[Biraj]

The past week has been a week of many firsts. To list a few, I went for a vacation with friends for first time since college, drove for 1100 Kms without any co-driver and decided to write a travelogue. This is my first post on the forum thus will appreciate all feedback/brickbats.

The plan started with a call from a friend in Mumbai, if I would want to join them on a trip to Mcleodganj. They were planning to fly till Chandigarh and take a cab from there. I decided to tag along and then hijack the plan to a road trip from Delhi.

I have been planning to purchase a new car for long (will post details about it in a separate thread) and wanted to take it for the trip. Fortunately, common sense prevailed and I made the trip on my trusted and reliable Santro Xing.

We took the following route:

Delhi > Karnal > Ambala > Panchkula > Ropar > Anandpur Sahib > Nangal > Una > Amb > Mubarakpur > Dehra > Ranital > Kangra > Gaggal > Dharmashala > Mcleodganj

Day 1:
I along with 2 friends started from Delhi at 7.30 AM on December 5 (Monday). We planned the trip during weekdays as we all wanted to get away from work. After tanking up near Azadpur, we headed straight to Murthal. The first halt took place at Pahalwan Dhaba. Paranthas combined with butter (white not Amul) prepares one for the long hard day to come. I have driven from Ahmedabad to Delhi and on other major highways too however, nothing matches the food on offer at Punjab highway.
After a break of almost one hour, we headed to Chandigarh. We took another small break just before entering Panchkula and then a major break at Panchkula. We reached Panchkula around 1.15 PM and stayed there till 4 PM as another friend joined us from there. Finally at 4PM, we started from Panchkula and stopped for Lunch around 5 PM, near Ropar. Another long break and we were on our way to Mcleodganj at 6 PM. Crossed some horrible roads from Una to Amb and finally reached Mcleodganj at 2 AM. The roads from Una are in very bad shape and one should try and cover it during day. The drive from Dharmashala to McLeod is through a very twisty and narrow road (aptly called by locals as Khada Danda Road). We went there without booking a hotel assuming that most hotels would be available due to off peak season. We never imagined that we will reach at 2 in the night at a hill station that sleeps early. After trying a number of doors (read hotel gates), we finally managed entry to a Hotel called Paradiso. It was decent (not Hotel Decent) for spending the night. The night was spent discussing the trip and nostalgic moments of school/college.

Day 2:
The day started with a mild scare. Car’s battery had completely drained out without any apparent reason. The hotel staff added to the anxiety by sharing stories of how cars from plains keep failing in this area. I am sure they had their logic for each story however, I couldn’t believe that my ever so reliable Santro will let me down. Called a mechanic and got the car jump-started. Then, we realized that the brake light coupler had failed thus, the brake light was on through out the night. Got it fixed and the Santro was back in its elements.

It was time for brunch at Green Hotel (Bhagsu Road) and then head towards Bhagsu Nag temple and falls. Rest of the day was spent in Shopping and finally a nice dinner at Mc’Llo.

For me, vacation is all about driving and eating thus, most of my travel plans include more places to eat than places to visit. (That’s the first smiley, left with one more)

Day 3:

The day started with a very heavy brunch at Jimmy’s Italian. The exhaustive menu at Jimmy’s can give even the best of Italian restaurants a run for their money. Jimmy’s is a brilliant place to eat for people that love Italian. We then went to Naddi Village with a stop over at the St. John Church. Church, as expected was serene. The view from Naddi is breathtaking. The peaks received first snowfall of the season on Tuesday night. We could see traces of fresh snow on the peaks. After spending some 45-60 minutes at Naddi, we went to the main temple at McLeodganj.

Being a Buddhist Monastery, it was definitely peaceful however, I expected it to be more grand (Might have a lot to do with it being called the MAIN Temple). I have heard from friends that Norbulingka and Karmapa temples in Dharmashala provide better experience.

The remainder of the day was spent in accompanying our friends with their shopping escapades. We had two friends that belong to the fairer sex, travelling with us, thus shopping trips were completely unavoidable.
After all the shopping, we went to Green Hotel to savour the delicacies again. Before we realised, it was 7.30 PM and we had to start our journey back to Delhi. We went back to Hotel, packed our stuff, thanked the entire staff for their service and started for Delhi at 9.30 PM.

We took the same route while returning however, missed the diversion towards Ranital and went to towards Mandi. Luckily, after 30 KMs we realised that we are on the wrong route and came back to take the correct route from Kangra. Stopped at a Dhaba near Dehra at 1 in the night for Dinner. It was another great experience of food at road side Dhaba. After negotiating the terrible roads near UNA, we reached Anandpur Sahib at around 4.15 AM. An early morning visit to Darbar Sahib is the best start one can have to the day.

We started from Anandpur Sahib at 5.00 and then stopped at a motel near Ropar at around 6 in the morning. My friends couldn’t stay awake any longer and I had been driving alone for long thus, rest was the need of hour.

Day 4:

After a 5 hour sleep, we started our journey from Ropar at 12.45 PM. The first stop was at Haveli (Near Ambala) for almost 90 minutes and then at Barista near Karnal for 45 minutes. The stoppage at Karnal allowed us to witness Sehwag’s double century live. (This deserved the second smiley) We took another halt at Murthal for paranthas, this time at Sukhdev. My friends were from Mumbai and they wanted as much of it as possible before returning to Mumbai. We reached Delhi at around 9 PM.

These were fantastic 4 days away from the usual corporate life. 4 weekdays without formal clothes and formal discussions. The combination of passion to drive, great and not so great roads, crazy friends, crazier conversations had a psychedelic (not talking about stuff that produces it) effect on all of us.

It was a great trip that made me realize what I was missing in the seemingly comfortable life. Have decided to take a trip to Laddakh next year (Between June – August) and seriously get my work-life balance back on track. (Wish I could add another smiley).

Here are some pics taken from Nokia N8 (nothing except camera works on this).

[scopriobharath]

Nice Travellogue. Seems you have enjoyed a lot. I think i too will plan for a mcleodganj trip sometime

O.T. : Which car were you planning to purchase / purchased.

[hvkumar]

Looks like you were spared the agony of driving in fog!
I am surprised that you did not take the better route via Hoshirapur to Mubrakpur?

[Biraj]

Thanks Bharath - This break was overdue for long. Moreover, I went with school time friends so it was even more special. You must go to Mcleodganj, it's a beautiful place to unwind oneself and relax. I might make a plan of visiting that place alone (or with people that don't like shopping)

I am extremely confused with the choice. If my heart wins, it will be a Linea T-Jet and if the brain wins, then some diesel sedan (Rapid is leading the pack till now).

@Kumar - Yes, I was lucky not to encounter fog especially while returning. We expected dense fog around Nangal as we crossed it close to 4 AM. Luckily, visibility was good. The entire plan took shape very randomly thus, not much time was spent in planning the route. We blindly followed the route recommended on Google map.

[rajneeesh]

Biraj, you are quiet a braveheart to drive at these hours and that too in the hills. I try to complete my driving chores during daylight.. CHeers for the TL

[Biraj]

Originally Posted by rajneeesh

Biraj, you are quiet a braveheart to drive at these hours and that too in the hills. I try to complete my driving chores during daylight.. CHeers for the TL

Thank you Rajneesh, Even I wanted to cover the stretch on hills during daylight however, we weren't left with any options during onward journey due to some very long stoppages. We were initially scheduled to return on Friday but one of friend's manager decided to act spoilsport and she had to take late night flight from Delhi. The drive from Anandpur sahib to Ropar was the toughest, as I was almost battling to stay awake. Looking back, it was one adventurous drive.

[Vitalstatistiks]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Looks like you were spared the agony of driving in fog!
I am surprised that you did not take the better route via Hoshirapur to Mubrakpur?

Hi, great side note. I am planning a trip to Mcleod myself, and checked this suggested route. With almost an additional 100 kms, and 2 hours of drive time, why do you suggest Hoshiarpur/Mubarakpur is a better route ? Tks !

[Sameer_Gupta]

Have done this exact route in Feb'13, although from Jaipur. Road from Una to Dharamshala was a mixed bag - excellet surface at times and then some stretches where there was road repair/ widening going on, so all the traffic was plying on one side of the road. You can imagine the traffic n mess at such places.
Rest of the stretches were excellent - no problem at all.

[sinharishi]

Originally Posted by Vitalstatistiks

With almost an additional 100 kms, and 2 hours of drive time, why do you suggest Hoshiarpur/Mubarakpur is a better route ? Tks !

I guess Via Hoshiarpur it is more of driving in the plains as compared to Anandpur Sahib-Una-Amb-Mubarikpur. Recently did Delhi-Mcleodganj-Delhi in the last week of July. Route taken was Delhi-Shambhu border-Ropar-Anandpur sahib-Nangal-UNA-Amb-Mubarikpur-Kangra-Dharamsala-Mcleodganj.

[Vitalstatistiks]

Originally Posted by sinharishi

I guess Via Hoshiarpur it is more of driving in the plains as compared to Anandpur Sahib-Una-Amb-Mubarikpur. Recently did Delhi-Mcleodganj-Delhi in the last week of July. Route taken was Delhi-Shambhu border-Ropar-Nangal-Anandpur sahib-UNA-Amb-Mubarikpur-Kangra-Dharamsala-Mcleodganj.

Hmm. Maybe. But it still is additional 2 hours of additional drive time.

Anyway, great to know you recent did Delhi-Shambhu border-Ropar-Nangal-Anandpur sahib-UNA-Amb-Mubarikpur-Kangra-Dharamsala-Mcleodganj. Any tips for the road, and road conditions? Muchos Gracias

[sinharishi]

Originally Posted by Vitalstatistiks

Any tips for the road, and road conditions?

Cross posting details from another thread :

(http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ml#post3491570)

* New Delhi - Shambu Border : 3 lane roads with some diversions.
* Shambu Border - Ropar : Superb single lane road bypassing Chandigarh.
* Ropar -Anandpur Sahib-UNA-Amb : Good 2 lanes road. From UNA to Amb single lane road where work is going on. Ascent starts from Mubarikpur.
* Amb-Kangra-Dharamsala : Mixture of good and bad roads.
* Dharamsala - Mcleodganj : Khara Danda Rd best for cars,cant Rd is in a bad state but does not have steep climbs and is wide as compared to Khara Danda rd.

Park your vehicle at main Mcleodganj parking.Parking charges are 200/- overnight on weekdays and 300/- on weekends. Mcleodganj roads are in bad state. Local taxi/Auto are available in Mcleodganj.



NH-1



Shambhu Border - Ropar bypassing Chandigarh:



Ropar-Anandpur Sahib:



Mubarikpur - Kangra:



Machine pressed road just before Kangra:



Entering D'sala:



Mcleodganj:



Khara Danda Rd on a weekend:





Between Mubarikpur and UNA



Mcleodganj Map:

[Vitalstatistiks]

Originally Posted by sinharishi

Cross posting details from another thread :

(

Very helpful, thanks. The roads which seem to be most poor, generally appear like that due to rains i assume. I hope they are in better shape by the time i hit them. Thanks again. Will re-post once the trip is done and update the details.

[Biraj]

Originally Posted by Vitalstatistiks

Very helpful, thanks. The roads which seem to be most poor, generally appear like that due to rains i assume. I hope they are in better shape by the time i hit them. Thanks again. Will re-post once the trip is done and update the details.

I made another trip to Mcleodganj, and the TL for that might be useful in terms of places to see.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...la-4-days.html

[TB16]

Although a lot has been discussed about the Delhi-Dharamsala route in this thread, but im still confused about which route to take. Im planning to leave Delhi (for Dharamsala-Mcleodganj) on 2nd october and since it will be my first time into HP and beyond im completely unaware about the road conditions.

Can someone pls guide me as to which will be the best route to take! By best i mean the route with the best road condition (Doesnt matter if it is longer). Thanks in advance

[bullrun87]

Originally Posted by TB16

Can someone pls guide me as to which will be the best route to take! By best i mean the route with the best road condition (Doesnt matter if it is longer). Thanks in advance

I suggest you use this route
delhi-panipat-ambala-kharar-ropar-anandpur sahib-nangal-una-amb-kangra-dharamshala
This will be the shortest option. I used this route in april and found the road conditons to be really bad in some places, especially the kangra-dharamshala stretch and I believe they will be worse now after the monsoons, but I still feel this is the best route for you.