Dharamsala - the noodles destination!

Summer in Punjab can be quite scorching, with temperatures soaring up to 45˚ C. And when you get a break to escape the heat, with the cool Himachal Pradesh nearby, you dash for it. This time it was the splendid Dharamsala in the Dhauladar range of Himachal Pradesh, we chose to celebrate the Independence Day.  Being in Jalandhar is quite an advantage, as the distance is just 170 kms to Dharamsala. Riding or driving to the hills on a bike or car is always rejuvenating. Clearly that wasn’t the case as our Maruti 800 with 5 people wasn’t in a condition to handle the unpredictable terrain the hills would throw at it. So, we took a night bus to Dharamsala from Jalandhar.

HPTC busses ply regularly to Manali, Dalhousie and Dharamsala from Jalandhar. The bus takes a route from Jalandhar – Adampur – Hoshiarpur – Chintpurni – Kangra.  We reached Kangra town at 2:30 am and from Kangra, local buses were available to Dharmsala at that time! A half hour, 17 km bus ride again to Dharamsala was pretty cool, as the weather too turned like that from the hot and sweaty Jalandhar. The biggest surprise was waiting as we got down at Dharamsala. The night sky from there, dotted with stars, the view of Milky Way galaxy was just too awesome and gave a jolt of energy for the weary traveler within us. Surely a sight for the sore eyes. 3 am isn’t a great time to go looking for hotels in a deserted town, and we spent a good one hour looking for one in vain until a taxi driver came to our rescue and dropped us to a decent hotel. The cozy hotel bed was a welcome change from the constant roller coaster bus ride.

The HPCA stadium, one of the highest cricket stadiums in the world

The next day started at 10 am, waking up to the foggy mountain view, freshening up and having a breakfast of Maggi and orange juice. The day was spent in a relaxed way, us just sightseeing the local tourist spots hiring a taxi. One of the the most picturesque cricket stadiums in the world, HPCA is located in Dharamsala at an altude of 1457 meters above sea level. The entry is free and the stadium is nestled amidst the Dhauladhar mountain range. Another noteworthy place is the Dalai Lama temple which is a monastery, located in Mcleodganj. The temple gives an insight to the Buddhist culture and their way of life. It is located in the lively market of Mcleodganj. As it was a three day holiday weekend, scenic hill station was full of life with tourists and locals alike. Naddi is another place where one can see the sun set and sun rise point. It also offers some great views of the mountains around. Dharamsala houses some great Tibetan restaurants and we decided to try Tibetan cuisine for lunch. Tenyang café in Mcleodganj market is located near to the Dalai Lama temple. Momos, chowmien,  thukpa are some of the famous Tibetan delicacies. I tried the thukpa, which is essentially boiled rice noodles in soup, with cabbage, onions, carrots and tomatoes. It was a light, simple and tasty food.

Market in Mckeodganj

Lunch, Tibetan style !

Bhagsu town, weekend rush. Bhagsu is also the base point for Triund trek

We decided to stay at Bhagsu for the night and headed there. Bhagsu is just 2 kms from Mcleodganj but the insane traffic took us half hour to get there. For the unplanned backpacker, finding hotels at a peak holiday season can be a nightmare. It’s always a better idea to find one in Dharamsala or Mcleodganj due to limited options in Bhagsu. Dharamkot is also a good option. The famous Bhagsu nag temple  is located in the heart of the town and the Bhagsu waterfall is behind the temple, a short hill trek of 1.5 kms. The night visit to the falls was fascinating, as the half moon lit up the mountains with a faint glow and the milky white waterfall gave it a divine outlook. The fewer crowds at that time made it a more peaceful walk up the falls. German bakery in Bhagsu is a famous restaurant for its varieties like Isreali, Mexican, Continental, Tibetan, Italian, German and of course, Indian cuisine and the current favorite of all of us being Thukpa and chowmien, and some non veg sizzlers.

                                            The Himalaya tea stall, Dharamkot

en route to Dharamkot

The next day, two other friends were to join us for a one night, two day trek to Triund hill. This is a famous route, at an altitude of 9760 feet above sea level; it is the gateway to Indrahar pass. Some of the famous places like snow line, Galu devi temple are in this route. The trek route starts at Bhagsu, where our trek organizer Manu Adventures arranged a guide for the camping equipments. We started at around 1130 hrs from Bhagsu. It is a 2 km walk through the forests up the hill, to the village of Dharamkot. The trek up to Dharamkot through the forest on a cloudy morning, with lush greenery all around and the cool mountain air simply energizes you.

The Himalaya tea stall is a meeting point for refreshments on the way and a landmark. From there, it is a 7 km trek all the way to Triund. It’s always better to travel with as little baggage as you can and also eat light. Energy bars, chocolates and liquids keep up the energy and prevent dehydration.

There are a number of food stalls on the way up, with Maggie being the default meal found and preferred everywhere and I wasn’t complaining. Magic view point half way up the trek with its small maggi stall overlooking the mountains offers some of the best views.

The trek up was nothing short of marvelous. The ever changing scenery, every turn up the hill presenting another spectacular view of the mighty mountains, with rain pouring down was a delight. The trek took us 5 hours to reach the top of Triund hill. The view at the top, needless to say, was amazing. The rest of the evening was spent taking pictures and selfies. As night approached the mountains were illuminated faintly by the half moon, some of the rocks brilliantly reflecting the faint light.

  The landscape at the top and while climbing up was something out of a GOT scene. A dragon flying above would have completed it. But it was just the cows and horses grazing peacefully, not bothered by the number of people occupying its grazing land with tents and camping equipments. Dinner was served in a forest guest house, which was roti, dhal and potato curry.  Sitting on a rock, looking at the starry skies above lit up by half moon with other camp mates playing music, singing and dancing,  as we chatted away,  it had to be one of the best evenings I have spent atop a hill. At close to 2330 hrs, we called it a day and hit the bags. Our tent was set up on a slightly sloping surface and I found myself regularly at the entrance of the tent,  sliding my way in the dead of night from the opposite end in my sleeping bag!

Triund peak, campsite

The next day started at 7 am, waking up amidst the super cool mountain ranges, freshening up, having a breakfast of Maggi (yeah..!!), bread and tea. The descent down was fast, and this time it was a misty climb down the hills. As we reached down, it was pouring at Dharamkot and Bhagsu.

           We headed down to German bakery for lunch and next place to visit was Shiva café. It is nestled 1.5 kms from Bhagsu nag temple, atop Bhagsu falls, and offers excellent view of the valley below. Shiva café is famous for its hippie happy atmosphere, location above the falls, food, music and the gypsy crowd.

Shiva cafe, nestled atop Bhagsu falls

Bhagsu falls

From the perspective of a guy who loves noodles, Dharamsala is the noodles destination! At every turn during the trip, it was an 'awesomeness reloaded’ feeling both in terms of nature and noodles.

The Flash & Gang