McLeod Ganj is a suburb of Dharamsala in Kangra district of Uttarakhand state. Located at an altitude of 2,082 metres (6,831 feet) on Dhauladrar range of the Himalayas, the city is famous for Tibetan culture, natural beauty, mixed tradition, ancient temples, churches and monasteries.
Understand
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McLeod Ganj was named after Sir Donard Friell McLeod, a Lieutenant Governor of Punjab and the word Ganj, which is a common Persian word meaning "neighbourhood". As of 2021, it is the home of famous 14th Tibetan Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso after his exile from Tibet.
Get in
By plane
The nearest airport is Kangra Airport, 21 km from McLeodganj.
By train
The nearest railway stations on the narrow-gauge Kangra Valley Railway line are at Kangra and Nagrota (about 26 km south of McLeod Ganj). The nearest rail head (broad gauge) is at Pathankot (91 km).
By bus
Travel by bus is the most common medium of transport used by the people. Mcleod Ganj is about 485 km from Delhi and 248 km from Chandigarh. It takes about 10-11 hours of journey to reach McLeod Ganj from Delhi via a bus, and there is regular service available with more than eight 510 buses plying every day on the route.
Get around
McLeod Ganj is one of the most beautiful places to roam around on foot. Hotels made on the slope of Dhauladhar range, market decorated with colourful Tibetan flags, hand made goods and stalls of tasty food makes it more beautiful. In McLeod Ganj you will find a Buddhist temple and Dalai Lama Temple, and if you are lucky enough you may also get chance to meet Dalai Lama in person. Other then these two main attraction there are many other attractions are also available around to make this place all time favourite for domestic and international tourists. Some of them are:
- Bhagsunag Falls — One of the key tourist attractions of McLeod Ganj. Surrounded by hills and natural backdrop, this mesmerising waterfall fall attracts many tourists every day for picnics.
- Dharamsala — The winter capital of Himachal Pradesh state in India is 5 km away from McLeod Ganj. This place is also famous for its mixed flavour of Tibetan and Buddhist culture.
- HPCA Cricket Academy — Tucked in mid of high snow covered mountain all around, this Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association stadium is a major attraction of this place. This stadium is open for common visitors from 10AM to 6PM.
Do
McLeod Ganj is home for many adventure activities,treks and expeditions. Enroute trekkers pass through waterfall, river stream, forest of deodar, pine, oak and rhododendron.Most of the trek starts from McLeodganj and ends at some place on Dhauladhar range.
Trekking
- Triund Trek is one of the most popular treks to go over a weekend trip from Chandigarh and Delhi. It is perhaps the easiest Himalayan trek but most famous trek to do. Almost thousands of trekkers visit come on this trek every year. In December and January this region turns white after snowfall which makes it more attractive for trekkers.
- Laka Glacier Trek: It's always exciting to reach a glacier, but in most of the cases reaching the glacier is a tough task. Laka Glacier is found at the lowest level in Asia. Trails of Laka Glacier treks pass through Triund top, so most of the time this trek is also known as Triund Laka Glacier trek.
- Kareri Lake Trek: Tucked between the greenery all around this glacier lake is the most attractive place for nature lovers.
- Toral Pass (4575 m) which begins from Tang Narwana (1150 m) that is nearly 10 km from Dharamshala
Paragliding
This place is also developing as an adventure hub. Among all adventure activities, paragliding is getting great boost in these area. It has two reason, one as it is very close to the second highest paragliding spot of the world, i.e., Bir-Billing, so it has same air direction and speed which make gliding comfortable. Second is that it has been developed as the end point for paragliding cross-country race. So if you will visit next time, you may get some gliders hovering over you.