Dharamsala - Amritsar

Soqrates · Mar 2nd, 2008, 16:38

I stumbled upon this website a few weeks ago and found that it provides priceless information for my first trip to India, leaving on the 12th of March.

One question however, I haven't found answered:

Getting from Dharmsala to Amritsar. I really don't mind if the journey is to be made by bus or rail, although from what I can see the railway system in Himachal Pradesh isn't very well developed.

Ohh, I should think that I'm making the journey around the 20th of March or so.

Thanks in advance.

Matthias

Indizen · Mar 2nd, 2008, 17:12

You can take a share taxi to Pathankot and then a train to Amritsar.
Train 8102 MURI EXPRESS goes from PTK at 16.45 to reach ASR at 19.05

scotsman · Mar 2nd, 2008, 17:35

or you can get a bus for about 30 rupees from dharamsalas main bus stop to pathankot

theres lots of hotels a 20 rupee rickshaw ride away if u need to stay overnight also, like i did when waiting for my train but u may not need to as the amritsar train is more regular

i stayed at the "staywell" hotel and it was very clean with good staff and a tv 150rs a night and it has good rooftop views over pathankot

kidsan · Mar 2nd, 2008, 17:58

and another option (if u dont mind longish local bus journeys)

there is a direct bus from dharamsala to amritsar...about 7 hours if i remember

Soqrates · Mar 2nd, 2008, 20:11

Thank you all very much for the quick replies!

It's nice to have some different options.

After I saw your replies I read something about a toy-train going from somewhere near Dharmsala to Pathankot, however I couldn't any information on how close to Dharmsala the departure station is and whether the train ride is interesting altogether. Could any of you shead some light on this?

Thanks again.

davyd · Mar 2nd, 2008, 20:25

by bus from Dharamsala to Amritsar a month ago. There is only direct bus (116 Rs) leaving bus stand in lower Dharamsala at 5 o'clock in the morning, so only problem is how to reach bus station in wee hours. You can arrange it day before (taxi) or go down to stay a night in nearby hotel.

manali4now · Mar 4th, 2008, 02:49

Pathankot is the nearest railway junction to Dharamsala.

You can take a night train from Delhi to either Pathankot or Amritsar. From either Amritsar or Pathankot it is a 6+ bus ride to Dharamsala.

manali4now · Mar 4th, 2008, 02:52

That little toy train you are inquiring about is no longer running I think.

steven_ber · Mar 4th, 2008, 03:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by manali4now

That little toy train you are inquiring about is no longer running I think.

I haven't seen any news reports about the line closing, and I receive loads of railway related newsfeeds on a daily basis.

The closest station to Dharamsala is a station called Kangra (about 15 kms from Dharamsala), there are about 6 trains a day, but they're slow and only have 2nd class unreserved (except 1 poorly timed train), the route is said to be scenic (should be the same by bus), but the trains are said to be very busy.

If you look in the 'train info' thread below, there should be a link in the 2nd or 3rd post, look for 'Delhi/Amritsar to Dharamsala', the linked page has the times of the Kangra Valley railway, though the times are maybe 3 years old, I doubt they've changed much, but if you need updated info, let me know, I have the new train times somewhere.

bio28 · Mar 4th, 2008, 03:12

Hi Soqrates,

I think you're referring to the Kangra Valley narrow gauge railway. I'm planning on doing the same trip (Dharamsala - Amritsar) in a few weeks, and was hoping to take this scenic railway from Kangra to Pathankot (starting early morning), then catch the 16.45 to Amritsar from Pathankot.

I haven't read anything about the train being discontinued...the specific tourist class "toy train" no longer runs, I think, but there could still be the normal 2nd class one. Stephen Ber has put a really useful post on Indiamike about train times, including this one, though it might be a little out of date now. I'm not clever enough to link to it in this post I'm afraid, but you'll find it with a quick google search.

Apparently you have to buy the ticket for this train from one of the stations served by it.

Have fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

JuliaF · Mar 4th, 2008, 03:23

Toy train to Kangra from Pathankot.

I did this some years ago. It was very crowded but OK. I think that the scenic part only really starts beyond Kangra.

Kangra station is not in the town - I think I had to pick up a bus and then another bus to Dharamsala.

I wouldn't really recommend this as a means of transport between Pathankot and Dharamsala. Bus is much more straightforward and scenic too...

steven_ber · Mar 4th, 2008, 03:40

As there are a couple of people wanting the Kangra Valley Railway info, I will update the times (and the Pathankot-Amritsar passenger trains) then post a link here.

How to do a link.....I explained it to someone a while ago, so I'll post the details below, it will sound like I'm talking to a child, but I just explained it in a way I would understand.

The first bit is explaining how to copy & paste a url, the 2nd bit is explaining how to do a link, but it may not make sence, as I innitially typed the 2nd one first. (if that makes sense???)

Quote:

the url at the top of the page should be

http://www.indiamike.com/india/india-travel-itinerary-advice-f91/dharamsala-amritsar-t51567/#post450832

Move your mouse cursor to anywhere on that line, then click the left button once, the whole url should new be highlighted, if not, click the left button twice.

Once the url is highlighted, make sure the mouse cursor is still on the url and click the right button, you will then get a pop-up box with a list of options, select 'copy', you have now copied the url, and can 'paste' it anywhere, you just move the mouse cursor to the place you want to paste the url, then one left click (to let your computer know the exact place you want to paste it), then right click, and from the drop down list, select 'paste'.

You can copy from one page (or website) and paste onto another page or website, you can also copy & paste (C & P) between websites and documents.

Hope this helps, but if it still doesn't work, or you don't understand part of it, please ask.

Copy & Paste, and doing links, are essential things to learn, once these things are learnt (and practiced) a lot of other things make a lot more sense.

Good luck.

Quote:

Originally Posted by steven_ber

The link I was referring to was this one.

This is how I done that link.

First, have 2 pages open, this one, and the page that you'd like to link (click the link/underlined bit in the quote above, that will give you a 2nd page)

The address (url) of that page is at the top of that page (http://www.ind....), copy the whole url.

Then on this page, I started a reply and I typed the following...

The link I was referring to was this one

I then highlighted the words 'this one' (by placing the curser at one end of 'this one', then holding down the left mouse button and scrolling over both words (this & one), this highlights the words.

Then click on the 'Insert Link' symbol above the post (above, centre, a sort of globe wearing glasses on it's left foot, only visible when you're replying to a thread), you will then see a pop-up box with the letters 'http://' highlighted, place the cursor on the highlighted letters, right click on the mouse, and paste, then click OK.

You will then see the following in your post: -

[url=" http://www.himachaltourism.nic.in/kang.htm"]this one[/url]

When you send the reply, only 'this one' will appear in your post, but then someone can click on those words and go directly to the page you wanted them to see.

I know the above sounds like I'm talking to a child, it's not meant to sound that way, I'm just explaining it in a way that I would understand.

steven_ber · Mar 4th, 2008, 04:14

I've updated the Kangra Valley Railway info and the Pathankot-Amritsar (both ways) info, but not the Delhi-Pathankot info.

Kangra Valley Railway ++

A

Mar 2nd, 2008, 16:38	#1
Soqrates Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Denmark Posts: 2	Dharamsala - Amritsar I stumbled upon this website a few weeks ago and found that it provides priceless information for my first trip to India, leaving on the 12th of March. One question however, I haven't found answered: Getting from Dharmsala to Amritsar. I really don't mind if the journey is to be made by bus or rail, although from what I can see the railway system in Himachal Pradesh isn't very well developed. Ohh, I should think that I'm making the journey around the 20th of March or so. Thanks in advance. Matthias

Mar 2nd, 2008, 17:12	#2
Indizen Maha Guru Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: MUMBAI Posts: 588	You can take a share taxi to Pathankot and then a train to Amritsar. Train 8102 MURI EXPRESS goes from PTK at 16.45 to reach ASR at 19.05 Last edited by machadinha : Mar 4th, 2008 at 03:10. Reason: removed full quote

Mar 2nd, 2008, 17:35	#3
scotsman Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: scotland Posts: 51	or you can get a bus for about 30 rupees from dharamsalas main bus stop to pathankot theres lots of hotels a 20 rupee rickshaw ride away if u need to stay overnight also, like i did when waiting for my train but u may not need to as the amritsar train is more regular i stayed at the "staywell" hotel and it was very clean with good staff and a tv 150rs a night and it has good rooftop views over pathankot Attached Thumbnails

Mar 2nd, 2008, 20:25	#6
davyd just a traveler Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Earth Posts: 320	I went by bus from Dharamsala to Amritsar a month ago. There is only direct bus (116 Rs) leaving bus stand in lower Dharamsala at 5 o'clock in the morning, so only problem is how to reach bus station in wee hours. You can arrange it day before (taxi) or go down to stay a night in nearby hotel.

Mar 4th, 2008, 03:12	#10
bio28 Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: manchester, uk Posts: 1	Kangra valley railway Hi Soqrates, I think you're referring to the Kangra Valley narrow gauge railway. I'm planning on doing the same trip (Dharamsala - Amritsar) in a few weeks, and was hoping to take this scenic railway from Kangra to Pathankot (starting early morning), then catch the 16.45 to Amritsar from Pathankot. I haven't read anything about the train being discontinued...the specific tourist class "toy train" no longer runs, I think, but there could still be the normal 2nd class one. Stephen Ber has put a really useful post on Indiamike about train times, including this one, though it might be a little out of date now. I'm not clever enough to link to it in this post I'm afraid, but you'll find it with a quick google search. Apparently you have to buy the ticket for this train from one of the stations served by it. Have fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mar 2nd, 2008, 17:58	#4
kidsan Maha Guru Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: heading for Mauritania... Posts: 672	and another option (if u dont mind longish local bus journeys) there is a direct bus from dharamsala to amritsar...about 7 hours if i remember

Mar 2nd, 2008, 20:11	#5
Soqrates Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Denmark Posts: 2	Thank you all very much for the quick replies! It's nice to have some different options. After I saw your replies I read something about a toy-train going from somewhere near Dharmsala to Pathankot, however I couldn't any information on how close to Dharmsala the departure station is and whether the train ride is interesting altogether. Could any of you shead some light on this? Thanks again.

Mar 4th, 2008, 02:49	#7
manali4now Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: USA Posts: 51	Pathankot is the nearest railway junction to Dharamsala. You can take a night train from Delhi to either Pathankot or Amritsar. From either Amritsar or Pathankot it is a 6+ bus ride to Dharamsala.

Mar 4th, 2008, 02:52	#8
manali4now Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: USA Posts: 51	That little toy train you are inquiring about is no longer running I think.

Mar 4th, 2008, 03:23	#11
JuliaF Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Co Cork, Ireland Posts: 63	Toy train to Kangra from Pathankot. I did this some years ago. It was very crowded but OK. I think that the scenic part only really starts beyond Kangra. Kangra station is not in the town - I think I had to pick up a bus and then another bus to Dharamsala. I wouldn't really recommend this as a means of transport between Pathankot and Dharamsala. Bus is much more straightforward and scenic too...

Mar 4th, 2008, 04:14	#13
steven_ber Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: London, England. Posts: 8,922	I've updated the Kangra Valley Railway info and the Pathankot-Amritsar (both ways) info, but not the Delhi-Pathankot info. Kangra Valley Railway ++ A

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