Simarprit’s Weblog

Dalhousie India – Review June 14, 2010

We reached here on June 11, 2010 and as we were approaching the city I heard the air whisper to my ears – mixed bag. On day four I can say firmly the air was right, Dalhousie the hill town/station in the state of Himachal Pradesh in India is a mixed bag.

My random thoughts:

1. Great weather, superb.
2. Clean air, cleanest in 500 – 600 Km range from New Delhi, which also has better weather than Delhi.
3. Dalhousie is not a priority with the State government based in Shimla. The state of Himachal Pradesh  has given up on Dalhousie and Dalhousie has given up on the state.
4. The town in parts is dead, I call it town because its own population is below 10,000.
5. The town is just two roads and two chowks (squares/ nodal points) – Subash Chowk and Gandhi Chowk (GPO).
6. Dalhousie is 80 Km from Pathankot, the gateway to Dalhousie is you are coming from Delhi/ Punjab side.
7. Dalhousie has no petrol pump, the nearest is in Banikhet 13 – 15 Km away.
8. Bakrota is 3-4 Km away from Dalhousie and is a great place to stay (not budget), it is at an altitude of 8,000 ft.
9. There is practically no public transport.
10. At Gandhi Chowk the statute of “Father of the Nation” is lost between a Church and Police Post
11. “Downtown Dalhousie” is dirty, filthy and smells
12. The climb to Dalhousie is not tough
13. If you have a choice, small powerful car would always be the best choice
14. You can’t get “garam pakoras” in Dalhousie no one makes it
15. Khairati at Gandhi Chowk is a good grocer
16. Novelty Stores in “The Mall” Gandhi Chowk is a decent multi-purpose store
17. D.C. Khanna is a good outlet if you are looking for stuff which you can get in big cities
18. Tata Sky works well
19. Airtel is a big fail, it doesn’t work in Dalhousie and surrounding
20. Vodafone charge cards are available  against ID
21. BSNL is the best network
22. Tata Photon is great internet connection in Dalhousie area
23. There is a Gurdwara near Subash Chowk
24. Khajjiar can be a disappointment
25. Yes, you can do amateurish Zorbing in Khajjiar
26. Trek to Kala Top is good
27. Trek to Dan Kund is great
28. Chamba to Dalhousie road via Khajjiar is not wide enough for big cars, it becomes tough in stretches
29. Raavi river has good flow in Parel near Chamba
30. The petrol pump in Banikhet has bad reputation
31. The first bus leaves from Dalhousie for pathankot at 6:00 AM in summers
32. Kwality restaurant serves great food, prices are OK

More to come…