Dharamshala: General Information-
Dharamshala , the district headquarter of Kangra district in Himachal Pradesh is famous because of the tibetan community that dwell here. Dharamshal is the headquarters of the Tibetan Government in Exile which is led by 14th Dalai Lama , Tenzin Gyatso. Dharamshala and its beauty has been quite beautifully described by Incredible India as follows-This is a hill station lying on the spur of the Dhauladhar range about 18 kms north east of Kangra town. Hill station is wooded with oak and conifer trees and snow-capped mountains enfold three sides of the town while the valley stretches in front. The snow line is perhaps more easily accessible at Dharamshala than at any other hill resort and it is possible to trek to snow point after an early morning's start.
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Geography of Dharamshala-
Dharamshala is divided into two parts which are separated by a height of about 350 mts.The lower Dharamshala is a typical small indian town and apart from bus stand there is nothing of interest here for the tourists.Lower Dharamshala is located at a height of about 1400 mts.
The upper Dharamshala is about 9 kms away from lower Dharamshala and is known by the name of McLeodganj.It lies at an altitude of about 1750 mts and is the centre of Tibetan Government in exile. A taxi or bus takes about 10 minutes to drop you here from lower Dharamshala.
Other smaller villages in the vicinity of the town are-
Forsyth Ganj
Bhagsu and
Dharamkot.
How to reach Dharamshala-
Dharamshala is accessible from other parts of north India by buses, taxis, trains and also air (in recent times). But by far the most convenient way is by bus as you don't have to break your journey to reach here.Reaching Dharamshala by Air-
Gaggal airport is the nearest airport from Dharamshala which lies about 10 kms away from here. From Gaggal you can hire a taxi or travel by a bus to reach Dharamshala. Sadly, not too many flights operate from Gaggal airport. There are only a few flights of Indian Airlines and Jagson air that operate from here. To add to this, many a times flights are cancelled due to bad weather or because enough passengers don't show up.So, travelling by air to reach here is certainly not convenient.
Reaching Dharamshala by Train-
The nearest broad gauge rail head is Pathankot (Chakki Bazaar) which is well connected from the rest of the north India. A bus or a Taxi takes about 3 hrs to reach Dharamshala from Pathankot.
Reaching Dharamshala by Bus-
This is by far the most convenient way to reach Dharamshala and most of the tourists to Dharamshala reach here b Bus. Dharamshala is well connected from rest of the north India by road.Regular buses from Delhi, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Ambala and Amritsar run to and from Dharamshala. There are a variety of buses to choose from ,like, Deluxe Ac buses, Semi-deluxe buses and regular buses. In recent time some sleeper buses has also started running from Delhi. Some HPTDC buses also run from the neighbouring states.
Where to stay in Dharamshala-
There are numerous accommodation places situated in Mc Leodganj with a wide selection hotels, guest houses and rented houses. The Lower Dharamshala has also got some hotels near the bus stand but they are relatively dearer and offer lesser facilities than those situated in McLeodganj. If you are searching for some cheap and budget hotels then you can find many such hotels on Jogiwara road. The near by villages of Bhagsu, Dharamkot and Forsythganj also offer some cheaper places to stay in.Where to eat in Dharamshala-
Dharamshala has a wide range of eating places all scattered around McLeodganj and places around the tourist spots. Here you can enjoy some nice north Indian recipes but if you are here it would be worth to try some Tibetan dishes.Some of the Tibetan delicacies that you should try are-Momos, Thukpa,Thenthuk, Pocha etc.
Tibetan Chai (Tea) is also worth trying .It is salty with some butter in it.
Apart from Indian and Tibetan food there are plenty of places that offer italian, chinese and western recipes at cheaper rates.