy home-stay-kind of hotel called 8 Auspicious Him View and it was an absolute pleasure.(Review on tripAdvisor)

What to eat - Momos, Thukpa, bakery items(cheese cakes, carrot cakes etc), Fish fry and Chicken from the street vendors, continental stuff- pasta etc, Korean and Japanese food..and the list goes on!

And don't miss to spend a day strolling the markets up to the Buddhist Temple lined up with amazing food outlets and curios @ bargain!

What to buy - Buddha's of all size, shape, postures and colors, Yellow Chilli powder(A lady next to the prayer wheels in the market sells it for 20 rupees a pack), Incense stick holders and Tibetan incenses and hand woven woolens..!

Travel Trivia:-

You can reach McLeod Ganj from Delhi (522 kms) by road (bus/car) or flight (closest airport is Gaggal) or by train. We chose the train option; took a late night (22:45pm) train (Dhuladhar Express) from Old Delhi Railway station and reached Pathankot by 8am; From there its a easy-breezy 130 km/ 2.5hrs ride to McLeod ganj; Jullandhar is another close by rail head about 4-5 hrs away (196 km , we took the Shatabdi back from there;

Nearby places/towns you can include in your itinerary 

1.Kangra Fort

2.Palampur 

3.Norbulignka

4.Dharamsala

5.Bhagsunath

6.Baijnath

 But what ever you, just don't dirty the place...if you are trekking, pl carry back your waste!