Dalhousie
Trip Start
Oct 02, 2011
1
14
16
Trip End
Ongoing
Dalhousie, Himachal Pradesh, India
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Another road from Koti goes along the river to the reservoir where boats can be hired. We could see small boats plying in the distance.
We had made a booking that morning with The Manimahesh, located in a quiet lane near the DFO residence and the YHAI hostel. Our room was cozily furnished in wood with fabulous views of the Pir Panjal range.
It was not in the least bit cold and we set off for the Gandhi Chowk. Some Tibetans were holding a rally at Gandhi Chowk, I wondered what for and if anyone was really interested. Dalhousie also has a small settlement of Tibetan refugees as we were soon to discover.
Dalhousie has its well known Garam Sadak [Warm road] which is mostly pedestrian with a small Mall at the beginning. There is also a Thanda Sadak [Cold road] which is a main road with regular traffic, not suitable for walking. The Bhuttico handloom outlet at the Mall had a decent range of shawls and other woolens at very reasonable prices. We did not need any woolens but it was nice to see. The other stores had mostly kitsch. After the spate of stalls, the Garam Sadak followed. It was a pleasant enough walk with a few Tibetan paintings adorning some of the cliffside rocks. A small locked temple of Tara Devi was along the way.
The Mehta stores at the bus stand had some of the local jams we were looking for and we bought our fair share to take home. I am currently relishing Vales Wild Pomegranate and Mint chutney! On this trip, whatever local fruit wine we tried turned out to be like vinegar whereas last year we bought some excellent fruit wines in Himachal. We voted unanimously against trying any more.
Dinner that night was a disaster. The main course was stodgy and the rotis were like leather – unforgiveable for a north Indian state where roti is a staple that no one can get wrong. When we complained, the manager blandly said oh we are short staffed. As though that is a valid excuse. We decided to have all further meals at the nearby dhaba.
Having already been up to Dainkund and Kalatope from Khajjiar, we thought we would just walk around today on the outskirts of Dalhousie. It was a warm day and no jacket was required. The road towards Lakkad Mandi seemed like a good place to begin.
As we were walking by, an elderly gentleman came by and told us to take the road from the water reservoir which according to him was the best walk in Dalhousie. We had already passed the reservoir so we thought we would do it on our way back. In the meantime, we found a pathway going into the forest along a water pipe line, it appeared to be on the flip side of the Dainkund peak. We followed the path for about 5km along the pipes which led through a lovely forest. This is a regular trek route used by the YHAI, we saw their markings along the way.
By the time we came back it was time for lunch at the appropriately situated dhaba just next to the path. The food was good but the bill was a shocker, as high as any three star restaurant in Mumbai. We were not going to argue about it but left feeling somewhat done in. Who asks prices at a dhaba? At the end of the day, it was just a dhaba without any frills or any menu on display. The man obviously believes in ripping tourists off and will learn his lesson someday.
It was time to take the walk recommended by the elderly man. It was lovely with dense oak and rhododendron forests in the valley below, no litter at all, no traffic except for one learner driver and very few people. A passer by said it was called the Bakhrote Ring Road. Pergolas had been thoughtfully erected at strategic vantage points overlooking the valley. Eventually the road came out at a memorial to Rabindranath Tagore, right opposite the place we had tea at in the morning! Truly, this was the best walk in Dalhousie. With time to kill, we stopped again at the Gandhi Chowk. The Tibetans had put up gory posters showing the condition of their brethren imprisoned by the Chinese. No one seemed in the least bit interested in their protest.
There was just too much vehicular traffic and we beat a hasty retreat from the Thanda Sadak, going back through the Mall to the Garam Sadak and back to our hotel and then the nearby dhaba for a dinner which was far superior to the meal served in our hotel.
