Delhi - Mcleod Gunj - Delhi on a Alto

[amip]

Looking forward to seeing McLeod again! You should have had the momo's - lol!

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by harishnayak

...to tell you i did not have even a single momo there... .

Jeez, Harish, you disappoint! That's like driving a Ferrari and never crossing 50 km/h... You went to the Mecca of momos and didn't have even one???

[harishnayak]

@ amip - I will definetely post more pictures as soon as i get back home. I'm currently at work :(

@SSTraveller - Somehow i don't like momos , although i've tried it a couple of times at chankya puri. Atleast i got to sit in the ferrari and came out safe from it seeing my history of accidents

[phamilyman]

Hey. Even i went there - just went straight to triund and came back

What's this whole hoopla about the momos?

[harishnayak]

When was this phamilyman ? Was it during the same time when i went?

[harishnayak]

As promised , i just reached home and am posting one picture as i'm feeling real sleepy.

There is something very interesting thing about this milesone because of "NUMBER 7" which i'll corelate later in the travelogue.

JWALAMUKHI is an abode to Jwala devi - a famous mata ka mandir attracting lot of pilgrims specially during the Navratras however that has nothing to do with the "NUMBER 7".

[harishnayak]

Thought of doing some photo shoot of the car as it was on my agenda for a while but was not getting the time/opportunity to do so.

i was only about 53 kms away from Dharamshala and knew it that if it was not now then i would not have the patience to do it while driving back. Hope i'm not making it boring.

Here are a few pictures

[abhibh]

Harish nice travelogue. I hope you enjoyed the City Beautiful Chandigarh specially the roads.

BTW what's the tyre size on your car ?

[harishnayak]

I had 13 inchers earlier Apollo Amazer but met with an accident and then changed the wheels back to 12 inches.

The car is currently on 12 inchers with apollo amazers.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

What's this whole hoopla about the momos?

Aaah, there are momos for the car freak, and there are momos for the car freak with an appetite! You decide which you prefer...

[harishnayak]

Well i guess i don't fall in either of the categories

[phamilyman]

Nopes harish, I went on Jul 11-12. I wasn't interested in any monastery or culture but food I could've made time for

@SST: Kya dada! Telling me?

[harishnayak]

Oh ok , neither was I but it's always good to visit the places around as there were only 3-4 places around to see.

[vijayummidi]

My dear members of this forum

Let me at the outset introduce myself. I am a new entrant to this community (forum). In fact, my registration has been pending for a couple of days and now became active for posting.

Many many thanks to team - BHP for accepting me into this forum. This forum has contributed a lot to my previous visit to Mcloud Gung. Many many thanks to the members who have shared their experiences in the past.

My name is VIJAY KUMAR UMMIDI. Presently I am working with government as a consultant based in Delhi.

With this brief introduction let me start sharing my experiences of my visit to Dharmashala and Mcloud Gung.

The following is in response to Harish post on his visit to the same place.

Hi Harish

Coincidentally, me and my wife also traveled from Delhi to Mcleod Gunj and back to Delhi during the same period (September 18th to 21st 2009). We too have traveled by a car (SX-4).

The plan to travel to this place was because of my wife who heard from her office colleagues that it is a good place to visit and is better than many other places. Frankly speaking, I did not travel (for pleasure) before. And by a self driven car, it is the first time. But, I have traveled across the country from 2001 to 2006 quite extensively covering most parts of the country and mostly on office duty and by air, trains and buses.

Coming back to my experiences, it was quite pleasant visiting this place. I did not feel that it was waste of money and time. I felt that I could have spent some more days but could not because I did not get leave. But, during our stay, we have enjoyed the scenic valleys and mountains and especially the non-polluting weather which I (we) miss in Delhi.

Mcleoud Gung is no doubt a good place. Since I have travelled during September, I did not feel the crowd pressure. Looking at the enormous number of guest houses and hotels, I can understand how difficult the stay shall be during the peak season. Personally, I prefer not to be at a crowded place at least during such trips.

Suggestion: My suggestion for people who plan their visit to this place would be not to visit during the peak season because you may end up criss crossing the crowd and if you travel by your personal car, it may not be a pleasant experience (however, it is my personal opinion based on presumptions and experience during the month of September). But, one should not miss this place during winters when there is snow fall. I saw pictures placed in hotels and shops covered with snow.

Route map: As experienced by Harish, I too faced problems with the route. I too carried a route map which I purchased at Himachal Tourism office (government) at Connaught Place and have also taken print of some route maps / guides that are available on line.
Started at 02:30 a.m. on Friday i.e. 18th September 2009. Filled tank the day before and slept around 07:30 p.m. (on Thursday) to make myself fresh for starting at mid night. Since there is a lot of space for luggage, we carried almost everything that is needed. Carried water, tea (in flasks), snacks and also pillows for a comfortable sleep on the way (especially for my wife). We carried some light woolens as well which we wore during evening times. Carried a torch light one of which is chargeable battery operated and another that can be operated through the plug point in the car and an air pump for inflating the tyres in case of any puncture.

Till we reached, Chandigarh, there was no problem. The road was good almost but because of extensive rains a week or two before our journey, there were small potholes on the road, which slowed my speed a bit. Otherwise, I drove at an average speed of 110 kmph. In between we stopped for two times and we get nice eateries and tea vendors on the way. Reached Chandigarh by 06:30 a.m.

Then there was a problem with the route. Few days before starting my journey, I researched a bit on the routes and found different options. Team - BHP forum helped me a lot in getting different route options. I coincidentally tried the Hoshiarpur route. Except a small patch of 15 kms, most of the journey was good. I maintained an average speed of 80 kmph. You need to ask people for the Hoshiarpur route. There is no sign board anywhere.

We reached Hoshiarpur around 12:30 noon. The ghat section started a few kms after leaving this place. After taking a break for an hour, we started again. The road was not that good from this place. I could maintain a speed of 60 kmph. Reached Dharmashala by 03:00 p.m. and Mcleoud Gung (8 km from Dharmashala) by 03:45 p.m. The delay was due to traffic in between.

The next two days, we have visited places around. Our intention of visiting this place was to get out of madness of Delhi and its mechanical life. Though I preferred to stay at the hotel, my wife did not allow me and we went out shopping some woolens and also visited a few places around.

Stay suggestion: As mentioned in my previous paragraphs, the place is quite congested. You may opt to stay in hotels above Mcloued Gung. There are small villages (nadi is one such village) which have hotels and guest houses with plenty of private space around but you will be a bit away from the shops and other amenities (which are quite comfortably available if one stays at Mcloued Gunj). Personally, I like guest houses and hotels which are at a higher elevation. The accommodation is costlier than the ones at McLoud Gunj. But, peace of mind is ensured.

Coming Back: I inquired from a few taxi drivers who also came from Delhi. They suggested an alternated route - via Mandi. Both the routes (onward and back) as per my cars km reading counted around 525 kms. I started at 07:00 a.m. at Mcloued Gunj. I had a hard time maneuvering the ghat section almost till (i forgot the place name) ...... I reached this place by 04:30 p.m. It's almost half the way. It is not the same case while going to Mcloud Gunj. Only 150 kns is ghat section.
15 kms before reaching Chandigarh, there is a short cut towards Ambala. this avoids getting inside the city of Chandigarh. You can save a lot of time especially during peak traffic hours. Part of this stretch is still under construction, however, it was a good ride at 100 kmph average till Ambala. Reached Ambala at 07:30 p.m., had dinner, got fresh up and started again at Ambala at 08:30 p.m. and reached Delhi by 12:00 a.m. at a speed of 110 kmph average.

Please also see attached photographs of my visit.
Thanks everybody for reading and visiting the photographs as well. Plan a visit to this place but be wary of a visit during peak season.

[harishnayak]

Nice write up , you could have started off your own travelogue though