Dharamsala

We drove to Dharamsala which is around 250km from Shimla, through some stunning scenery but it takes a full day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 Dharamsala is in the western foothills of the Himalayas, and is a former British hill station, but it is probably best known as the home to His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, and the exiled Tibetan government. Our hotel for the night is the quaint Chonor House. Another early start with a walk around
The Tsuglagkhang complex which includes the main temple and residence of the Dalai Lama, the Namgyal Monastery, the Tibetan Parliament and the Tibetan Library that preserves the ancient Buddhist scriptures brought from Tibet. It is a very peaceful place, a lasting memory for us will be watching the young monks debating in the open air classes.

 

 We then took a short trip to the village of Naddi overlooking the snow covered peaks of the Dhauladhar mountain range, a fantastic area and one we would love to return to.

 



 On the way back we visited St. John's Church, an church built in 1852, with the Grave of Lord Elgin, of The Elgin marbles fame, and then a good look around the Norbulingka Institute. The Institute serves as a centre for teaching and preserving traditional Tibetan art forms including woodcarving, thangka painting and embroidery.

 





 

 

We finished the day with a cup of tea at a tea plantation an interesting walk around the processing plant and a stroll around the tea bushes taking in the wildlife and scenery. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Shimla

Dropped off at Delhi train station early for the train to Chandigarh (the Shatbadi Express).
 From Chandigarh train station we were driven to Solan train station to join the ‘toy’ train on its climb up to Shimla. The Himalayan Queen left Solan in the afternoon and arrived in Shimla at tea time. This mountain railway goes through some stunning scenery with some great Himalayan vistas. The narrow gauge railway passes through numerous tunnels and across many bridges.

 

 

 

 

 

  We stayed the night at the Radisson and woke up to see the foothills of The Himalayas in all their glory.

 

 

 

 

On Saturday we met our guide Amit for a walking tour around Shimla. We started up on The Ridge, past Christ Church and the Gaiety Theatre – where Rudyard Kipling once trod the boards.

 

 

  

 

 After walking by the post office with the decorative post box.

 

 

 

 We saw the amazing Railway Board Building constructed from steel and cast iron. Our walk then crossed town past many faded stately homes to the magnificent Viceregal Lodge on the summit of Observatory Hill. This building was built in 1888 as the summer residence of the Viceroy, it houses an interesting museum with photographs from meetings held here for India’s Independence and the signing of the treaty.

 

 

Delhi

Arrived in Delhi yesterday. Staying at the Jaypee Siddharth. Today we went on a sightseeing tour of Old and New Delhi. We visited the Red Fort,

{Have a look at this link to Polar Steps to see the routes taken}

https://www.polarsteps.com/SarahWhiteman/3933863-india?s=63D95C58-0E06-4484-BBD4-E934DDECDF87

 Jama Masjid - the country’s largest mosque, Raj Ghat – the cremation site of Mahatma Gandhi,

 

 

Gurudwara Bangla Sahib – Delhi's largest Sikh temple,

 

 

 Humayun’s Tomb –

set in wonderful gardens

 

 

  Qutub Minar – a 72 metre high tower built in 1199 AD.

 





Part of the trip included a rickshaw ride through the colourful bazaars and narrow lanes of Chandni Chowk (Silver Street), a drive past India Gate and a stop outside Rashtrapati Bhawan - the official residence of the President of India. In the
evening we went to a Sound and Light show at the Red Fort.