In the embrace of God : Visit to Dharamshala

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Reached a place prominently called as land of gods: dharamshala. I heard a lot about this place that its spiritually rich and serene. And i thought that this should be my next destination. So i started from delhi. You can opt for a cheaper and economical mode of transport which is hptdc buses. Or buses affiliated to hptdc. Himachal pradesh tourism department corporation. One can rest in bus and just enjoy the scenic beauty of passer by places.And also you can observe the living style of locals here. Or you can opt for private taxis which is expensive and takes the same time as of bus that is 12 hours or may be an hour less but you get the luxury of stopping anywhere u like. But when u are going to land of gods you just dont want to stop and reach quickly. Hptdc buses start in evening by 6:30 pm inevening and drops you next day by 6 early morning.
When i took a bus, i just got to feel and smell vast swathes of trees and forests which came in the middle. And i just opened my window and smelled it. Even at3 am when it was so dark i could feel i amblessed. So when i reached himachal pradesh, there were certain stops of palampur and kangra. I decided not to cover this in my trip and got down at dharamshala. Just near the stop is hotel dhauladhar which comes under himachal pradesh tourism. And they didnot have a single room empty . you can collect himachal pradesh main visiting spots booklet from hotel dhauladhar for a meagre 5 rupees and sometimes even free. I then boarded a taxi who himself helped me in finding a hotel. And since it was early morning of around 6 am and still dark so the receptionists were sleeping. Few hotels turned us down but after checking 3-4 hotels i finally got a good deal. People usually have preference for hotels near or in the market. But i suggest u to always take a hotel 2-3kms away from market...because our entire purpose of going on a vacation is to stay away from commercial place and soak ourselves in serenity. Since i visited dharamshala in off season that is november and when winters are catching up , so hotels were little more easy to get and at a lesser price. I got the hotel at 1100 rupees after bargaining from 1200rupees. And good thing is that he didnt charge me for half day 6-12pm. After checking in, i slept for 3 hours and renewed my energy for the travel ahead.
I wanted to spend my first day exploring dharamshala. Dharamshala is a misnomer because dharamshala in hindi means a place for staying which is usually free or at a very less amount. I started at around 11 am and walked a km from hotel sagar to the market. Walking 500m more is a local bus stand where you get many buses to reach your first place i.e. war memorial. The bus charges meagre 3 rupees and drops u at war memorial near education board. Himachal pradesh has built a war memorial to pay homage to himachali soldiers who have laid their lives to save india in the war of 1947, 1962, 1971, UNpeace operations in srilanka and other wars. The place is clean and beautiful for nature lovers. The area is visited by monkeys also and if you take around covering the backside of memorial u will find a beautiful noisy stream running in the mountains. Just stand there for a while and listen the stream emcompassed by trees and greenery all around. You will go in a trance. Spending an hour , one can come out of war memorial and walk 100m to right and board a bus from stand till post office. And from post office to chamunda devi mandir. Even if you are not religious one must take this visit to chamunda devi mandir. The reson is that it takes 1 hour to reach temple and in between u come across the local living, houses, markets, streams, local small shops, mountains. And also u realise how public tramsport is the lifeline of himachalis. Driving through the narrow alleys of dharamshala, its a small place which one can cover in a day.

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