Dalhousie : A Hilly Paradise ❤️
Updated: Oct 10, 2020
Dalhousie was on my bucket list for long and I visited the place in October 2015. My little one was just a year old so I was in two minds whether he will be able to cope up with the travel but the mountains beckoned me and I had to go. It was a 6 day trip 3 nights Dalhousie and 3 Nights Dharamshala, people usually also visit Amritsar but we skipped it and enjoyed the hills at its fullest. In this blog we will explore Dalhousie.
Dalhousie is a spectacular hill station tucked in the beautiful state of Himachal Pradesh. The name of the hill station is derived from British viceroy of colonial India, Lord Dalhousie and it was famous summer vacation destination for the Britishers. When we visited the place in October the temperature was a pleasant 11 Degree Celsius and the heater in the rooms really helped to make us comfortable.
On 15th October we booked a flight ticket from Mumbai to Chandigarh and back. Dalhousie is around 320 kms from Chandigarh. We had booked a hotel named Grandview which is situated in market area yet has a charming serenity about it. Since they had a school picnic all the rooms were booked and we were given an upgrade to Suite which was a added advantage.
As we reached by late evening we relaxed in our room. The rooms have a beautiful view of valley and snow clad mountains. We enjoyed a cup of coffee in the balcony watching the clouds pass by at its own pace.
Next day we went out for sightseeing after a sumptuous breakfast. First we visited Dainkund peak, the place is on top of a hill from where one can see the Dhauladhar ranges and the winding road down the hill. There is a small Phulana Devi temple on the top of the hill, but since our son had a fall and started crying we could not go till the end. The view from above is mesmerizing and the place is worth visiting.
Next we visited Khajjiar also know as the Switzerland of India with open meadows surrounded by mountains. We had a plate of Maggie which is mandatory when you visit a hill station in north India. We engaged 2 horses named Rambo and Sultan and went on a horse ride on the mountains. After we got down, we had our lunch and headed back to our hotel. In the evening we went out to stroll around the market and tasted some awesome momos. Later in the night we had our dinner and went to sleep.
Next morning we headed to the beautiful Chamera Lake. Chamera Lake is in fact formed due to Chamera dam which provides water to nearby places in Chamba district. They have boating facility and the boat ride is quiet mesmerizing with the turquoise blue clean water and surrounding mountains. As the place was warm in the afternoon we did not carry sweaters for the boat ride but as we got along the ride the weather changed drastically and chilling wind left us freezing, though we managed to capture some pictures of the beautiful lake.
We had a lunch and left for the resort as there is nothing much to see in Dalhousie. The place is good for people who want to do minimum sight seeing and lots of relaxation. In the evening we went for a stroll in the famous Garam sadak and Thandi sadak. Basically they are mall road. Thandi sadak has more trees so the sunlight doesn't reach the lane and therefore it's called Thandi sadak and as the name suggests Garam sadak is the lane which receives more sunlight. Various shops are located on the sides of this roads and it also has Tibetan market. The Tibetan market is closed in the month of October and opens in December.
After reaching the hotel we had our dinner, packed our bags and were all set to explore a new Destination.😍
Radhika Thankar