This summer, our family of three is currently on two separate routes through Himachal Pradesh. As mentioned in the prior post, the kid with his classmates is trekking along the foothills of Himalayas to Chanderkhani (12,500 ft) starting from the base camp at Naggar, a town situated 21 kms from Manali. They flew to Delhi from Bangalore and travelled by bus to Naggar. We, the parents are also on a separate holiday to Himachal Pradesh, visiting Dharamshala and Dalhousie.

Himachal Pradesh is a state in north India, nestled in the foothills of  Himalayas and famously known as the Abode of Snow. Himachal is home to a number of popular summer  tourist destinations – Shimla – the capital, Kullu, Manali, Dharamshala, Dalhousie, Spiti, Lahaul etc. Shimla was declared as the summer capital of British India due to the cool climate, which provided the much-needed respite from the hot Indian summers. During the winter months of Dec to Mar, the hills and valleys of Himachal are carpeted with snow and the photos we have seen are beautiful. But we are travelling in Apr – May, no snow but cool weather and beautiful landscapes are our expectations.

From Bangalore, we have the choice of flying either to Delhi, Chandigarh or Amritsar and then proceeding to Himachal by road. The two places we chose this time – Dharamshala & Dalhousie are closest to Amritsar, so we are flying to Amritsar.

Our broad itinerary reads as follows with 2 days in each city:

Day 1 : Fly from Bangalore to Amritsar

Day 2: Local sightseeing in Amritsar

Day 3 : Road trip from Amritsar to Dharamshala

Day 4 : Local sightseeing in Dharamshala

Day 5: Road trip from Dharamshala to Dalhousie

Day 6: Local sightseeing in Dalhousie

Day 7 : Return to Amritsar and fly out to Bangalore.

Hotels we are staying:

Hyatt in Amritsar

Indraprastha Resort & Spa in Dharamshala

Aamod at Dalhousie

First stop Amritsar !!