EXPLORE

ITINERARY ROUTING:

Delhi – Dharamshala – Palampur – Karjan – Shimla – Delhi

SKETCH ITINERARY:

DAY 01: ARRIVAL DELHI
DAY 02: DELHI – DHARAMSHALA
DAY 03: IN DHARAMSALA
DAY 04: IN DHARAMSALA
DAY 05: DHARAMSALA – PALAMPUR
DAY 06: PALAMPUR-BIR - SHERABLING MONASTERY - PALAMPUR
DAY 07: PALAMPUR – KARJAN
DAY 08: IN KARJAN
DAY 09: IN KARJAN
DAY 10: KARJAN – SHIMLA
DAY 11: IN SHIMLA
DAY 12: IN SHIMLA
DAY 13: IN SHIMLA
DAY 14: SHIMLA – KALKA – DELHI – DEPARTURE

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Arrive in Delhi by an International flight.
• Fly to Dharamsala, home of the 14th Dalai Lama. Check into a hotel where each room is decorated with appliquéd fabrics, hand-knotted carpets, carved wooden furniture and beautiful murals dedicated to a unique Tibetan theme. Visit the Dalai Lama Monastery and do a ‘Kora’ in silence (a Kora is a Tibetan Buddhist ritual of walking around a sacred site in a clockwise direction). Go for a leisurely walk in the Mcleodganj market with its many colourful shops.
• Next day in Dharamsala head-out for an early morning day walk to Triund. Triund is an alpine meadow situated atop a flat ridge with fine views of the Dhauladhar range on one side and the Kangra valley on the other.
• On the third day in Dharamsala explore the Norbulingka Institute – a beautiful tranquil space with neat winding stone paths. Visit its many workshops dedicated to Tibetan art and craft. Norbulingka means Treasure Garden in the Tibetan language. The original Norbulingka is in Lhasa, Tibet and is the world's highest, and largest man-made horticultural garden. Next day drive to Palampur. En route visit Kangra Fort, one of India's oldest forts, built 3500 years ago and the largest in the Himalayas. From the time the fort was first mentioned in Alexander the Great's war records to the British Army, who occupied it till 1905, the Kangra Fort has changed hands several times, with each conqueror adding to it. Later, spend time in a tea factory to know more about the local Kangra Tea (subject to permission). Tea cultivation was introduced in and around the Palampur foothills in the mid-19th century. Check into the hotel built on fifteen acres of camphor forest and tea gardens in the foothills of the Dhauladhar mountain range.
• Drive from Palampur to Bir – one of finest spots for paragliding in the world that has hosted the Paragliding World Cup in 2015. From Bir, walk to the Sherabling Monastery with great views of the Dhauladhar ranges. Spend time at the monastery which has a calm, rejuvenating and welcoming vibe, with its gleaming polished wooden floors, beautiful paintings and neat arrangements for monks to sit and meditate. On the way back, stop at the 12th century Baijnath Temple to witness the spiritual traditions of the locals and travellers stopping by. Spend a relaxed afternoon in the hotel.
• Drive from Palampur to Karjan. Karjan is a quiet village located 20 minutes away from busy hill station Manali. Check into a hotel which is a contemporary take on traditional architecture of Himachal Pradesh and a wonderful mix of stone, mud and wood. Spend a relaxed afternoon in the hotel.
• While staying at Karjan drive to Soel village and walk to the beautifully located Haripur stream. From here, follow a forest trail on foot till Dashal village. Walk around Dashal village with its Kath Khuni houses – great examples of the fast disappearing indigenous Himachali architecture with its small windows, sloping roofs and deep balconies. Also visit an 11th century Shiva temple.
• At Karjan, walk through apple orchards on the way to Dhamsu village. From here walk to Sajla village and visit a local temple. Continue walking further, through the forest, to a small waterfall which is the source of drinking water for the villages of Sajla, Dhamsu and Karjan.
• Today drive to Shimla, the erstwhile summer capital of Colonial India built on seven hills. Check into the 130-year-old colonial hotel.
• While staying in Shimla go for an easy paced walk around one of the seven hills – the Elysium Hill, which is tantalizingly close to the busy Mall Road, yet surprisingly peaceful and quiet.
• In Shimla explore the Heritage Zone on foot, listening to wonderful stories of its many colonial buildings as you slowly make your way to the Viceregal Lodge over the entire day.
• Start early morning in Shimla to go on a nature hike starting from the house where Rudyard Kipling wrote “Kim” and “Plain Tales from The Hills”, past a haunted hill, villages, brooks, meadows, grasslands and forests to arrive at the art gallery of a Shimla painter. Lunch at the art gallery.
• Take the toy-train ride from Shimla to Kalka enjoying the picturesque scenery and listening to wonderful stories on the way. Opened for traffic in 1903, this 96 kms railway track is now listed amongst the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
• Come back to Delhi by a fast train from Kalka.

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