THE TRIP:
My trip was a wonderful one and the memories will linger esp. of the majestic views of the mountains.
THE PLACE:
The place is an untouched, un-commercialized, less-frequented hill spot - as compared to most of the north Indian hill stations, and has kept its beauty intact for the tourists to see. We also did not find absolutely any vehicular pollution(perhaps more due to it being the lean season).
Destination is recommended for Nature-lovers and trekkers.
The town is close to the Punjab border(30 kms.) and you see a lot of Punjabi travelers anytime during the week. For the people, the lingo is Punjabi or Himachali.
Dalhousie Public school’s name seems to be all over the place - the numerous road signs they have built, and many sites reading “refurbishments/renovation” across the town.
GPO / Gandhi Chowk seem to be the hub of activities, and is the most crowded place in the town.
WEATHER
The weather was pleasant for most of our stay, except the first day when we were greeted by rain, and the resulting lull and lack of activity. On other days it was bright sunny during the day, though we would be at times looking at mist as we travelled among the mountains.
THE VIEWS
The “views” are great from a lot of places, and the greenish or icy mountain peaks tower above the numerous tall pine trees to give you a heavenly look. We found mist too at lot of places. Also, the view from top of the Chamera Lake is “breath taking”.
ROADS IN/OUT DALHOUSIE
A little surprise, the roads in Dalhousie are well built, and that makes all journeys take less time and be hassle free.
Even roads out of Dalhousie, viz. to Khajiaar, Chamba, are both well built. No bumpy rides here.
Only the road inside the Kalatop sanctuary is a narrow, “kuctcha” one with space for only 1 vehicle, and this is why they don’t allow more than 10 vehicles inside at a time.
COMMUTING IN DALHOUSIE
First of all, let me mention the main roads in Dalhousie. Taking Subhash Chowk and Gandhi Chowk as 2 end points, there are 2 roads: The mall road and the Bus stand road.
The mall road is plain, covered on one side by rocks, and a “railing” on the other. It’s 2 km in length and can be easily covered on feet – but walking alone is not recommended after sunset as it is deserted and not so well lit. There are huts at regular interval where one can rest and take pictures of the scenisc hills. The other road, which has the Bus stand in the middle is an up-and-down road, and is tiring to walk through.
FOOD
As somebody else had mentioned in his travelogue: “do not expect great food in Dalhousie”, so we did. As a result came back happy.
SHOPPING
There is only one(very small) market adjacent to Gandhi Chowk, and is similar to the ones at other hill stations.
EXPENSES
Since we went in the “lean season” we could get a hotel room at a slightly(only) lower rate. We had pre-booked our stay with the hotel, though they didn’t confirm the room number until we arrived(this is completely usual).
We had to shell out a lot of money on Taxi – including pick up and drop for Pathankot, and day tours to Khajjiar and Chamba. One has to keep aside substantial money for the taxi part.
OUR HOTEL
Our hotel was on the court road, 200 meters from Subhash Chowk on a lane. The street was completely walkable with a number of small shops and a few restaurants(Sher-e-Punjab) on it.
The hotel owner is a courteous and amiable guy, and so was his staff – although some of them seemed not-so-well-trained. He was also kind enough to extend our stay by a few hours as we had our train in the evening.
The room was spacious, clean, with wooden floor and modern fittings. No mosquito menace or problem of hot water.
TIP: BEST LOCATIONS FOR A HOTEL
The neighboring areas of either of the 2 chowks i.e. the 2 end points of the mall road are good locations from ALL aspects. A hotel on the mall road is also good as it offers you great “views”(except when your room is facing the road); the only drawback of this location is that the road is deserted after dusk.
PHOTOGRAPHY
We had both a digital camera and a handy cam. They were utterly useful and busy most of the time.
MORE FACTS:
https://shubhyatra.com/himachal-pradesh/dalhousie.html
https://travelmadeeasy.in/dalhousie.htm
https://dalhousie.net/khajjiar.htm
- from: "hesitant traveller"