Jolly Miles

McLeod Ganj is a beautiful little hill station situated in the Dharamshala district of Himachal Pradesh. After the Chinese invaded Tibet in 1960, Dalai Lama who is the spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism was granted asylum by India and he along with his followers made McLeod Ganj their home. Ever since, the obscure town has become a mini Tibet and is the focal point for Buddhism and related studies in India.

Everything here has a Tibetan influence, the food, the clothes, the signboards, souvenirs, music, books and of course the religious practices. There is platitudinal use of the name Tibet and its famed city Lhasa; its literally every where – Tibet inn, Tibet café, Hotel Tibet, Hotel Lhasa, Lhasa Tours, you can see this every where. There are multiple restaurants claiming to serve authentic Tibetan food. I visited some of them, however, the only Tibetan dishes they had on the menu were momo, thupa and thenthuk. The souvenir shops in the Mall road are mostly filled with antiques, and brass statues. There are many small shops in the monastery road where you will find antique jewelries, beads, incense sticks, meditation bowls, colourful Buddhist flags, etc. Another thing that you will find in abundance in McLeod Ganj are woolen scarfs, mufflers and shawls. These Kullu print shawls are mostly made of Yak wool and are cheap, beautiful and warm. In my opinion, if you plan to buy some thing from McLeod Ganj, you should definitely try one of these shawls. I got a couple of them myself and also one Buddhist prayer flag with the Om Mani Padme Hum printed on it. One good thing about McLeod Ganj is that its not unreasonably over priced unlike most other hill stations in India. You will find cheap hotels and restaurants here but taxis are costly.

Its a common sight to see marron clad monks in the streets. There is a parikrama marg around the main monastery complex that houses the temple of the Dalai Lama and people circumambulate the monastery while meditating on Buddhist mantras and counting the beads with their fingers. The town has a mixed population of natives from Himachal Pradesh, people from Tibetan origins along with people from places like Punjab and Kashmir who have settled here.

There are primarily two clusters where you will find majority of the hotels, first near the Mall road which is the main market area with the popular shops, restaurants and hotels. This place is at the heart of the hill station and popular tourist places like the Dalai Lama temple, Kalchakra temple, etc. are located nearby. The other cluster is near the Bhagsunath temple which is about 2 kms from the Mall road. The Bhagsu waterfall is visible from this place and also there is an alternate trek route to the famous Triund peak from here. Apart from these two areas, there are homestays in offbeat hamlets around McLeod Ganj like Dharamkot, Naddi etc. These places are notorious for its hippie lifestyle and are preferred by visitors who want to stay away from the hustle-and-bustle of the town. Dharamkot is also the place where the famous Dhamma Sikhara Vipassana centre and Tushita meditation centre is located. These are specialized centres for meditation and related studies and attract visitors round the year from all parts of the world. Naddi village offers expansive views of the beautiful Dhauladhar range and is also a popular sunset point for the visitors. The road from Dharamshala to McLeod Ganj and also the roads within the hill station are very steep and may be slightly exhausting for people not used to such terrains. Walking to Dharamkot, or the St. Jones in the Wilderness church through the beautiful fine forests is an experience in itself; at least walk the descending route.

Any article on McLeod Ganj is incomplete without mentioning the splendid Dhauladhar ranges. If you are at McLeod Ganj, do find some time and a quite little corner where you can just stare at the magnificent peaks and admire the beauty of the Himalayas. The charm of McLeod Ganj truly rests in these splendid snow peaks and the beautiful hues that grace them at sunrise and sunset. I hope you liked this post. Please share your views in the comments section. Travel, Learn and Love !