[SS-Traveller]

I love old churches. Absolutely fell in love with this one. Rambled around the cemetery too for over an hour, reading the old and interesting headstones. A few panorama shots too. Here come some of the pics...

[ampere]

Wow SS-da! Those church snaps remind of me standing there 7 years back!

I dont remember which place I stayed in. Is Anupam resort by any chance close to lake ?)
If yes, that's the one. I remember walking from that lake to the point (dead-end), from where
there was a private road to a residential school. There were some stone benches there and
I sat there staring at the wide panorama.

This is nostalgic!
Let me see if I can fish out those snaps taken then!

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by ampere

Is Anupam resort by any chance close to lake ?

Not sure...

Originally Posted by ampere

...private road to a residential school. There were some stone benches there and I sat there staring at the wide panorama.

That would be the Tibetan Children's Village (TCV) - it is not a dead end road but blocked off; a map I had did show the road leading up to Dharamkot without going down into McLeodganj, but I was told that road is not open to vehicular traffic.

Originally Posted by ampere

Let me see if I can fish out those snaps taken then!

Please do - would love to see them.

[ampere]

SS-da

I think (not sure) was it this location as shown in the wikimapia link?
(The school in question, can it be ISPS Dharamshala?)
The school campus looked pretty upmarket to me then.


Wikimapia - Let's describe the whole world!

Here are two snaps reminding me of that vacation!

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by ampere

(The school in question, can it be ISPS Dharamshala?)

Wikimapia - Let's describe the whole world!

Here are two snaps reminding me of that vacation!

That's a quick job, hunting up those pics! Nice ones too!

The school next to Dal lake is the TCV, and has some 2600 students, usually the children of Tibetan refugees staying in the local area.

ISPS or International Sahaja Public School is at Talnoo, which is at the far end of Naddi, and around 3 km from the Dal Lake. It's a small residential school set up by Nirmala Mata, and caters to about 250 students, most of them foreigners. Here are some of them at the Naddi market, buying firecrackers for Dusshera .

There is also a Nirmala Mata temple at Naddi, about half a km before the school. I had picked up a pamphlet detailing the history of how this temple came to be constructed, but can't seem to find it now. It seems that when Nirmala Mata was visiting Naddi, the ground shook under her feet at the spot where the temple now stands - she thought the ground shaking was an auspicious sign, signifying the presence of some divine force at that spot.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

ISPS or International Sahaja Public School is at Talnoo, which is at the far end of Naddi, and around 3 km from the Dal Lake. It's a small residential school set up by Nirmala Mata, and caters to about 250 students, most of them foreigners. Here are some of them at the Naddi market, buying

Then that is the one. I remember walking about 2-3 km from the Dal lake.
I walked up to the point from where the private road to the school used to start. I sat there enjoying the sight sipping juice.

[SS-Traveller]

Some of the interesting graves at the adjoining cemetery...

The most famous one is of the Earl of Elgin

A few interesting memorial plaques inside the church

Some more gravestones

Note the variety of spellings used for Dharamsala.

[SS-Traveller]

The most important Buddhist place in the town of McLeodganj is the Dalai Lama's temple, also known as Tsuglagkhang or Tsuglag Khang by the Tibetans.

The parking in front of the temple does get very crowded, and the way back is down a steep slope - not for newbie hill drivers.

Way to the temple...

The Tibetan National Martyrs' Memorial, and the Martyrs' Museum is right across

Panoramic views of the Dalai Lama Temple

Normal view

Panoramic view from the balcony of the temple

The Dalai Lama's seat from which he meets the public

More views in and around the temple

Spinning the prayer wheels

Temple rituals in progress, involving a lot of clapping

[Behemoth]

Great Travelogue SS-Traveller!
I remember the time (around 4 years back when we had gone there). McLeodganj is a nice place and still quite peaceful, unlike all the other hill stations in North which have now become too crowded!
(I must also compliment your framing and photography skills - some of the pics are really nice. Which camera are you using..? If you are not using a DSLR, I can recommend Nikon D5100, which will really help you get very nice pics and will really bring out the colours beautifully! After all after one comes back from the trip one can relive the moments only through the photographs!)

Thanks for sharing!
Regards,
Behemoth

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by Behemoth

Great Travelogue SS-Traveller!
(I must also compliment your framing and photography skills - some of the pics are really nice.

Thank you for the compliments, Behemoth.

Originally Posted by Behemoth

Which camera are you using..? If you are not using a DSLR...

No, unfortunately, I haven't got around to getting myself a dSLR yet. What I use is a Sony H3, and the camera on my phone (x10i). The D5100 has been on my wishlist for long, but... . Someday soon, I'll wake up and buy a dSLR!

[SS-Traveller]

Some random photographs from McLeodganj and its surroundings...

The Tibetan National Flag with an explanation of what it signifies

A pair of earrings my daughter liked, with the intricate pattern made with coloured threads

H-4® got a pretty visitor

We are a family that loves momos - but not the vegetarian / potato ones

Main Square, McLeodganj

The McLlo Restaurant and pastry shop in the Main Square of McLeodganj. Highly rated (McLlo Restaurant in Mcleod Ganj, India - Lonely Planet), but Lonely Planet seems to have got this one utterly wrong. The pastries were not much to our liking

Monks at Bhagsu

Tibetan Children's Village - reasonably priced products, worth buying to support the cause