Tourism destroyed the place- Dalhousie diaries

My first trip to Dalhousie in April 2014 had left me enthralled and excited about Himachal Pradesh. The natural unspoiled beauty and pleasant weather made me fall in love with the place and planted a thought in my head about exploring it more. And there after much convincing and complaining from husband who had never been to Dalhousie, I agreed to visit the place again in 2018.

While the valley was snow covered back then in 2014, it was dry and warm in 2018. Effects of global warming surely! The locals told us about scanty snow fall this year, that too in late December. We had packed woolens but could wear none, owing to high temperature and absence of snow. More resorts, hotels and guest houses have mushroomed, and the hills have lost more green cover. Coming years Dalhousie might bear a deserted brown look.

KHAJJIAR

Soothing green. Somewhere in the greens of the hills, I wish to spend the rest of my life, where birds sing and sheep graze, where the stars shine and mist brings haze, where the nature blooms and sun shines bright, where soft breeze greets you day and night.. #traveladdictshilpi #Himachal #Khajjiar@naturenestd @chambabstd @nature.geography @dalhousietown @highonhimalayas @streets.of.himalayas @streets.of.himachal @onehimachal #natgeoindiatraveller #natgeoyourshot @onehimachal

A post shared by Shilpi Dutta (@duttashilpi) on Mar 31, 2018 at 6:40am PDT

Upon entering Khajjiar, it seemed we entered a gas chamber. The narrow roads smelled of diesel and petrol. Well, since there are no buses plying on the roads, tourists depend on taxi/personal vehicles hence causing more pollution. We cannot blame anybody else but our own. The good part was the pasture land looked the same. The tall pine trees and green patch of land were of much respite. Husband was disappointed to see no sheep grazing around. He had high expectations from Khajjiar as from what he had seen in my pictures from 2104. Better luck next time hubby.



How to reach Khajjiar- Khajjiar is 22 km from Dalhousie bus terminal. Hire a cab or rent a bike. The main attraction is the pasture land with a little pond in the centre, few eating joints at one corner, an ancient temple and activities like paragliding/ horse riding. The Govt. Guest House is not easily available for booking. Recommended to make your stay arrangements in Dalhousie or in a resort midway of Dalhousie-Khajjiar route.


KALATOP 

Cabin in the woods. How about spending your whole life in the tranquil forests of the beautiful Himalayas, in a small hut, breathing in fresh life and watching nature paint the sky every day? #natgeoyourshot #Kalatop #Dalhousie #Himachal #traveladdictshilpi #HillsCalling #Citybreak

A post shared by Shilpi Dutta (@duttashilpi) on Apr 15, 2018 at 10:50am PDT

This was my visit to Kalatop Wildlife Sanctuary, as I was totally fascinated by the beauty of the place from the Bollywood flick Lootera. The quiet vicinity of the protected forest is known for the thick green expanse and tranquility. The thought of capturing Himalayan birds and fauna through lenses was the motivation for hubby’s visit. As the taxi wheeled in through the narrow roads of the sun kissed yellow and luscious green hilly slopes, there popped out the glazing green beer bottles, plastic wrappers and soft drink bottles. We seethed in anger but kept quiet.

The main premises of the sanctuary houses the forest guest house where Lootera was filmed. It is breathtaking and is a perfect writer’s retreat. The main guest house is surrounded by private guest houses and eating joints. More the population, more the pollution. Needless to mention, the number of tress were chopped to build those hotels and restaurants. The place was supposed to calm us but we could not turn a blind eye to the disasters there.



How to reach Kalatop-

Kalatop is 8.5 km from Dalhousie and 7.1 km from Dainkund. You can visit both the places (Sancuary and Dainkund) in one day. If you plan to stay in Kalatop, make your booking in advance. Since the Forest Rest House is rarely available, you can settle with other resorts in the same vicinity. Oh by the way, we tried looking for the tree we saw in movie Lootera. The locals surprised us with the fact that the tree on screen was artificial, especially made to order for the movie.


DAINKUND



Dainkund was equally disappointing. Plastic waste is a huge turn off for us and we lose our focus on enjoying the trip. We start collecting the waste, going off the track and cursing those who litter.  When will public be civilized or get mature enough? Plus our authorities has no efficient way of safe garbage disposal.  Anyway, next came the weather. While in 2014 I had witnessed heavy snowfall, 2018 was warm, dry and no snow.

April2014 Dalhousie was absolutely gorgeous! Had fun with this Snow blanket in Dainkund, near Dalhousie. Mind you, it snowed in April. @instahimachal @HimachalTourism #Hippieinhills #bagpacker #Holidayinhills #Dalhousie #Throwback #TravelNLiving #travelbuff @highonhimalayas @streets.of.himalayas @streets.of.himachal @onehimachal #natgeoyourshot #natgeotravel

A post shared by Shilpi Dutta (@duttashilpi) on Jul 31, 2016 at 8:51pm PDT

                                               Snow covered Dainkund in 2014

Same time of the year in 2018

To add to the misery was my knee injury which restrained me from hiking up the peak. Hubby enjoyed the hike alone, taking pictures wherever he could and soaking in the sun. As God answered his prayers, he spotted some snow in a secluded spot. Ofcourse he was happy and the hike seemed worth to him. Small joys to concrete jungle dwellers you see :) (I hail from Uttarakhand and not Delhi, so don’t get me wrong). While returning to the base, we resumed collecting plastic waste on the way. Once a conscious citizen, always a conscious citizen I guess.


How to reach Dainkund- Merely 12 km from Dalhouse is the Dainkund peak which has an Airforce base station and is on vigilance all the time. The 2km uphill trek is easy. Advised to wear flats or sports shoes. Heels would not work here. You are required to park your vehicles at the dedicated spot and walk up to the entrance of the trek gate which is less than 500 meters. In case you have senior citizens with you or those with joint pain/injury do not go up there.


The market places, Subhash Chowk and Gandhi Chowk, are polluted like any metro city. It feels disgusting to see what humans have done to the planet. The smoke choke and plastic dump are examples of sheer ignorance/recklessness that will lead to disaster. Thankfully vehicles are not allowed inside the narrow lanes of the markets, else it would be difficult to breathe.


This post also made it to the home page in Indiblogger among the top blog posts list.

The treasures in McLeodganj

My travel journal of the trip to Mcleodganj continued from day 2. This is the second half story of our second day in McLeodganj. 

Memorial at Dalai Lama 

As we left from St John's Church, it poured heavily for a good forty minutes. We were stuck in a massive traffic jam for more than an hour on the two kilometer road. Yet, we enjoyed that traffic snarl because of the pleasant weather and lush greenery around. Such amazing weather is so rare in the city.

We reached McLeodganj by half past one. The slippery wet roads and traffic in the narrow lanes of the market welcomed us. Post a hearty lunch we headed to Dalai Lama Temple.

On your visit to McLeodganj, Dalai Lama temple is a must visit. You never know you might get lucky to meet his highness, the holy Lama.
The temple premises has basic infrastructure with beautiful view of the mountains around.

As we entered the security check zone, to my surprise mobile phones and cameras were allowed as against my last visit in 2014 when they were not. People were free to take pictures even inside the premises this time!

Prayer Wheels of Dalai Lama Temple

Prayer Hall at Dalai Lama Temple

The temple complex attracts tourists globally who come in search of answers to questions of life and death. His highness Dalai Lama's temple houses a hostel complex for monks and students. Many have converted into Buddhists who spend their lives serving mankind or mediating there. The first floor with prayer bells and mediation hall gets the maximum footfall. 

Deep dive into the beautiful spiritual sojourn as you witness the large holy sculptures of Buddha, Avalokiteshwara and Gilded Chenrezig

Buddha

Avalokiteshvara

                Chenrezig

We had looked forward to spend some quiet peaceful moments in the temple, but it just did not happen. The place became noisy and a ground for selfie obsessed crowd. It surprised me to see the priests totally cool about it. We settled with some pictures of the deities and moved towards the prayer bells. It was not a pleasant experience unlike my last visit. Teens and young people obstructed the way of the prayer bell direction, posing for pictures and refusing to budge. Whatever happened to the peace of mind and maintaining the sanctity of a holy place?

The view from the first floor overlooking the green mountains is a visual treat. Infact the balcony view is more soothing than the statue premises. 

The whole premises takes less than an hour to see and soak in the positive vibes. We sat across the front gate of the ground floor trying to calm our minds and heal our hurt soles. By 3 pm, we departed from Dalai Lama temple, ticking it on our travel bucket list. :-) 

Our cab driver, suggested us to either go for para gliding or visit Khanyara. For the former we were not prepared nor had planned anything. So choosing the latter sounded a better option to us. Curious to explore, we covered a distance of around twelve kilometers to this lesser known place.

With very less footfall and serene beauty around, the isolated place boasts of a very old Aghanjar Mahadev Temple and a little river flowing in the backyard. Of-late this has emerged as a fun picnic spot.

Walk through this main entrance and see the open temple under the sky. The simplicity of the temple and the people is worth noting. No show of money, no royal ancient carvings on walls, no customary 'chadhawa', no loud bhakti sangeet would make you feel so free and at peace. I pondered over the show offs God is disturbed with. Isn't it? Why not just thank God for his blessings and give him a break? That's my idea of praying to the almighty.

History of the temple- During Mahabharat era, once when Arjun, was on his way to the Kailash Mountains. Lord Shiva appeared in front of him and blessed him with the Boon of Victory over the Kauravas. At this place Baba Ganga Bharati has fired "Akhand Dhuni" (Sacred Fire). 

Descend from a flight of stairs at the backyard, cross a little bridge and treat yourself to a splash of cold water from the Himalayan river.  

  

Slippery in many places, its good to seat yourself on the big stones. Dip your feet in water and relax. The backdrop is perfect for few selfies too! hehe

                                  

Though the place is extremely relaxing and worth travelling a long distance, Indian tourists always disappoint big time! Needless to mention how they litter all places and prove their cheap traits. To add to all this, there were beer bottles  at a holy place! Only God knows why does the temple authority ignore this. Atleast  people should respect the place! 

Anyway, we left the place heading to The Kashmir House crossing the Kotwali bazaar where we shopped for local specialties. We filled our shopping bag with lemon and honey flavor green tea, coconut cookies and tangy apple jam, of which the latter is my favorite. 

We retired to our lovely hotel and unwind-ed before packing and leaving from Dharamsala the same night after an eventful weekend. Dharamsala and McLeodganj happily ticked on our travel list in two days :-)