Entry

Where to find peace in Dharamsala?

Aug 28th, 2006 10:10
Harish Kohli, http://www.awimaway.com

Where to find peace in Dharamsala?
TOP OF THE WORLD
I stepped off the overnight Jammu mail train from Delhi into the dusty 
market town of Pathankot. From there it was a two hour drive across 
dry flood plains and stony riverbeds, to the foothills of the 
Himalayas; a sheer wall of blue and white rising to the north. 
At the base of this wall lies Dharamsala, the town famous as the home 
of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government in exile. Beyond 
Dharamsala the road becomes a series of switchbacks through a pine 
forest all the way to the town of McLeod Ganj. The modern world ends 
here: the road, and western creature comforts, peter out a few yards 
beyond the town.
Ahead of McLeod Ganj, in a sparsely populated area known as Upper 
Dhararnkot, the path crossed exposed tree roots and straddled 
boulders, beneath garlands of billowing Tibetan prayer flags. Finally 
we passed through dappled woodland at 7,000ft, where the grass is 
cropped short by fleshy local cattle. 
There in a small clearing stood a two-storey hotel, Eagle’s Nest — two 
hours from the nearest village and unbelievably on the top of the 
world. 
EAGLES NEST
Built of brick and locally cut wood, a porch ruts across its entire 
width, with a hanging basket chair and hammock. There are three suites 
on the ground floor, opening onto a garden at the back with unimpeded 
views of the mountains.
From the Eagle's Nest we would sit and watch distant beads of amber 
fire, flowing like lava through the steep conifer forests, leaving the 
cool night air scented with wood smoke and pine. This was bliss. 
The next morning, after breakfasting upon spicy masala omelettes and 
hot buttered chapatis, we took the decision that our goal for the week 
should be to walk to the top of Triund, a 9,500ft peak. A minimum of 
six hours hiking there and back meant that we would have to get our 
legs and lungs into shape. And that, said our guide Rajesh, meant lots 
of preparatory short walks. 
GETTING READY FOR THE TOP
DAY ONE: On the first day we went along a steep man-made path through 
a village to the Shiva Temple at Bhagsunath. Crossing a field of 
wheat, we came upon hotels and cafes where young Europeans, ate pizzas 
and drank cappuccinos. This beautiful temple, with its shady terrace, 
was set above the road, overlooking an open-air bathing pool that was 
fed by an under-ground stream. 
DAY TWO: Next day we passed through McLeod Ganj, between the rows of 
cheap-ethnic clothes shop, past groups of interest rhesus monkeys, 
down to the Dalai Lama's temple and palace. There were monks in red 
robes, Tibetan prayer flags like bunting in the breeze and rows of 
traditional prayer wheels, turned slowly by devotional Buddhists. 
After a lunch of vegetable dumplings in the Chonor House, a secluded 
1930s hotel where Richard Gere stays on his frequent visits, we 
carried on down the mountain, past more temples, to Dharamsala.
DAY THREE: Today we went on the other side of our mountain on a long 
winding path through forests, and across meadows of wild flowers, 
through muddy farmyards, to a lunch- stop at the Udechee Huts. While 
our food was prepared, we sat on the terrace watching lammergeier 
vultures and imperial eagles circle overhead. With Kashmir closed, 
places like this are enjoying a boom in tourism. New hotels are 
opening all the time, to cope with the demand from Delhi-ites aiming 
to escape the unforgiving summer sun on the plains. 
DAY FOUR: We went on 4x4 Jeep for two hours due South to see the 
remains of the huge Mazroor Temple, carved out of a limestone hill. It 
was overgrown yet incredibly serene reflected in a black lake, and 
known only to some local children and goat farmers. It ought to have 
been a great day, and in some ways it was: the sparse lunar scenery 
was among the strangest I have ever seen, like waves of molten arid 
land. 
FINDING PEACE
By Day five, Rajesh, our guide was convinced that Sue and I were ready 
for an assault on Triund. After an early breakfast and before the 
morning sun had time to get too hot, we started our long march. By now 
we had got the trek from McLeod Ganj to Upper Dharamkot to within 90 
minutes, but Triund was an altogether tougher and slower proposition.
The path is fairly flat for the first hour, turning into a climb about 
halfway up. And the further we climbed, the tighter the angle to the 
summit became.
Almost three hours to the minute we hauled ourselves over the last 
boulders, high above the tree line, and found ourselves faced with one 
of the greatest views on earth. From here the Himalayas were suddenly 
much closer and more daunting. Like staring up at the Empire State 
Building. And to the south the great northern plains stretched all the 
way to Rajasthan. This was absolute peace, a small piece of land 
located between humanity and heaven. 
We didn’t want to return the way we had come. We returned down the 
eastern rim of Triund that had little or no shade from the sun. The 
journey was exhausting and precarious and took us another five hours 
to get back to Upper Dhararnkot, via the Bagsunath Temple and McLeod 
Ganj. 
I kept losing my footing on the loose surface, and when we finally 
reached the bottom, the waterfall Rajesh had hoped would cool us down 
had all but dried up in the spring drought. I could sense the forces 
of nature conspiring against me.
Nevertheless the sense of achievement was overwhelming and that night 
we sat on the porch counting the fires and listening for langurs. I 
realised how little it takes to find peace in the Himalayas. The magic 
of finding peace is in finding a combination of simple things and 
thoughts.
Harish Kohli
Adventure travel and Activity tour
http://www.awimaway.com