An 11-day tour package to Himachal Pradesh will cover 2
nights in Shimla, 3 nights in Manali, 1 night in Dharamshala, 2 nights in
Dalhousie and finally, 2 nights in Amritsar. Does this look attractive to you?
Well, it did look attractive and enticing to me and I fell for the marketing
bait. I decided that our family would spend the 2011 summer vacation visiting
Himachal in an 11 day tour package. The itinerary and other details are shown
below. I will try to include the minutest detail in my narration on my tour,
but there is a possibility that I may miss out some small things, which please
excuse me.
Himachal’s Beautiful locations
Our Himachal tour was an exciting one whose itinerary is as
under:
Day 1: On the first day we visited Shimla from Delhi, where
we were put up. Shimla is located at a height of 7000 feet above MSL. It can be
said to be a mixture of green orchards and chilling mountains. We freshened up
in a Shimla hotel. We spent the full day sightseeing in the city by beginning
the tour with the Ridge, a famous Gothic monument. A visit to Lakar Bazaar
followed for checking out their woodcrafts. We bought some to give as
souvenirs. We enjoyed our dinner and stayed overnight at Shimla.
Day 2: This day began with sightseeing in Shimla after a sumptuous
breakfast. We visited the Kalaba Devi Temple, Jakhu Temple and Hanuman Temple.
We were four members on the tour and each of us took the blessings of the
diety. My brother also took the Prasadam. On the way to the temple we also
visited Christchurch, the oldest church in Shimla constructed in the year 1850.
We also visited Kutri which is approximately 30 minutes away from Shimla. In
Kutri, you can enjoy the picturesque locations like the snow capped mountains
and serene forests with a wide variety of flora and fauna. In the evening, we
returned to Shimla, back to our hotel, for a healthy dinner, and sleep
thereafter. My brother decided to light a campfire and spend the night awake.
We agreed to follow suit.
Day 3: On this day we went from Shimla to Manali a distance
of 360 kilometers in 10 hours. This journey started after breakfast. We visited
the valley of the Gods by road. This place is a cultural heritage and natural
beauty. On arrival at Manali, we checked in at hotel and enjoyed the ambience
and relaxed. We stayed overnight at the hotel.
Day 4: This day was supposed to be for sightseeing in
Manali. We began our tour by visiting a Buddhist monastery, which was
constructed recently. We also visited the Hadimba Temple dedicated to Bheema’s
wife Hadimba from the Mahabharata. It is a good temple to visit because it is
situated in serene forests. Vashisht is another beautiful place to visit. Here
there are hot baths of natural sulphur spring, which is now piped into modern
day bath house. We then enjoyed our overnight dinner at the hotel.
Day 5: Our fifth day was to visit the Rohtang pass. This
visit was not included in the tour package rate so we had to pay extra. We
spend the full day admiring the glaciers with remarkable mountains of the
Rohtang pass. We also enjoyed climbing up the small snow covered hills of
heaven. On our return trip to Manali, we viewed beautiful places like Marhi,
Solang valley and Rahalia Falls along with Nehru Kund. We enjoyed our overnight
stay at Manali.
Day 6: Our sixth day was populated by a visit to Dharmshala
by road. On arrival at Dharmshala, we check in to a hotel and get fresh. We
enjoy overnight dinner and then sleep there.
Day 7: Our seventh day comprised of our tour from
Dharamshala to Dalhousie. We had breakfast and checked out of the hotel and
leave for Dalhousie which is situated at a height of 2039 meters on the outer
slopes of the Dhauladhar. It is a picturesque place full of natural beauty and
stunning surroundings. You can enjoy the rest of the day relaxing and enjoying
the overnight hospitality of the hotel.
Day 8: The eighth day was fully spent in Khajjar, which is a
spectacular plateau shaped like a saucer and located 18 kilometers away from
Dalhousie. It has a small lake in the center with a floating island in the
middle. It is surrounded by serene and dense pine and deodhar forests. You can
also play golf as it has got a golf course with nine holes. Then we return to
the hotel at night at Dalhousie for an overnight stay.
Day 9: On the ninth day we went to Amritsar from Dalhousie.
It is at a distance of 191 kilometers and it took us five hours to reach. We
started early after breakfast and checked in at a hotel in Amritsar on arrival.
We start the tour by visiting Wagah border to observe flag retreat ceremony It
is an army settlement on the Indo-Pak Border, which is 30 kilometers from
Amritsar. Beating the retreat was the main ceremony held every evening. In this
ceremony soldiers from both countries performed a perfect drill marching
towards their respective flags to bring them down. As the sun goes down the
lights are switched on indicating the end of the day. Return to the hotel
overnight for some supper and some sleep.
Day 10: In the morning we start the tour by visiting the
Golden temple and taking the blessings of the almighty. It is the most
important and famous Sikh Shrine which symbolizes the importance of the
traditional and rich heritage of the Sikhs. Later we visit Jalianwala Bagh
where Gurkha and British soldiers killed hundreds of unarmed civilians when
fire was opened on 13th April 1919. After having lunch we visited
Maharaja Ranjit Singh Summer Palace Museum located in the center of Ram Baug,
Amritsar. We enjoy dinner and overnight stay at Amritsar.
Day 11: This is the last day of our tour and it comprises of
checking out of the hotel and getting transferred to an airport. Here we will
board a flight for home.
Conclusion
Thus concluded our 11 day tour of the Himachal in which we
saw its pristine beauty.
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