Dalhousie

There are days when I feel this incessant urge to get away from the maddening maze of macadam materiality towards more serene lap of mother nature. Even if it means trending uncertain paths, even if I am not sure of the destination

...that’s my idea of UNWIND….pack my bag, put on the traveller hat, grab my XUV 500 keys….and whoosh…. start rolling.

During one of such phases of burdening routine and bitten by the unwind bug, I found myself standing atop a small cliff , akimbo, with torrent showery wind gushing past me… what a lovely embrace of nature.

The market square of small hamlet called Dalhousie which just a moment ago was bustling with the busy traffic movement of cars and taxies, the penalties of modern day living, was replaced by the euphonious echo of the hustling wind. There was a taxi stand to one side of the square and a cathedral on the opposite side, people ran to take shelter into.

Sun was still shining brightly at the horizon splattering his last spark, before calling it a day off. The crowd mostly females that clustered under the wooden shed of the taxi stand adjusting their coloured umbrella glowed brightly under the majestic beam

The market square, an old church, an entryway to a Tibetan market, a mountain road running straight up, a group of nicely dressed females with colloquial hats together with a few other running around the streets, tightly squeezing in their wind cheaters, imparted the place a kind of rustic colonial charm, hard to miss, that’s if you looked it through my glasses.

I must have stayed there for quite sometime, in awe, admiring majestic radiance before being pulled back to reality. The thunderstorm had passed away the town was back to its usual bustling self and I was almost drenched completely but I didn’t mind it at all.

“In that chilly coolness of the mountain breeze being wet was like an icing on the cake, like a love affair about to blossom.

I strode through the rows of colourful shops, There were icecream parlours, food joints and of course an unmistakable spirit of craic all around.

Dalhousie is all about scenic and picturesque beauty and calm romantic walkways through a dense cover of greenery.

“As the cool refreshing breeze held my hand and whispered in my ears luring me to follow, I walked through the column of tall trees leaving behind the mundane materialistic howl”

“Look at this…Picture Perfect!…no wonder the site was chosen to shoot the movie ‘Fanaa’.”

The Route

The approximate distance of Dalhousie from Delhi is about 580 kms and the usual route is through Chandigarh, Ambala and Pathankot. From Pathankot the ascent to hilly area starts, Dalhousie is about 80 kms from Pathankot. The roads in this section barring a few patches are decent, I am told.

However, since my journey was unplanned and the only idea was to unwind myself amidst the pristine glory of hills, I found myself wandering through the picturesque countryside of

Kangra and I wish to tell you that I loved every bit of it,

By late evening I was in Dharamshala where I made a stopover at Dharamshala ( about which I’ll be writing in my next travel post) before heading further up to Dalhousie.

On my way back, I travelled via Khajjiar-jot-Shahpur and Dharamshala, a little difficult route but most certainly beautiful, worth a drive.

My trip was hectic, no doubt, and wouldn’t recommend this itinerary unless you can allot a lot more days or you are cray freak like me who loves travelling but is made to sit on deadline by his mundane responsibilities.