Dharamshala Travel Guide

The hill station of Dharamshala sits on a narrow ridgeline along the Dhauladhar range. Dharamshala town is roughly divided into two sections – the lower town with its traditional settlement and market areas and the upper town of McLeodganj, famous for its celebrity resident, His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

The heights of the two sections vary from 1,250 metres to about 1,770 metres with a steep winding 10 km road linking the two sections. Around a 150 kms from Mandi, this hill resort of Dharamshala in the Kangra Valley of northern Himachal Pradesh is the most important town of the district.

Surrounded by pine forests, the grand Dhauladhar ranges tower like sheets of rock over Dharamshala, making this a great place for the adventure lover. The influx of Tibetan refugees after Chinese occupation in 1959 changed all that. The Dalai Lama set up his temporary residence at McLeodganj, the upper town and has continued to stay here.

Dharamshala gets a steady flow of refugees who cross from Tibet through Nepal. As a result, the large Tibetan settlement and the Tibetan Government in Exile have transformed this sleepy Himachali town. Many western visitors come to Dharamshala in search of spiritual guidance and an audience with the Dalai Lama.

So travel to Dharamshala if you are looking for some adventure as well as spiritual rejuvenation.

Dharamsala literally means an 'inn attached to a temple' and is famed for its Tibetan community centered around the Dalai Lama.