By : Meetanjali Sood
A small hill station at an altitude of 3268 feet, surrounded by the beautiful Dhauladhar ranges is the town of ‘Dharamshala’, a perfect location for those who want to enjoy the magnificent and scenic backdrops of Shivalik and Dhauladhar hills.
Dharamshala experiences heavy monsoon rains from June to Mid September. The heavy rains makes the forest, farmland and pastures get alive and numerous waterfalls falling on the roads makes walking really difficult. The clouds play havoc with the sky bringing down the visibility to almost zero. The entire valley of Dhauladhar gets covered in pure drops of rain making the nature dance to its tune thus igniting the whole excitement. One must make sure to carry umbrellas and woolens during this time of the season. Winters in Dharmshala are normally freezing and the temperature goes below zero degrees so the best time to enjoy sight seeing and do other adventure activities is form September to November. The unique and unexpected climatic conditions of the place have been responsible for turning this small hill station into the paradise of beautiful landscapes.
There are a number of sight seeing spots around Dharamshala that can make one enjoy the beauty of nature in the wilderness of the Himalayas. There are also many picturesque and eye catching tourist destinations in and around Dharamshala where one can visit like Chamunda Devi Temple, Kangra Art Museum, War Memorial, Namgyal Monastery, Dal Lake, Triund, Dharamkot and Kunal Pathri. All the surrounding areas around this hill station are full of nature and beauty of pine and deodar tress. The town is also known for prehistoric monuments and churches built in colonial architecture.
Standing at the foot of the Dhauladhar hills the place has now become the most popular destinations for foreign tourist in Himachal. The town has all the credit of providing homage to Tibetan community at Mc.Leodganj. While the Chinese continue to endanger the identity of the Tibetans all over the world but those at Dharamshala continue to work to be able to preserve their culture and art under the leadership of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Mc.Leodganj is not only an important tourism industry but it is also a learning institution where many foreign nationals come here every year to learn about the Buddhist art and craft. There are a number of other tourist destinations near Mc.Leodganj like Bhagsu waterfall, Bhagsunath Temple, Dal Lake and the Tibet Museum that can be visited in summer, monsoon or winter. The very famous Tibetan Institute is the Norbulingka Institute, which is about fifteen kilometers from here and is entirely dedicated to impart training, education and employment to Tibetans and their families.
The personal monastery of His Holiness the Dalai Lama ‘Namgyal Monastery’ is an educational center that resides about 200 monks who are taught to practice the four basic lineages of the Tibetan Buddism. The personal residence of His Holiness is right opposite to the Namgyal Monastery and it is from his residence that he performs all the religious activities and makes decisions for the welfare of Tibet and his people.
