Travel » Khajjiar Tourism

KHAJJIAR: A GRASSY BOWL
Most visitors to Dalhousie take a day trip to Khajjiar, a small grassy bowl on the ledge of a steep mountain slope, some 27 km to the north. There used to be a golf course here, rumor has it, but we saw no evidence of it. The base of the depression in the ledge used to have a small lake which was cleared of reeds by the English at the turn of the century butthey have grown back and boating is impossible. Khajjiar is today a vast picnic ground, very beautiful as it sparkles in the summer sun though it could be cleaner and the loud music emerging from locally assembled stereos in countless debas offering tea does not help.

The food here is of poor quality; and though the dining hall at the tourist bungalow does considerably better, its service is lackadaisical. Khajjiar is best experienced off-season when the crush has abated and you can order what you like.

Visitors with a little more time generally make a day trip to Chamba (52 km). A small Himalayan kingdom till 1947, it is now a market town at an altitude of some 726 m. Of the several temples here, the best known is the 10th century Laxminarayan Mandir. The palace has deteriorated, especially after a fire in the 1970s and most of the treasures you would expect to find therein—the Bahsoli and Kangra miniatures and the palace murals—are housed in the small but excellent Bhuri Singh Museum.

Chamba is well known for its sandals and embroidered scarves and visitors would do well to stop by at the market for a look.
Of the several other minor excursions, Panjpulla is another popular day trip with a memorial to the freedom fighter Ajit Singh. Panjpulla derives its name from the five bridges built close together in this area. Satdhara, on the way, offers seven mountain springs yielding water sweet as nectar, also found in Subhash Bauli. There is no ‘development’ here and one deplores the loud dhaba music and lack of facilities.

It is its remoteness that brought James Ramsay to Dalhousie in 1850. The Kangra valley tracts had seen a 5mattering of European settlers in the 530s, drawn by the beauty of these Its as also the endeavor to convert valley to tea growing. As the Governor General of Her Majesty’s Indian Dominion, the Marquis of Dalhousie had fought a long and hard campaign in the plains of Punjab during the Anglo-Sikh wars. The strain of his administrative duties had begun to tell on his health and he was told to take a break. He found peace in this settlement and even as his health improved, so did the fortunes of these hills.

Following his visit, the township grew rapidly and as the British rulers began to increasingly build summer homes here, landlords from the Punjab followed suit. It was at one time assumed that the summer capital of the British Empire would be located somewhere in the Kangra valley and this is when Dalhousie, being a prime contender, saw its greatest expansion. The Kangra quake at the turn of the century, however, put paid to that dream and Dalhousie never quite fulfilled its early prophecy. The Partition of India saw a huge influx of refugees, most of them civil servants who could not be accommodated at Shimla; There was another exodus here in 1962 as a result of the Chinese invasion of Tibet and while most of the residents moved on to McLeodganj, a small number settled permanently in Dalhousie.

Kashmir has now triggered off a fourth coming for Dalhousie. Privateers as always are quick on the uptake and while some destruction to the environment is inevitable in a situation where the governors will not govern, a great deal of construction activity is currently resounding in these hills. No doubt there are problems. The municipal corporation does not have ration does not have the resources for maintenance garbage is not cleared the public facilites are run down and ther is an air apathy about the town.

How and Where
Located as it is on the northwestern edge of Himachal Pradesh, Dalhousie is best accessed from Pathankot, its closest railhead some 70 km away on the main rail tracks to Jammu. Both buses and taxis can be hired at Pathankot (two hours by car, more by bus) though the availability of buses drops dramatically out of season. The nearest airport is at Jammu, 190 km away and not worth the effort. Tourists generally take the broad gauge mains to Jammu from Delhi and alight at Pathankot.

There are some 60 government approved hotels here, about 40 of them up the loops. Vehicles are freely allowed in Dalhousie and there is no reason not to live within the upper town.

the hotels to look out for are the Grandview (the bus stand area, competently run and great view); Chanakya (very modern); Aroman-Clair’s (old-world charm); Ravi View (great view); New Palace (neat and clean); Shangrila (professionally run); and Princess and Palace.

There is the HPTDC run Geetanjah (good value); Meher’s (the largest in Dalhousie); Sunrise, Kumar, Samrat, Superstar, Surya, and so forth. It is not difficult to get a 50 percent discount out of season.

Dalhousie is thin on quality eateries and there is nothing to choose between those on Gandhi Chowk and those on Subhash Chowk. All of them do the usual Indian-Chinese-continental meals at Rs 150 per head or so for a non-vegetarian meal.

Shop for Tibetan handicrafts and hosiery; hand-made shoes, and if you have three to four days to spare, woodcraft, Kulu weaves, hosiery and caps.