Travel: Snapshots from Palampur

GetAhead reader Mridula Dwivedi, an academician from Gurgaon who blogs at Travel Tales from India, visited Palampur in Himachal Pradesh and sent us these amazing pictures.

Palampur in Himachal Pradesh is about 10 hours by bus from Delhi. The nearest railhead is Pathankot, 112 km away.

There is a toy train from Pathankot to Jogindernagar, via Palampur, but it is a very slow journey. Cabs take about 4 hours and are easily available at Pathankot.

There are a few hotels at Palampur run by the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC). I stayed at the lovely Holiday Home which is more of a home stay than a hotel.

Strolling through the City

I was once asked "what is there to see" at a place and my firm reply was nature. Palampur has nature on grand scale. This was just an ordinary aimless evening walk away from the HPTDC hotel Tea Bud.

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Palampur has a lot of tea estates and this one was on my way to the hotel Holiday Home.

 It was my first walk around a tea estate. I did get down the path and walked through the lanes of tea shrubs for a while.

I have to admit I am not a sunrise person but on this day it felt as if someone woke me up to take a peak outside.

I went to the balcony of my hotel room and this was the view that greeted me.

Those clouds at the sunrise became dense as the day passed and the nearby hills were nearly lost in mist.

Later there was a snowfall in the higher regions and the green hill near the hotel turned white.

Tashi Jong is a Buddhist monastery and is about 15 km away from Palampur. As soon as we (I was taken there by a local family who were a friend's friend, it happens only in HP) reached there the prayer service started.

The prasad was laddo, chips, juice and an apple. On our way back we had spring rolls on the road side near the university and they were the best spring rolls I ever had!

Palampur at sunset makes for a very pretty picture. I was just walking aimlessly when I came across the fields and these houses.

On the same walk this was the view a little to the left. The Dhauladhars are visible from almost any place in town.

One day I was walking through the city and reached the bus stand. And there it was, the mighty Dhauladhars in a puddle.

Have you ever seen a more beautiful puddle than this?

I took the toy train from the temple town of Baijnath Paprola to Palampur. The train fare was Rs 2!

The day was overcast but it was still a beautiful ride.

Bir is about 30 km away from Palampur and is known for paragliding. It has a beautiful monastery as well.

The day I went there it was completely overcast so there was no paragliding for me but I was content to be in the calm surroundings.

If I ever go back to the region, I would make Bir as my base and explore further.

Mridula Dwivedi is an academic from India who is passionate about trekking and travelling, and these days dreaming about going to Antarctica. She blogs at Travel Tales from India.