Dharamkot and Bhagsu

I arrived in Delhi at around 6PM on the 25th of September. I took a shuttle bus to Aerocity metro station and then the Airport Express line to reach Connaught Place. CP is the most convenient and my favourite place in Delhi. On my way, I stopped at the local food joint to have some Samosa chaat. 

At CP, I met Divyesh and we headed to McDonalds. My friend Manan whom I had met during my trip to Kodaikanal lives in Delhi. He came to see me there. We headed to Starbucks and spent some time talking and catching up on the all the updates. Manan is a week away from his road trip in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. It is always a delight to meet traveller friends.

We took a metro to Kashmere Gate from where we had to board our bus to Dharamshala. I had booked Zing bus max and it was a Volvo with comfortable seats. The service was exceptional. We were served an elaborate dinner during the journey. They even had Jain option for Divyesh. 

 

The marshal assigned to our bus was from Himachal. When the cops stopped the bus to collect some bribe and water bottles, he told us that this was a routine event. Cops fight and may be even bribe authorities to get a deputation on highways such as this. They collect at least Rs 500 from each bus, of which there are thousands, plying every night. If they collect bribe at one point then they provide a password which can be used at future checkpoints to avoid further bribing. And the passwords he said are - “Jai shree ram”, “Jai mata di” etc. 

 

In the morning, just before reaching Dharamshala, we had an elaborate breakfast. A buffet with 3-4 dishes were served. This luxury drive was a steal. 

 

Buses go only till Dharamshala. But our Zing bus ticket involved a cab service till McLeod Ganj. We paid the driver an extra 200 rupees to drop us off at the hotel. 

 

When my Beas Kund trek got cancelled due to heavy rainfall and landslides in Himachal, I had to make alternate plans. During a search on the internet, I came across a local trek organiser called Hill Hikers. Vijay Thakur got in touch with me and helped me with all the necessary details. Two days before our travel, there was a landslide on the route to McLeod Ganj and the road was closed for few hours. There were enough reasons to cancel our trip but Vijay ji assured that this was common in Himachal during the rainy season and social media makes things look worser than it actually is. The road had been cleared within a few hours. 

Due to heavy rainfall and exaggeration of the same on social media, many tourists had cancelled the trip. Which was in a way good for us as the place was not at all crowded. Apart from some foreign tourists (mostly from Israel), there were a few Indian tourists. The hotel we were staying in was completely empty. The hotel is located on an elevation with a clear view of the Dhauladhar range towering before us. 

We freshened up and took a walk to Dharamkot. Our hotel was at the entry point of Bhagsu. Dharamkot was uphill. We had to walk a kilometre up to reach Dharamkot. This small settlement is popular for its cafes and home stays. Shops though, seemed to sell the same kind of mass-produced products. I wondered how interesting these markets would have been in the past with regional handmade craft. 

There were also several yoga learning centres and cooking classes here. Some foreigners had setup stalls by the road selling their crafts, some taught wood work and some charcoal painting. It looked like a fun place to stay and learn something interesting.  

I loved the ambiance at Buddha Green cafe and sat down to have some delicious Buddha bowl there. My dish was served with tasty hummus, Muttabal and Muhammara sauce. The food made me feel nostalgic about the Jordan trip that I had done a year ago. We then went to Joy’s Cafe to find some Jain food for Divyesh. The owner was busy giving cooking lessons to some foreign tourists. 

After lunch, we walked around the area and took a short cut to Bhagsu. Bhagsu too is filled with nice cafes and hostels. Many places cater to digital nomads. You can also visit the Bhagsu Nag temple and Bhagsu waterfall. 

I went for another short walk till Bhagsu at night. But the place seemed inactive. I retuned to hotel for a much deserved sleep before our trek the next day. 

TO BE CONTINUED...