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McLeod Ganj is one of the most populated city in India consisting of the Tibetan people. This is a city near the city of Dharamshala. Mcleodganj serves the present living place of the Dalai Lama and also the administrative headquarter of Tibet. This is a city which is surrounded by natural mountains and beautiful landscapes always a paradise along with some temples, treks and many more things. This place I can recommend everyone should once visit not only for the beautiful scenes but to experience the Tibetan civilization and monasteries nearby which makes this place unique and great place to travel to.
When I first got to know more details on Dalai Lama and his escape during his early days to Mcleodganj I was always had keen interest to see him in person and so I decided for a visit to Mcleodganj. Though the time I visited during November 2023 Dalai Lama was in Sikkim for some work. But still I had the opportunity to experience some of the beautiful and important place in the Himachal Pradesh.
I left with a bus from New Delhi in evening and reached Mcleodganj early morning next day. The hotel was booked from earlier and it was in a beautiful landscape almost in the valley between two mountains. As soon as I reached I had the opportunity to have witness a beautiful sunrise. Then I waited till afternoon in between having breakfast till I can get accommodated in the hotel. Later in afternoon after lunch I got out to visit the Dalai Lama temple, the residence of Dalai Lama followed by a short look into a cultural event of Himachal Pradesh and after that a breathtaking view of the sunset from a café while having tea. After evening I returned back to hotel where it was chilling and could only get into the blankets waiting for dinner. After that I took dinner and felt asleep.
The next day early morning a cab was booked who took me to visit some of the nearby places which includes Tibetan library, Kangra tea gardens, Kangra devi temple, Kangra fort and followed by a Buddhist monastery. The Tibetan library was a place where lots of books of general studies along with ancient Tibetan books were kept. I asked the librarian to show me some of the traditional books and he showed me those books which were like old books format and being original copies traces back to many years in history. The tea garden was special for its breathtaking scenery, the temple is among one of the devi shaktipeeths, fort was good but later visiting the monastery was all new experience. This had a chamber where the disciples take blessings and teachings from the masters there. All the people of the monastery has their residence attached in buildings inside the campus. When I was visiting the people were taking their evening food and a beautiful peaceful music was blown in the teaching chamber. All the environment was so peaceful and filled with happiness that I can experience the same within myself. After that I got back to hotel and got into blanket while there’s another chilling night. There was a little balcony in the room from where the night sky with stars was another beautiful view to enjoy.
Next day morning I have the bus from Dharamshala back to New Delhi in evening. In the morning through ropeway I reached to Dharamshala. The ropeway is called skyway and connects Dharamshala with Mcleodganj and is a shorter ride than traditional cabs. In Dharamshala I had a lot of time so visited the Dharamshala stadium and war memorial where names are engraved of the martyrs of Kargil war and Pulwama attack. Later I moved to a mall nearby the bus stand and waited till boarding the bus. Then in evening I took the bus and a sleep in the bus had made me reach back to New Delhi in next day morning.
This was a nice journey but more memorable due to the Dalai Lama temple and the Buddhist monasteries I visited which provided me a good idea of the Tibetan culture. Another thing I forgot to mention is the treatment that these people provide to other people is worth noting. This is all together a whole new and beautiful experience. Anyone looking to plan to Himachal Pradesh I would always recommend to take have the taste of the beauty and culture of the city of Mcleodganj.
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