7 days in Himachal Pradesh — Part-1
I was skeptic if I would really enjoy a solo trip and this was one of the prime reasons I pushed myself to try. When I booked my Zostel bed in Upper Dharamkot, I reserved it for only three nights. After an overnight journey in a semi-sleeper Volvo, I woke up in Mclodeganj at 6:00 a.m., the next morning. From here, I booked a cab to Upper Dharamkot which is about 3 kilometers from Mclodeganj bus stand.
I reached a quiet Zostel at around 8:00 a.m. There was only one other person in Salvation Cafe(Zostel’s cafe) apart from me. As I waited for my check-in around 11:00, I tried to stream the latest episode of Game of Thrones, lest my friends spoil it for me. Soon a guy came and sat next to me, introducing himself as Lichi, “like the fruit”. Lichi was unique. He claimed to be done with the Maslov’s hierarchy and believed that as a matter of perspective we were already in heaven. He was an innovation consultant who was on a sabbatical and a mission to visit the Bhrama temple in Kullu, because Bhrama demanded his respect. I listened to his queer philosophies till I zoned out and realized that they made no sense.
After checking in, I carried my luggage to my 6-bed dorm. I got introduced to Suchit, who was also on a solo trip from Bombay. There was also Ambaree from London who was volunteering in the kitchen and was a published author of a non-fiction book. There was Meenal who was a digital marketing intern and a Zosteller for one month. After light conversation with my new roomates, I excused myself to take a much needed nap. I woke up in the evening and went down to the cafe. Here I met a couple from Bombay. We discussed plans for the next day. While the other decided to go to Bir for para-gliding, I decided to hike to the Gallu waterfall.
On the next day, after a light breakfast, I departed for Dharamkot to buy myself a day bag. Dharamkot is a queer hippie town hidden from the hustle bustle of Mclodeganj. Here you can find everything quaint, from hippies playing Indian Classical to people learning to make jewellery and dream catchers. I entered a music school to inquire if they could teach me the harmonica but I soon figured that it was mostly a scam to please the foreign junta. There were yoga classes, mediation centers and live music cafes. I promised myself that I would return here in the evening. After getting my day-bag, I headed for Gallu.
Gallu waterfall is known to be a hidden treasure that not many people visit because of the difficult hike leading to it. I still anticipated that I could do Gallu on my own. However, after half an hour of hiking, I felt I had gotten lost on the mountain. I met nobody else on the trail and the sun shone hard on me. To my relief, I could see some huts in the distance and I made my way to them. There I met a few people who told me that Gallu waterfall was still an hour away. I did not turn back and continued down the path they pointed me to hoping I would keep meeting people on the way. But again, while I met some people on the trail, it was mostly desolate and more than once I questioned my rationale for venturing out on my own. The trail itself was not easy and would wind up and down, wax and wane. An hour later, however I could hear the water gushing down the waterfall and felt I was on the right track. Two people I met confirmed that it was rightly so.
Gallu waterfall indeed turned out to be a treasure. As I made my way down to the waterfall, the trail ended and to get to the pool, I had to navigate my way over a steep rocky path. I sat there by the rock and had the waterfall mostly to myself. The only other mobile form of life there perhaps comprised of mountain goats that stared at me in their stoic, nonchalant demeanor. While I contemplated if I should dip in the pool created by the icy water from the water-fall, the goats contemplated what a fool I was. But I did dip and the pinch of the water made me instantly jump out and run up the rock into the sunshine. But what I felt in the aftermath of the icy dip, sitting on the rock all by myself and the wind blowing in my face was surreal. I just sat there enjoying the beauty of it all and listening to some music on my phone. This is what I had come for.
As I made my way back, my phone battery had started to deplete and I switched off the network to save energy. On the way, I now guided travelers who headed to Gallu. Made me feel proud. Within two hours, I found myself back at my Zostel. My legs hurt and after a heavy meal, I dozed off to sleep.
In the evening I met Lichi(who slept all day) and the others who returned from Bir. Over dinner we hatched plans to go down to Dharamkot and check the scene there. On our way, we crossed a Himachali shaadi or a hippie party, I don’t know which but there were desis dancing with the foreign junta to loud music. We thought we would jump right in but the setting seemed a bit too shady for all of us. We continued to Dharamkot and found ourselves a nice cafe to settle in. We met a guy here who was from the special forces and sharing the dorm with us. He told us many stories of life on the border. The Bombay junta also told us many moving stories about Bombay that made me want to see it for myself. All in all it was an awesome evening that ended when the cafe shut at 12:00. We talked, laughed and hiked back up to Zostel in the night.
We called it a day. This day set the tone for the rest of my trip and I decided to extend my stay by two more days, which I am glad I did.
The next day, with Suchit and Prerna who had come from Delhi, we set out to chill at the famous Illiterati cafe. Here, one can sit in the company of books and the classiest music I have heard in a cafe against the backdrop of snow-capped Dauladhar ranges. Here we must have spent 3 hours over Pizza and lemonade before we decided to rent a cab to Norbulingka Institute.
The Norbulingka Institute is an institution with a mission to exhibit and preserve the tibetan arts. It is housed in a beautiful monastery and is a great place to learn about the Tibetan culture. Talking to one artist who made wood-carving, I noticed how he was playing PUBG before I approached him. In another workshop, the workmen were listening to bollywood music to make their day lighter. It humbled me to witness this mingling of new, old and different.
That evening we headed to the Moonlight cafe in Dharamkot for dinner. We met a new bunch who had come from Moradabad and were headed to Triund the next day. Over dinner, conversation flowed and the day ended after we retired to our dorms on reaching Zostel.
Dharamkot, quaint and quiet, had found a special place in my heart.
