Himachal Pradesh: Dharamkot and bhagsunag

Dharamshala will be special for me because it was the first trip of Himachal.

It is not that I did not come to Himachal before. But I have passed through Himachal many times. But it was the first time I visited Dharamshala. I suddenly made a plan for Dharamshala with my friends while working in the office.

We had long leaves in our kitty, so we made a plan to visit Dharamshala. I was very excited for this trip because it was the first trip in my life that I planned on my own. I did not do any shopping for this but I had packed my luggage well so that I did not have to face any problem at the end moment. I packed everything well and kept it in my luggage and I thought that I might not forget anything.

We boarded the bus from ISBT at 10:00 in the night. And the bus landed us at McLeodganj at 6:30 am. We did not know anything about this location, we had not read anything on Google, we had come up like this without any information. As soon as we reached McLeodganj, the people around told that we should take a taxi from here, which will take us towards Dharmkot. Then we took a taxi from Mcleodganj to Dharamkot and the taxi person charged Rs 100 from us.

Once we got off the taxi we saw the sign board of the guest house, then we went to that guest house and started inquiring whether they have vacant rooms. When I saw that guest house I was surprised as the guest house charged  us Rs 700 per day. There are simple guesthouses where one can stay and they offer just the basic amenities. We put all our luggage in the guest house room. After a night's journey from Delhi to Himachal, we were very tired, so we first thought of taking a bath. After bathing we had a good 5 hours of sleep.

When we woke up, we could hear music from outside. As soon as we opened the gate, we saw the sound of music coming from a cafe which we did not notice while check in. A lot of people were present in that cafe and a lot of noise was heard with the music. We started getting ready and thought we would go out too. Ohh! I forgot to tell you the name of the cafe. It was Trek and Dine cafe, which is the most famous and beautiful cafe of the Dharamkot region. The waiter here welcomed us very well and was also very friendly. I have noticed what we do not find in Delhi or other cities is that the people here are very friendly and polite. They help a lot and are also very humble in nature.

We ordered snacks to eat. In this cafe, all kinds of people were coming, on one side a joint family was sitting and on the other side, a group of college was sitting together. There is a different magic in this cafe. I can sit here all day without even talking to anyone. Here, enjoying the tea in the mountains is your own pleasure. We ourselves do not know how much tea we drank here while gazing to the mountains from this cafe.We did not know the time while talking among ourselves and it was past 8:00 in the evening while doing so. 

After spending some time in cafe, we thought of taking a stroll in the streets in Dharamkot back to our room. We did not sleep when we reached the guest house. We played cards for 2 hours and had chit chat which was never ending. This environment had its own fun.

How to reach :  

You can get a transport from Delhi or Rishikesh to Dharamshala like HRTC . 

We woke up the next morning comfortably because we had slept late and last night we did not know when the time had passed and it was four o'clock in the morning. The next day we decided to go to Bhagsu Nag which is 15 minutes drive from Dharamshala. Auto rickshaws and taxis are a great option to go from Mcleodganj to Bahgsunag, but still I consider walking is the fastest and easiest way to get there as a result of a traffic jam.

Bhagsunag waterfall and village is found around a 30-45 minute walk away from the main hub of Mcleodganj. And if you are staying at Dharamkot then it will take 20 minutes by walk.

Of course, this all depends on where you’re staying! The walk is comparatively easy and flat, so you won’t need to trek extensively to reach.

Before you head into the Bhagsunag waterfall, you'll want to stop by at the Bhagsunag temple. A Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, who the holy village of Bhagsunag honours. This is often the most reason why tons of Hindu pilgrims visit here as well as walking up to the waterfall.You will got to take your shoes off before you enter the temple and there are some shoe shelves outside where you can keep your shoes safe. 

It’s a small white temple with a bell at the entrance and it has been constructed with white tiles. You’ll see Hindu’s ringing this bell to let the gods know that they are in their house. In the temple campus, you will find a swimming pool where people come to take a dip. There are  two separate bath system, one for men and another for women. Women usually go fully dressed to take a dip in the pool. There is a changing room inside too. You will need to bring your own towel as they may not provide you these thing.