Sightseeing

Baijnath : The small town of Baijnath, 46 kms south-east of Dharamsala, is an important pilgrimage place due to its ancient stone Baidyanath temple, sacred to Shiva as lord of the Physicians. The temple features intricate carvings on the exterior walls, and the inner sanctum enshrines one of India's 12 jyoti linga. Large number of pilgrims make their way here for the Shivaratri festival in late February/early March. The temple is good example of the Nagari style of architecture.

Tashijong Gompa : This friendly gompa, 5 kms north-west of Baijnath, is the focus of a small Drukpa Kagyud community of 150 Tibetan monks and 400 refugees. The monastery complex has several halls you can visit and there is a carpet making, thangka painting and wood carving cooperative here. Tashijong village is a 2 kms walk north from the main Palampur to Baijnath road.

Palampur : A pleasant little town surrounded by tea plantations, Palampur is 30 kms south-east of Dharamsala and stands at 1260m. A four day trek takes you from Palampur to Holi via the Waru La, or in a shorter walk you can visit the Bundla Chasm, just outside of town, where a waterfall drops into the Bundla stream.

Chamunda Devi Temple : From Palampur the road passes through tea plantations before descending to the colorful Chamunda Devi temple complex on the bank of the Baner River, 10 kms to the west. Chamunda is a particularly wrathful form of Durga, the idol in the main temple is considered so sacred that it is completely hidden beneath a red cloth.

Kangra Art Museum : This museum has miniature paintings from the Kangra school of art, which flourished in the Kangra valley during the 17th century, it also has elaborately embroidered costumes of Kangra people, woodcarvings and tribal jewellery.

Jawalamukhi : 34 kms south of Kangra is the temple of Jawalamukhi, the goddess of light. Pilgrims descend into a tiny square chamber where a priest, while intoning a blessing on their behalf, ignites natural gas emanating from a copper pipe, from which a blue flame, worshipped as the manifestation of the goddess, briefly flares. The temple is one of the most sacred sites in the Kangra valley and is topped by a golden dome and spire, the legacies of Ranjit Singh and the Mughal emperor Akbar. Under the shadow of the great rock wall of Dhaula Dhar , where wander those legendary shephardesses, the Gaddi maidens, immediately above Dharamsala rises one of the main spurs of the Himalayas, the dark, pine-covered mountain-side reaching out towards the upper peaks that soar ithe regions of eternal snow.

Dharamsala The mountains enfold three sides of the town and the valley stretches beyond to the south. Known for its scenic-beauty amidst high pine trees, tea gardens and other timber-yielding trees vying with one another for height, calmness and serenity . Dharamsala's altitude varies between 1,250 metres (4,400 ft) and 2,000 metres (6,560ft) .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.

Brajeshwari Devi Temple Situated in Kangra town, this was once filled with a legendary fortune in diamonds and pearls. Hearing the wealth of this temple, Mahmud Ghazni plundered in the 11th Century. Feroz Tughlak clearned out the restored fortune three centuries later. Final sack was carried out by Timur the Lame before Mughals who followed and restored the shrine to its glory.