Western Himachal - unexplored & interesting..

Himachal Pradesh is one of the favourite tourist destinations in India & most of the Indians might have been to Shimla - Kullu - Manali for there Honeymoon if you take 15 years back data..

But a small state of Himachal Pradesh has many more beauty spots.. In recent past tourist inflow has increased in these places.. In this post i will take you through western circuit of Himachal Pradesh.. This is a perfect circuit for those who want to combine some tourist places along with pilgrimage at Vaishnao Devi..

One can travel till Jammu & then to Katra by State transport bus. Katra is a base village for visiting Mata Vaishnao devi temple.. After darshan of Vaishnao devi One can take a bus for Dalhousie..

This is the beginning of your Western Himachal circuit.. One has to travel for around 6 hours to reach spectacular town of Dalhousie. Dalhousie is nestled on the descend of the hilli region of Himachal Pradesh. It hosts many Boarding schools & colleges. Apart from that, it is a starting point for many treking routes & thats the reason Youth Hostel has their big accomodation facility here..

Its a perfect place for relaxation.. Just go there.. stay for 3-4 days roam around in the market or mal road.. Appreciate the beauty of nature.. thats it.. but if you are picnic spot fan.. then Dalhousie will disoppoint you..

If you read places of interest on any website.. it will typically display satdhara, panchkula, ajit singh smarak, kalatop sanctury etc.. I personally didnt find them worth visiting.. but the view of town from panchpula is amazing..

From Dalhousie one can visit Chamba & Khajiar. Again Chamba is not worth travelling if you are picnis spot fan.. but if you love the beauty in simplicity offered by nature you can cross all possible roads in Himachal.. Its amazing experience..

Khajjiar is interesting even for those who love Spots.. The soucer shaped ground of Khajiar is too good.. & its delight for those who love to click pictures in various places & angles & poses..

One can also do paragliding in Khajiar.. But be blunt at bargaining.. They may start from 2500 & come down to 1000 bucks..

After visiting Dalhousie - Khajiar & Chamba you can continue your journey to Dharamshala. Most interesting place to visit near Dharamshala is Mclodganj which is home to his holiness Dalai Lama.. The tibetian monestry at Mclodganj is amazing & if you are lucky enough you can see the Lama himself..

Then you have two options either go to Manali & then to Delhi or restrict yourself to Western himachal & take NH70 for jalandhar then on NH1 travel to Amrutsar where one can visit Golden Temple, Wagha Border, jaliyan wala baag etc..

The whole trip from Mumbai - Jammu - Vaishnao Devi - Dalhousie - Khajiar - Chamba - Dharamshala - Amrutsar - mumbai will take around 10 days if you take flight for jammu & then from chandigarh / delhi to Mumbai..

But if you go for relaxing 2 weeks is ideal time to spend in this circuit..