By Katoch B

Dharamsala

Dharamshala stands on a spur of the Dhauladhar range amidst magnificient deodar and pine forests, tea gardens and beautiful hills.

Dharamsala's earliest history is obscured by time and the successive invasions that swept through all North India.

In 1849 the British posted a regiment in Dharamsala, but the place was not to remain a military cantonment for long. By 1855 it was a small but flourishing hill station and the administrative headquarters of Kangra District, which had been annexed by the British in 1848. The two main areas at the time were McLeod Gunj, named after Lieutenant-Governor of Punjab, David McLeod, and Forsyth Gunj, named after a divisional commissioner.

Lord Elgin, Viceroy of British India and a former Governor-General of Canada, loved the forests of Dharamsala so much that, before dying here in 1863, he asked to be buried in the graveyard of St. John's Church in the Wilderness. Had he lived longer, Dharamsala might have become the summer capital of British India.

The name Sir Francis Younghusband - leader of British India's fateful incursion to Lhasa in 1904 - also has Dharamsala connections. In 1856 his parents, Clara Shaw and John Younghusband, lived in a bungalow in the pine forest above St. John's Church and later bought land in the Kangra Valley to pioneer a tea plantation. Clara's brother, Robert Shaw, was a renowned explorer of Central Asia and an early Kangra tea planter.

But in 1905 a severe earthquake changed the face of Dharamsala. Many buildings collapsed and the whole settlement, once ravaged, was never re-occupied. The local officials advised residents to move to the safety of Lower Dharamsala which at that time comprised little more than a jail, a police station and a cobbler's shop. The pine-clad hillsides continued to flourish as a quiet health resort for the "sahibs" and "memsahibs" of British India.

The visits of "sahibs" and "memsahibs" ended when India achieved independence in 1947. McLeod Gunj then quickly became a sleepy, undistinguished village until His Holiness the Dalai Lama, fleeing persecution in his homeland, made it his home in exile and moved the Central Tibetan Administration, in effect the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, from Mussoorie to Dharamsala in 1960. Today, more than 8,000 Tibetan refugees consider Dharamsala their second home Dharamsala is situated in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It lies on a spur of the Dhauladhar range, the Pir Panjal region of the Outer Himalayas; and commands majestic views of the mighty Dhauladhar ranges above, and the Kangra Valley below. Dhauladhar means "white ridge" and this breathtaking, snow-capped range rises out of the Kangra Valley to a height of 5,200 meters (17,000 feet).

The mountains dominate the scenery in McLeod Gunj. They form a treacherous range creating unpredictable weather, but passes of 2,400 meters (8,900 feet) provide route for the herdsmen of the Ravi Valley beyond.

The Kangra Valley is a wide, fertile plain, criss-crossed by low hills. The scenery touched the heart of a British official who wrote: "No scenery, in my opinion, presents such sublime and delightful contrasts. Below lies the plain, a picture of rural loveliness and repose... Turning from this scene of peaceful beauty, the stern and majestic hills confront us... above all are wastes of snow to rest on."

Dharamsala is divided into two very different parts. Kotwali Bazaar and areas further down the valley (at the average height of 1,250 metres) are called Lower Dharamsala, while McLeod Gunj (at the height of nearly 1,800 metres) and surrounding areas are known as Upper Dharamsala. McLeod Gunj is nine kilometers by bus route and five kilometres by taxi route up the hill from Kotwali Bazaar. While inhabitants of Lower Dharamsala are almost all Indians, McLeod Gunj is primarily a Tibetan area. McLeod Gunj is surrounded by pine, Himalayan oak, rhododendron and deodar forests. The main crops grown by local Indians in the valleys below McLeod Gunj are rice, wheat and tea.

It is also known as 'The Little Lhasa in India'. The revered Dalai Lama has set up his home in this beautiful range.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Area : 28.81 sq. km.

Altitude : Between 1250 metres and 1982 metres.

Temperature (deg C) : Summer - Max.35, Min.16; Winter - Max.15, Min. 0.

Clothings : Summer - Light woollens, Winter - Heavy woollens.

Best Season : April to June and September to December





Getting To Dharamsala   -- It's possible to drive from Delhi, Shimla or Chandigarh to Dharamsala, but From Delhi there are four great overnight options along the way -  to choose

 Taxi / Car.

The fast, most pleasant and comfortable way is to hire a Toyota Qualis/Sumo from Delhi to Dharamshala /Mcleodganj 10 to 11 hrs. costing about Rs. 6500/-to 7500/-Depending upon the conditon of car and compony and car / van for Rs. 5400/-.

The 2nd way to get to the Kangra Valley directly from Delhi is by over-night train (the drive is almost 11--12 hr. long). The overnight Panthankot Express from Delhi allows you to rest up before hiring a car for the scenic 3-hour road trip from Panthankot to Dharamsala (90km) sumo/Toyota-Qualis Rs.1600/- and

maruti van for Rs.1100/-.

3rd way by tourist bus from Himachal Tourism (HPTDC)/ Himachal Travels # conought Palace /Majnoo Ka Tilla . (tel. 23939445,446) To Dharamshala at 5.30 pm @rate of Rs. 450/-

(At this time, flights to Kangra's Gaggal Airport, 15km from Dharamsala, had been suspended until further notice by indian airlines but Jagson air is running,s on Monday ,Wednessday and Fridays.

Getting Dharamsala  ; In Dharamsala, you will find it easy to get either a taxi or auto-rickshaw. (Auto-rickshaws are incredibly impractical, however, because of the engine-killing gradient of the town.) The taxi union is very strong, so if you'd like to avoid the bureaucracy, as the only vehicle in no is sent you cant have the choice of driver / vehicle ,contact your travel agent or , a private operator who is reliable and can offer a good deal. If you are planning for long trip like to Delhi ,Amritsar, Kashmire,Jammu Kullu Manali, Leh Shimla Chandigarh Dehra-doon or tour to Rajsthan its better to hire a TOYOTA QUALIS / Sumo contact if you are interested in longer day trips ask for Mr. Katoch who has fleet of Toyota Qualis/ Sumo. at Himachal Travels (Main Bazzar Post office road., McLeod Ganj; tel. 01892/221428 ,628.  himachaltravels@sancharnet.in



himachaltavels@sancharnet.in

Recommended by Lonely Planet and India The Rough Guide.

They can help with all your travel arrangements and can organize individually tours throughout the region. You can also contact them in New Delhi, at House no. 45, New Tibetan Camp,

Majnu-Ka-Tilla; call tel. 011 --23939445-,-446. Or - 094180-21428.

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