Dharmshala: The Land of Serenity

The hill station of Dharmshala, which is sometimes also referred to as the Scotland of India, owes its establishment to the British in the years between 1815 and 1847. Dharmshala lies in the northern part of Himachal Pradesh and is the headquarters of Kangra district. Dharmshala, with an area and a population of 5739 sq. kms and 13.39 lakhs, has Hindi, Punjabi and Pahari as its main languages. Dharmshala offers a panoramic view as it is covered in oak and conifer trees and is surrounded by snow covered mountains on three sides. Dharmshala is basically divided into two parts. The first part is called Lower Dharmshala and it consists of Kotwali Bazaar. The second part of this hill station is called Upper Dharmshala and it consists of McLeodgani. From the year of 1960 Dalhousie became the headquarters of Dalai Lama, although temporary in nature, it managed to arise its status to “The Little Lhasa in India”.

The accessibility to Dharmshala is pretty good by airways, railways and roadways. Gaggal, which is at a distance of 15kms, is the nearest airport to Dharmshala. Pathankhot is the nearest railway station which is in close proximity to Dharmshala. An excellent road network has developed around Dharmshala which connects it to some of the major railways stations like Delhi, Jammu, Chandigarh, Manali and Shimla. Some of the major tourist attractions in Dharmshala are St. John’s church and Triund. The monument at St. John’s Church is in veneration to Lord Elgin, who was once the viceroy of India and was buried here only in the year of 1863 AD. In addition to this one can also enjoy the picturesque beauty of Dal lake that is surrounded by hills, deodar trees and pine forests. Kotwali Bazar and Mcleodganj are some of the popular shopping areas in Dharmshala that are popular for Tibetan handicrafts.