[the_skyliner]

A friend and I are planning for Delhi > Mcleodganj > Delhi trip (3 days) in July end. Would be great if someone could help with info on following:

1. Which is the best route to take? Also, what is the usual duration for the journey?

2. How are the road conditions?

3. We are planning to start at noon time from Delhi train station. Would it be better to break the journey in two parts and halt somewhere en route?

4. What could be a good place to halt in case we decide to?

Any help is much appreciated.

[rdst_1]

Originally Posted by the_skyliner

A friend and I are planning for Delhi > Mcleodganj > Delhi trip (3 days) in July end. Would be great if someone could help with info on following:

1. Which is the best route to take? Also, what is the usual duration for the journey?

2. How are the road conditions?

3. We are planning to start at noon time from Delhi train station. Would it be better to break the journey in two parts and halt somewhere en route?

4. What could be a good place to halt in case we decide to?

Any help is much appreciated.

Not to be a spoilsport, but I have no idea why people still want to travel to McLeodganj these days, especially duting this peak season.
I had last visited in 2000.Last week, I accompanied a couple of friends for what would be my last visit to McLeodganj as these days there is just too much rush, commercialization and unnecessary hype about these places.
If someone's intention is to enjoy a few days in nature's lap, then my advice would be to stay away from popular hill towns.

If you like driving, no issues in doing the trip in a single go.

Delhi-Ambala-Kharar-Anandpur Sahib- Nangal-Mubarikpur-Kangra-Dharamshala-McLeodganj is the route I would take and is easily doable in 10-12hrs depending upon how many breaks you take.
I would suggest an early morning start if possible. Even if you start at noon, you should still make it very easily before midnight,so better to stop at destination only.

[ssambyal1980]

Originally Posted by rdst_1

Not to be a spoilsport, but I have no idea why people still want to travel to McLeodganj these days, especially duting this peak season.

Couldn't agree more. Fully endorse your point of view. Visiting Mcleodganj or for that matter any popular hill station either in Himachal Pradesh or Uttarakhand during the peak tourist season of May and June is more of a misery than joy. Be it Dharamshala, Shimla, Manali, Nainital or Mussoorie, all these hill stations remain chock a block with heavy tourist rush leading to extreme shortage of accommodation as most of the hotels are 100% booked. Then due to heavy rush of tourist vehicles the narrow hill town roads are a picture of total chaos with bumper to bumper traffic moving at snail's pace. Heavy rush of vehicles rob off the charm of a quite and peaceful vacation.

Not to forget that due to heavy inflow of vehicles the parking becomes a real problem. Moreover the old and crumbling infrastructure of hill towns especially the water supply also takes a nasty hit during peak tourist season. The recent acute water shortage in Shimla is a point in the case. In my honest opinion the best time to visit the Himalayan States is after the monsoon from September onwards when the hill resorts are quite less crowded. Also with clear weather and sunny days after the monsoons the mountain panorama becomes a visual treat.

[the_skyliner]

Originally Posted by rdst_1

Not to be a spoilsport, but I have no idea why people still want to travel to McLeodganj these days

Thanks for the heads-up. Can you suggest any other location nearby which could be worth visiting? We are attending a wedding nearby and thought would spend a day sightseeing and hence decided on Mcleodganj.

Originally Posted by rdst_1

Delhi-Ambala-Kharar-Anandpur Sahib- Nangal-Mubarikpur-Kangra-Dharamshala-McLeodganj is the route I would take and is easily doable in 10-12hrs depending upon how many breaks you take.
I would suggest an early morning start if possible. Even if you start at noon, you should still make it very easily before midnight,so better to stop at destination only.

Thanks again. Early morning start isn't feasible as we will be reaching Delhi around 10am.

Originally Posted by ssambyal1980

Couldn't agree more. Fully endorse your point of view. Visiting Mcleodganj or for that matter any popular hill station either in Himachal Pradesh or Uttarakhand during the peak tourist season of May and June is more of a misery than joy.

Thanks, ssambyal.
Will July-end be peak season? I have no idea of that region hence asking. Also, could you please suggest some alternatives?

[ssambyal1980]

Originally Posted by the_skyliner

Will July-end be peak season? I have no idea of that region hence asking. Also, could you please suggest some alternatives?

Well July end will be the most lean season as it is in the middle of the monsoons. Dharamshala-Mcleodganj are amongst the wettest places in the country with an annual rainfall of more than 3000 mm. During the peak monsoon season i.e from July to mid September it rains heavily in Dharamshala with around 2200 mm of rainfall falling within a period of two and half months which is 70% of its annual rainfall. Heavy rains entail landslides and road blockages thus ruining the travel plans. Therefore monsoon season should be avoided. As I have mentioned earlier the weather becomes favourable after the monsoons i.e in September.

As an alternative you can visit the beautiful valleys of Lahaul & Spiti in July-August as these lie in the rain shadow region due to high altitude mountains surrounding them. Therefore they receive scanty rainfall as monsoon clouds are blocked by high mountains. And better still if you have time at disposal, Ladakh will be an excellent alternative as it also doesn't receive monsoon rains. Coming directly from Delhi by bus or taxi you can stay put at Manali. Delhi to Manali is around 12-13 hours drive by taxi whereas buses take around an hour more. Stay at Manali for a day or two and explore the areas around and after that you can proceed to Lahaul and beyond to Ladakh. There is a regular government bus service from Manali to Leh operated by Himachal Road Transport Corporation and in addition to that Himachal Tourism Development Corporation also runs tourist buses from Manali to Leh. You can get all the information on the respective websites.

[rdst_1]

Originally Posted by the_skyliner

Thanks for the heads-up. Can you suggest any other location nearby which could be worth visiting? We are attending a wedding nearby and thought would spend a day sightseeing and hence decided on Mcleodganj.

If you want to do paragliding then Bir-Billing is around 2hrs from Dharamshala. Only issue is that it shouldn't be raining on that day.
No issues in roaming in and around McLeodganj if you have to make the trip anyway.
We haven't had the usual monsoon this year over here so roads are pretty good this year. It is however supposed to rain in the next 4-5 days, but the roads won't deteriorate that quickly.

[rst89]

Originally Posted by rdst_1

Not to be a spoilsport, but I have no idea why people still want to travel to McLeodganj these days, especially during this peak season.

I also agree with the above statement. I visited Mcloedganj in August 2017 and I was fed up with the traffic and long queues of vehicles. I quickly shifted my base to Dharamkot which is a little bit higher to Mcloedganj. Dharamkot is calm and peaceful, closer to Triund trail. But you need to walk a lot.

Originally Posted by ssambyal1980

Not to forget that due to heavy inflow of vehicles the parking becomes a real problem. Moreover the old and crumbling infrastructure of hill towns especially the water supply also takes a nasty hit during peak tourist season.

You can literally smell the clutch getting burnt of so many out station cars at Mcloedganj. The steep road from Dharmasala should be avoided if you are new to hill driving and longer route should be taken which buses take to reach Mcloedganj.

[ssambyal1980]

Originally Posted by rst89

You can literally smell the clutch getting burnt of so many out station cars at Mcloedganj. The steep road from Dharmasala should be avoided if you are new to hill driving and longer route should be taken which buses take to reach Mcloedganj.

You have nailed it right. There are two ways to approach Mcleodganj from Dharamshala. One is the Mcleodganj road which is around 9 km long and is the main highway used by heavy vehicles. The Mcleodganj Bus Stand is also situated on this road. While travelling through this road one also passes by the old church of St. John in the wilderness. Have always used this road as it is wide and has decently manageable gradient.

The other road which you have mentioned about is the 'Jogibara' Road which is a 4.5 km long stretch. With this very road being a shortcut the gradient is very high owing to rapid increase in altitude from being 1390 meters at Dharamshala to 1760 meters at Mcleodganj i.e the altitude increases by 370 meters (1213 feet) within a short distance of 4.5 km making this road an extremely steep climb. And to add to the woes of the drivers the road is pretty narrow and passes through congested markets and localities.

[the_skyliner]

Originally Posted by ssambyal1980

Well July end will be the most lean season as it is in the middle of the monsoons.

As an alternative you can visit the beautiful valleys of Lahaul & Spiti in July-August as these lie in the rain shadow region due to high altitude mountains surrounding them.

Thanks, ssambyal. Any other option like, Spiti and all is out of bounds as we have to attend a wedding in Dhameta on the next day.

Originally Posted by rdst_1

If you want to do paragliding then Bir-Billing is around 2hrs from Dharamshala. Only issue is that it shouldn't be raining on that day.
No issues in roaming in and around McLeodganj if you have to make the trip anyway.
We haven't had the usual monsoon this year over here so roads are pretty good this year. It is however supposed to rain in the next 4-5 days, but the roads won't deteriorate that quickly.

Thanks, rdst_1! Will explore the paragliding option. Sounds interesting.

Originally Posted by rst89

I also agree with the above statement. I visited Mcloedganj in August 2017 and I was fed up with the traffic and long queues of vehicles.

Thank, rst89. However, this is the case with every hill station nowadays.

[the_skyliner]

I am back from the trip to Mcleodganj last weekend. Experience with MyChoize self drive rental was fantastic. We opted for Nissan Terrano which was in good shape even after having 1L on the odo. Most importantly, the tyres were is excellent condition.

Roads are decent all the way till Mcleodganj with small bad patches (5-10kms) in between.

Took around 11 hours one way with a couple of hours breaks in between.

Some of the inclines in Mcleodganj are quite challenging and underpowered cars will definitely struggle on them. Also, it is very important to have good tyres especially in monsoon season as otherwise climbing those inclines in practically impossible.

Thankfully, it was not overcrowded and we could enjoy the beauty of Himalayas in peace. However, air quality in the town is really bad due to constant revving of cars on inclines and almost every other person smoking cigarettes on the streets.

[ssambyal1980]

Originally Posted by the_skyliner

I am back from the trip to Mcleodganj last weekend. Experience with MyChoize self drive rental was fantastic. We opted for Nissan Terrano which was in good shape even after having 1L on the odo. Most importantly, the tyres were is excellent condition.

Roads are decent all the way till Mcleodganj with small bad patches (5-10kms) in between.

Took around 11 hours one way with a couple of hours breaks in between.

Some of the inclines in Mcleodganj are quite challenging and underpowered cars will definitely struggle on them. Also, it is very important to have good tyres especially in monsoon season as otherwise climbing those inclines in practically impossible.

Thankfully, it was not overcrowded and we could enjoy the beauty of Himalayas in peace. However, air quality in the town is really bad due to constant revving of cars on inclines and almost every other person smoking cigarettes on the streets.

Good to know about successful completion of your trip. Was busy with some obligations as such couldn't reply to your query. Anyways if possible please do share your travel experience on the forum.