Himachal Pradesh is a hilly state in India, because of the many temples located here it is also called Devbhoomi. This is about the month of July when the monsoon starts in the entire Himalayas. I packed my bags and went to visit Kangra Valley in Himachal Pradesh. Kangra Valley is famous for Dhauladhar mountain range, tea gardens and temples of Lord Shiva.
From Delhi I board a bus which will take me directly to Baijnath Temple, Baijnath is situated at 800 meters and this temple is dedicated to Hindu God Shiva. This temple was built in the 13th century. The idol of Lord Shiva is sitting in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple in the form of Vaidyanath. The statue of Nandi has been installed in the premises of the temple. Seeing the construction and artwork of this temple, its grandeur and its antiquity can be estimated. The Amar Ganga is situated near the temple, here it is believed that after death the person who dies by immersion of the bones gets heaven.
After visiting Baijnath temple at 2 pm I leave for Mahakal temple which is situated 9 km away from here. Mahakal temple is also dedicated to Lord Shiva and people come here in large numbers every Monday, it is said that every wish made here comes true, so there is a huge crowd here every Monday. After Mahakal Darshan, I have lunch at a nearby restaurant and make further plans.
I reach the bus stand outside and now I have to go to Dharamshala here. It is raining drizzling, there is no heat and the temperature is 21 degrees. The Dhauladhar mountain range in front is lost somewhere between the clouds. Dark clouds flying fast from Dhauladhar are disappearing in the Kangra valley. Seeing this view is like getting peace in itself. Due to the rain, the rivers are in spate, the rivers are flowing in such a way that they will merge with the sea today itself.
I get a bus and in the next 3 hours I reach Dharamshala. It's getting dark by now and it's raining heavily, so I take a cheap room near the bus stand. After having dinner at 8 o'clock in the night, I come to the room and start planning for tomorrow. There are many good places to visit around Dharamshala, out of which I decide to visit Dalai Lama Temple, Mcleodganj Chowk and Bhagsu Nag Waterfall and go to sleep.
Dharamshala is situated at an altitude of 1350 meters above sea level and is famous for its panoramic view of the Dhauladhar mountain range. I leave the room at 7 in the morning and first go to MAC Chowk where after roaming around the market I go to the Dalai Lama temple. There is a temple here in the name of the fourteenth Lama of Buddhist religion, whose name is Tenzing Gyatso and whom the whole world knows by the name of Dalai Lama. I visit the temple after depositing my mobile and purse. The idols of Gautam Buddha, Goddess Green Tara, Padmasambhava are installed inside. After coming out here, I have lunch and now the next target is Bhagsu waterfall.
Bhagsu Falls is situated at an altitude of 2000 meters. I had to walk 3 km from Dharamshala to reach here. It was a different experience to walk on the footpath on the banks of the river. Due to the monsoon, there was greenery all around, there were tourists and small shops were selling corn. I also buy a corn and go towards my destination while eating it.
Slowly I reach first Bhagsu temple which is dedicated to Nagdevta. There is a swimming pool here in which some people were swimming, seeing them I also felt that if I knew swimming too, I would have enjoyed a lot. In next 30 minutes I reach Bhagsu waterfall. There are many tourists here, some people are taking bath in the waterfall, some people are clicking photos and some people are watching all this like me. I stay here for half an hour. The waterfall is about 50 feet long and the water flow of the waterfall is very fast. Due to the wind, the water of the waterfall is flying far and wide and is soaking the people standing around.
It was not a bad experience to have cold drops falling on the face. I wanted to live this experience deeply, so I get completely drenched. It is six o'clock in the evening and now it is time to return. I come to the bus stand, drink tea and catch the bus at 7 o'clock. The bus drops me to Delhi the next morning. The distance from Dharamshala to Delhi by road is about 550 km. After getting down in Delhi, I take another bus by which I reach my home. So here was my trip to Kangra Valley which lasted for 4 days, in this trip I visited 5 places.
Disclaimer: The above post has been translated from Hindi to English with the help of Google Translate. All photos are clicked with Sony camera and edited in Lightroom. If you like the post then do give your feedback. Be healthy, be happy. See you in the next post which will again talk about any adventure done in the Himalayas. Thank you
