Dalhousie best visited unplanned, off-season

Dalhousie is a mystic hill station named after Lord Dalhousie. A place best visited during the off-season than during the peak time. On a journey, this place is best left unplanned than plotted to the last detail. Here's why.

We reached Dalhousie at 8 pm on January 2nd, to a surprisingly cold welcome. That day saw the first snowfall of the season, a full month earlier than expected. Walking in three inches of snow, covered from head to toe in wollens, we checked-in at a decent hotel.

First benefit of the off-season travelling - we managed to wring a 'Rs1000-per- night-suite' for a paltry sum of Rs 300.

Next morning, we woke up to a dreamy, snow-capped Dalhousie. There was about seven inches of snowfall overnight. There was snow on the steps, snow on car-tops, snow on the roof, snow on the road and ultimately, snow in our shoes as we ventured out for an early morning walk.

On our way, we met a retired army personnel who cautioned us against venturing out on the roads alone, especially during the night. Bears often come down in search of food, so do wolves and snow leopards.

The huge bear footprints all around us were all the proof we needed to beat a hasty retreat. He also informed us that the day's snowfall was just the warm-up and by the end of February, Dalhousie is often buried under eight to ten feet of snow.

Next day, we began our trek, Dalhousie-Kalatop-Khajjiar-Mangala-Dalhousie, alled the ‘Dalhousie winter trek’ and organised by The Youth Hostels Association of India. As we left Dalhousie, we realised that the earlier fluffy snow had a tricky side to it.

With no fresh snowfall, the snow started to harden. And believe me, walking on hardening snow is quite a task, even with your trekking shoes on. You’ve got to watch your step, be it the first or the thousandth.

Our first halt was Kalatop, where the film 1942 — A Love Story was shot. The name is self-explanatory, kala means 'black' and top means 'peak'. That's because sunlight can't penetrate through the thick jungle of deodar trees around. So it's very dark even during the day and very chilly too.

Nevertheless, a wonderful place to be. On our way we saw a cluster of houses buried in deep snow. We were informed that residents abandon their homes during winter and shift to lower areas. Quite a sensible thing to do.

At the camp, our guide again cautioned us about bears. He said that a bear, when on your side, rarely attacks. But when you come face-to-face, that's the time to put your running skills to test.

The next day, we reached Khajjiar, popularly known as mini-Switzerland,  and truly so. We visited the Ram temple which is one of the rarest temples in the world. Here, you can find wooden statues of all the five Pandavas together at one place.

One very good initiative by the Himachal government is that cutting trees and even collecting firewood is an offence. So you see many fallen trees which decay but are never burnt. Kudos to Himachal Pradesh.

We were now at a height of 8300 ft. Next day we embarked on a 4000 ft. steep descent into the Mangala valley. Throughout the descent, we met many small kids at every mountain corner. Soon the valley echoed with sounds of ‘hello uncleji’ and ‘namaste uncleji’. 70-year-old women accompanied us all the way down, with nimble feet that'll put to shame even the most seasoned trekkers.

The following day, we were back in Dalhousie. Within eight days, the snow had completely vanished, barring few pockets where the sunlight couldn't reach. But Dalhousie was as beautiful as ever. Truly, nature's own home. Wanna move in?