| Himachal Pradesh - Shimla, Dharamsala, McLeod Ganj, Manali, and other destinations in the region |
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Jul 4th, 2009, 11:01
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#1 |
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Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: London
Posts: 5
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Travelling to McLeod Ganj and beyond
Hi! This is my first time on this wonderful website! I'm planning my second trip to India for three weeks sept/oct and want to spend most of it in Himachal Pradesh. I'm thinking of travelling from Delhi to Chandigarrh (I want to see the Fantasy Rock Garden!) then on to McLeod Ganj. Is it worth stopping in Shimla?I've also heard that Kullu is nice, would I have to go to Manali to get there? After McLeod Ganj I plan to travel to Amritsar, then back to Delhi. I would appreciate any suggestions of accessible places of interest(within my time constraints) around these areas. I enjoy dramatic scenery, but also places teaming with colour and life,so any suggestions would be gratefully received! Thanks!
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Jul 4th, 2009, 19:49
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#2 |
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Maha Guru Member
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Delhi and everywhere else...
Posts: 526
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I would suggest that you avoid Shimla... there are many other better places.
In Himachal, you can also explore the Kinnaur region, as it is amazingly beautiful..!! No, you'll not have to go via Manali to get to Kullu, i.e. if you are going from Delhi/Chandigarh... But if you coming from further up north (like Leh), then you'll have to cross Manali.. But I know you're not taking this route. 
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All my Travels... www.flickr.com/photos/saurabh_sunny/ A lot still pending though............... |
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Jul 4th, 2009, 19:50
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#3 | |
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Maha Guru Member
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Delhi and everywhere else...
Posts: 526
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Quote:
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Jul 4th, 2009, 21:50
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#4 | |
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the TuRbAnAtOr
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Chandigarh / New Delhi
Posts: 101
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Quote:
Sep/Oct is a good time to be in Himachal with the monsoons having ended. From Delhi to Chandigarh it's best to take the Shatabdi Express train, the morning one departs new delhi train station at 740am and gets to Chandigarh at 11am, evening departure is at 525pm gets to Chandigarh at 8ish (pm).You can book, print e-tickets at www.irctc.co.in A day and night are more than enough to spend and soak in Chandigarh before carrying onward to Mcleodganj/Manali/Simla. I too would avoid Simla, unless railways interest you, in which case you can take the toy train (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalka-Shimla_Railway) from Kalka to Simla.I loved it the first time I went on it as a kid  Worth remembering that the onward bus ride to manali/mcleodganj will be long,not very comfortable and tiring so if you don't have a stomach for it, then all the more reason to avoid this route.This map will sort of give you a rough directional orientation ( http://maps.mapmyindia.com/?where=Mcleodganj&q=search) Mcleodganj is in Kangra district and is just 10 kms from Dharamsala. You can zoom in and out of this map. It will tell you where Simla,Chandigarh are in relation to Mcleodganj & Manali If yo decide to avoid Simla, then you could either head first to Manali(district kullu), Himachal Roadways offer a comfortable overnight service ( delhi-chandigarh-manali) You should make reservations early on this service as it tends to fill up fast since it comes from Delhi. You can make online reservations at http://www.hp.gov.in/hrtctickets/ However, if you aren't concerned about the ride quality of a volvo bus and don't mind travelling on regular Indian interstate buses, then you can just turn up at the Inter State bUS Terminus at sector 17 or 43 in Chandigarh and take any of the many options for manali.It's approx a 9 hour drive to manali from Chandigarh. You can get timetables for Himachal Pradesh buses at these links http://himachal.nic.in/hrtc/route.asp http://himachal.nic.in/hrtc/dispdatan.asp After spending time in old Manali and its surrounding areas you could head to Mcleodganj (towns close to mcleodganj are Palampur and Dharamsala).This will have to be on a regular bus, as far as I know there are no volvo services on this route. KEEP IN MIND its an overnight us journey and not too comfortale You can glean further info from these posts and it may help you to fine tune your itenary help me - MANALI OR McLEOD GANJ?? Best Way from McLeod Ganj to Amritsar After Mcleodganj ( & Dharamshala & Palampur) circuit you can head down to amritsar, its approximately a 6 hour drive down. In short,I'd say New Delhi-Chandigarh-Manali-Mcleodganj-Amritsar-New Delhi. Of course how you tune it around, would depend on how much you like a particular place and spend that much more time there.You may want to add,delete from this itenary as well. Either way,you can't go wrong with 3 weeks in Himachal Amrisar is an interesting old town,other than being the seat of the Sikh religion (the Golden temple is an amazing experience & I'm not saying that just as a Sikh!), its a town with a lot of History and a culinary paradise.Two days there would enable you to soak in it. Feel free to ask for info on where you can eat awesome clean 'dhaba' food ( veg and poultry,lamb etc) without getting a Delhi belly!And you must go attend the (daily) ceremony at Wagah (30 kms from amritsar) to witness Indian and Pakistani jingoism at its zenith lol here's a link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagah On your way back to Delhi from Amritsar, the best option is again the amritsar delhi swaran shatabdi express train. book online as soon as you finalise your itenary as this one ( unlike the Chandigarh Shatabdi) fills up fairly fast. Like all Shatabdi trains, this is (relatively) super fast,limited stops,is air-conditioned and the food is included in the price of the ticket. Should you need anymore specific information,please feel free to ask. Though most of your queries will be addressed easily by the enormously helpful past posts on IndiaMike. Have fun in India Cheers Manpreet So I would do Delhi-Chandigarh-Manali-Mcleodganj-Amritsar-delhi |
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Jul 4th, 2009, 21:53
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#5 |
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Maha Guru Member
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Delhi and everywhere else...
Posts: 526
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Wow... That was a long one..!!
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Jul 4th, 2009, 22:01
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#6 |
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Maha Guru Member
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: MUMBAI
Posts: 2,507
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Welcome to IndiaMike. You'll enjoy being in Mcleod if you are keen on Tibetan Buddhist culture.
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Jul 6th, 2009, 03:54
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#7 | |
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Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: London
Posts: 5
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Thankyou!
Thankyou so much for all that useful information. It was very kind of you to be so generous with your time. I'll definitely be giving Shimla a miss now! The websites you suggested are going to be really helpful too.
I'll no doubt be in touch again! Thanks again, Catherine Quote:
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Jul 6th, 2009, 03:59
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#8 | |
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Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: London
Posts: 5
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Thanks!
Thankyou for your response and your welcome! I did suspect Shimla wouldn't be worth visiting in my time available, and the responses here have confirmed that which is great. I will be looking into the Kinnaur region,
bestw ishes, Catherine Quote:
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Jul 6th, 2009, 04:14
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#9 |
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Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Delhi
Posts: 1
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Please clarify that can we go to Dharamshala to Mcloyedganj via Hoshiarpur district. Please tell us the shortest route to Mcloyedganj from Delhi.
Also if you can provide information on weather, and statying arrangements than i will appreciate.... Thanks for the other information. Amit |
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