DHARAMSHALA HILL STATION

The great rock wall of Dhaula Dhar where wander those legendary shephardesses, the Gaddi maidens, immediately above Dharamshala rises one of the main spurs of the Himalayas, the dark, pine-covered mountain-side reaching out towards the upper peaks that soar into the regions of eternal snow. Dharamshala's altitude varies between 1,250 metres (4,400 ft) and 2,000 metres (6,560 ft). The snow line, here, is perhaps more easily accessible than at any other hill resort and it is quite possible to trek upto it after an early morning's start, the glittering rays of the sun fall upon the glossy snow and cast their reflections back in the valley in all the seven colours of the rainbow, beckowning people on. The scene shifts as one approaches Dharamshala, the plains below wear a veil of blue, while the Dhaula Dhar, spur on which Dharamshala stands rises dark and pine covered.

Divided into upper and lower towns with a difference of some metres (1,500 ft) between them against a background of snow-capped mountains, forests of giant conifers meet carefully cultivated tea gardens at the beautiful resort of Dharamshala which stands on the spur of the Dhauladhar range. The mountains enfold three sides of the town and the valley stretches beyond to the south. Know for its scenic-beauty amidst high pine trees, tea gardens and other timber-yielding trees vying with one another for height, calmness and serenity. Now the seat of His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, after the Chinese conquest of his country, when the Tibetan exodus began, they first went to Dalhousie but later shifted their colony to Mcleod Ganj in upper Dharamshala. Dalhousie's loss was Dharamshala's gain.