Our travel to Dalhousie

My daughter had a short break between her final exams and the start of the next academic year. As we had not travelled on a long journey for the past few years, I felt it was an excellent opportunity to spend some time together in the Himalayas. The end of March and the beginning of April is a great time in many hills stations of the Himalayas from the weather and crowd point of view (more about avoiding crowds while travelling can be found here). Dalhousie and Dharamsala were on my list for a long time, and we planned to visit these hill stations of Himachal Pradesh.

In this post, I will write about our experience in Dalhousie, with some information and tips.

Reaching Dalhousie

The only way to reach Dalhousie is by road. The nearest rail station is at Pathankot, a 2-hour drive. But time was a critical factor for us, and we took the flight from Bengaluru. Amritsar was the nearest and most convenient airport. A direct Bengaluru-Amritsar flight made it easy for us. After spending a day in Amritsar, we started towards Dalhousie. The journey till Pathankot was on the super smooth four-lane highway, and the drive from Pathankot was on hills. As we gained altitude, we started feeling the decrease in temperature!!

Dalhousie looked like a peaceful hill station. A lot of hotels and resorts with some local markets!! We started at a luxury resort, which provided great views of the Himalayas. Of course, it had the luxury and comfort of the stay.

We had two full days in Dalhousie, and we spent time covering some of these places.

Dalhousie market

We spent our first evening at the Dalhousie market at mall road (Gandhi Chowk). We just did window shopping and appreciated the vibe at that place!!

Dainkund top and Pohlani Devi temple

Dainkund is a short detour from the Dharmasala-Khajjiar route, a prominent place to visit. As we climbed up on the road, traces of snow started to appear. It was the end of March, and snow was melting. The last two km of the drive were scenic. We climbed up for 15-20 minutes from the car park to reach the top.

The view from the top was beautiful. The lower range of the Himalayas was great.

The path further went towards the Pohlani Devi temple. It meandered through the hills without much gain or loss in the altitude. A pleasant walk, I must say. A km of walking brought us to the temple. It was a small but beautiful temple located in natural surroundings.

Khajjiar

Called Mini Switzerland, Khajjiar is the prime attraction of Dalhousie. Even if we ignore these hyperboles, it is a beautiful place. It is a large meadow with a small lake surrounded by cedar forest. The best thing to do in Khajjiar is to go on long walks, and we just did that!! We walked around the meadow, resting all along the way. I would rate it as one of the great spots in the Himalayas.

Another place of interest is the Khajji Nag temple, near the meadow entrance. It is a 12th-century temple dedicated to Naga (Snake). The hotels and restaurants surround this place!!

The meadow also looked like a happening place for “Instagram influencers”. I saw a few of them coming with photographers and spending hours shooting. Looking at them, I wondered whether they were bothered about the place!! Anyway, it was entertaining!!

Kalatop

While returning from Khajjiar, we took the detour towards Kalatop, a wildlife sanctuary. We had to pay Rs 250/- as the entrance fee for our car. The three km drive to the top was through the deodar forest, and it was a pleasant experience. We did not spot any animals, but we were not expecting to see any!!

At the end of the road were a few forest department cottages. The place looked just fine. But it looked like a good place for an overnight stay.

Beeji’s park

While travelling to Kajjiar in the morning, the beautiful section of Dalhousie Public school impressed us. The park with army artefacts like Jeeps, tankers and jets had caught our attention. While returning, we spent some time posing and taking photographs of that place.

Panchpula waterfall

Panchpula means five streams, but the waterfall does not give justice to it!! I did not expect much from the place, and it lived to that expectation. The entire stretch from the main road to the waterfall is teeming with restaurants. The waterfall itself is small.

St. John’s church

Located at Gandhi square, the architecture of this church is magnificent. Built using stones in Victorian-era architecture, this church built in 1863 is a lovely place to spend some time.

Chamera lake and Jot pass were other places worth seeing, but we could not visit them.

Information and tips

• Dalhousie, at 6,500 ft, is a great place to visit throughout the year. The weather is pleasant during summer, and it snows during winter.
• There are plenty of accommodation options ranging from budget hotels to high-end resorts.
• There are many vegetarian restaurants in the town.
• If you are not driving, you could hire vehicles from the towns of Pathankot or Amritsar. The roads are in good condition.
• Two days is good enough to visit the places mentioned in this post. You can extend it to make a relaxed stay.