Chilling Snow and Steaming Momos at Dalhousie!!!

Continued from Journey from Amritsar to Dalhousie,

Next morning we woke up to find the ever beautiful sight, the snow capped trees, buildings and mountains. Its so much fun to find snow, but its more beautiful when you experience the snow fall. Usually its in December and January that most of the places get snow fall and we were lucky enough to experience it in March.

Our hotel was just few steps from Dalhousie bus stand, and we walked down only to realize  how tough it was to walk on the snow. We hired snow boots at a near by shop 'Sip and Bite', to wander around the town. The shop also has a snack center, where you get momos and noodles. That was our pass time spot for next two days to sip and bite, hot tea and Momos. The store owner was an elderly person and he used to share so much about Dalhousie on every visit of ours.

When I asked the uncle, I couldn't find anything on my way to the Hotel the previous night in dark, while there is a busy street during the day, he said, the city closes by 7 in the evening during winters. The life is so simple, yet so difficult in mountains where they get snow fall. The city literally hibernates during winters, but its the tourism which keeps these places going. Tourism brings life to the city. The snack centers, the porters all rely on tourists. As its rightly said the 'Grass is Greener on the other side', we love mountains while they love Metros like ours.

All the roads were snow flood and that disconnected Dalhousie from rest of the places. We wanted to drive to Khajiar but that route was blocked as well. We were told Dalhousie-Khajiar route is completely blocked during winters, and instead suggested us to drive via Chamba, once Dalhousie-Chamba route got cleared. But we instead opted for enjoying the snow in Dalhousie itself for next two days. We walked around, played with snow balls, made snowman, the road was all for ourselves, till it was cleared by snow removal truck.

Thats the Dalhousie Club, near Dalhousie Bus Station

Thats Tibetan Lhasamarket, closed due to snow fall.

Kiddo busy playing with the snow

Steaming hot Veg Momos with chutney

We had to cancel our visit to Dharamshala Mcleodganj, as kiddo fell sick. We drove back to Pathankot the second day evening.

Travel Info:

Dalhousie is a Hill station in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh. Dalhousie is around 54km from District headquarter Chamba, around 100km from Pathankot. The city is stretch over five hills Kathlog, Patreyn, Tehra, Bakrota, Balun.

How to reach

By Road: There are PUNBUS(Punjab Roadways), HPSRTC(Himachal Pradesh State Road Transport) and other privat buses which play between Dalhousie, Pathankot, Chamba and other near by places. You can also hire taxi from Pathankot, they charge Rs. 2500-3000 depending on the season.

By Train: Nearest railway station is in Pathankot around 100km from Dalhousie, which is connected to major cities of the country.

By Air: Nearest domestic airport is Pathankot Airport around 100km from Dalhousie.

Where to stay:

There are many budget and luxury hotels, bungalows and resorts in Dalhousie. We stayed at Oak View Residency near Bus stand, will review the hotel in upcoming post.

Food:

Most of the hotels serve all Indian food. When in Himalayan mountains, the best companion anytime is noodles and momos which are not to be missed.

Do check out the complete series on this trip of mine here.