Dharamsala - McLeod Ganj - Himachal Pradesh

Now I was pretty close to the “Dalai Lama” but I don't really know if he was home when I was here in McLeod Ganj, above Dharamsala. This is the place where the Holy Dalai Lama has been living in exile for 50 years along with the Tibetan government.

I came here with a private driver. Prior to that, I had a phone call with the bus company that was supposed to take me here. The evening before, they told me that the bus was cancelled because the road was closed due to bad weather, but I suspect that the driver just didn't feel like driving. So I booked a driver and he safely brought me from Amritsar to McLeod Ganj, with the perfect weather.

This place is another good example of not feeling like you're in India one day after arriving. Many Tibetan immigrants have settled here. You can feel the altitude of 1400 meters as soon as you step out of the taxi. There's no flat land here, only uphill or downhill. It takes about 15 minutes and a 200 meter descent to get to my quiet guesthouse (a bit outside). Even though it's only 1 degree in the morning, you'll start sweating after 5 minutes. But the view is almost always amazing.

Naturally, this is a great trekking region. So on the first day after arriving, I set off, of course, going uphill. My destination was actually the 2850 meter high “Triund”. However, I had to stop at the “Gullu” Temple at around 1900 meters because the rest of the way up was covered in snow and therefore closed. But that didn't matter and I continued my hike on a slightly snowy path and eventually went back down to McLeod Ganj. The beautiful thing here is that there is a lot of delicious and diverse food, especially Tibetan food, and you don't have to give up meat for now. I have to mention the momos, steamed or fried dumplings filled with vegetables, chicken, or lamb - they are very tasty here.

The next day, in the morning, I visited the Dalai Lama Temple and then took the local bus down to the bus station in Dharamsala and then another bus from there. I got off this bus after about 6 kilometers and walked another 1 km to the “Norbulingka Institute”, a complex designed in the late 80s by a Japanese architect. There is a beautiful temple in the center and several workshops for Tibetan art (wood carving, painting, and Buddhist sculpture making) around it. There is also a restaurant and a hotel in the complex. It's a very beautiful place.

I walked back to the main road and took the next bus for 2 km. When I got off, I reached the "Gyuto Monastery". Here is a complex with a large Buddhist temple and houses where monks and novices live in the entrance area. From here, I took the bus back to McLeod Ganj.

My last day here was dedicated to trekking again. And this time, it was all about going up. I started on the connecting road to the Bhagsu district. This area is more crowded with Indian tourists. At the end of the village, there is a small (unspectacular) Indian temple. After passing through it, you reach the path up to the Bhagsu Waterfall. Take a short break and continue uphill to the “Shiva Cafe”.

Even though I was already quite exhausted, I decided to go for another climb to another temple that was about 1 km away (according to the map). Now, it took a good 90 minutes to hike exclusively uphill on a small path winding along the slope. After countless breaks, I finally reached the destination - an old seemingly uninhabited mountain village with a small temple and tea shops at the entrance. The descent took about 45 minutes and in the evening, I rewarded myself with a Thaksu, a delicious Tibetan noodle soup. Then I took a quick nap to recover.