Dalhousie : A cool place

Hi friends, Today I am going to tell you about another good hill station of Himachal Pradesh: Dalhousie. It is a little hill station that still retains much of it’s charm. The man and the place; a name and a hill station. Dalhousie, the gift of Lord Dalhousie to Himachal Pradesh. Its lush forests of pine, cedar and deodar attract nature-lovers, along with the usual throng of tourists seeking shelter from the sweltering heat of the plains. Dalhousie is an enchanting little town with a colonial hangover. Set on five hills and facing the Pir Panjal range, one can view the Ravi, Beas and Chenab rivers from certain vantage points. Fold after fold of mountains, snow-capped and pristine, can be viewed from the jagged Pangi Valley, which is a trekker’s paradise. If your heart beats for Kashmir, head here, for this is the only part of Himachal Pradesh that juts into Kashmir.

Lets discuss about some places of interest in this lovely hill station:-

Bhuri Singh Museum: Bhuri Singh Museum is a hidden gem in Chamba and a must see for any serious visitor to Dalhousie and Chamba. The museum is a storehouse of the original Pahari art and sculpture.


Churches and Christianity: St. Francis Church, Dalhousie - 1894. This Catholic church is located on a hilltop at Subash Chowk (aka Charing Cross). The money for the church was raised by army and civil officers. It has beautiful glasswork and intricate stonework. The architectural design is Scottish.


Laxmi Narayan Temple: This temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu and was built more than 150 years ago. The temple enshrines a beautiful image of Lord Vishnu. The temple is frequented by local devotees. The temple is located in Sadar Bazar approximately 200 mtrs. from Subhash Chowk. Kalatope (10 km from Dalhousie):- A wildlife sanctuary, Kalatope, is inhabited by many species of animals, which include the ghoral, barking deer, and the Himalayan black bear, and a large avianfauna population. There is also a Forest Resthouse, for those who wish to spend the night in the sanctuary.

Keep watching this space ………………………..

Travel: A Broad View

Travel means discovery, challenge, and new experiences. But a journey of discovery is only successful if it does not destroy what it discovers. Travelers need to educate themselves to minimize their impact on the local environment, infrastructure, people, and culture. An ethics of travel should be concerned not only with the economic impact of travel, but also with how visitors impact the cultures of their host countries.

In a sense, tourism is a Pandora’s box. While travel as a way to promote peace, mutual understanding, and friendship between the people of different cultures, it also promotes economic inequalities and cultural and environmental degradation.

Much of travel today is about consumption-the consumption of foreign places, cultures, and people. The colorful locals are often objects of curiosity and visual consumption, part of an exotic Arcadia to be admired and photographed. The interactions between the visitor and the local people often do not go beyond the exchanges of seller-buyer and provider-consumer.

We do not just visit cities, mountains, museums, and beaches. We visit the people. They have a right to privacy and to a way of life that is not shaped by outside forces such as international tourism. The best way to learn to respect the locals is to meet and get to know them. It is in the interactions and encounters between the host and the visitor that an ethics of travel begins. Traditional patterns of hospitality are based on reciprocity. Where friendship and understanding develop, the traditional relationships of seller-buyer and provider-consumer are transformed. More than consuming places and people, travel is an opportunity to break out of our patterns of familiarity and gain insights into the cultures that make up the diversity and complexity of the human race. The more travel becomes a journey of discovery and shared experiences, the less host countries will suffer from the excesses of a leisure-oriented tourism industry.

There are certain rights and obligations which travelers should maintain:-

Although travelers certainly have rights in foreign countries, we have obligations as well. If we appreciate and respect the cultural, economic, and social integrity of our travel destination, we will want to help it by choosing a low-impact and non-intrusive ways of travel-to give preference to small, locally-owned operations that are sensitive to the ecosystem and local culture. It is also important to interact with the local people in their authentic cultural context and ignore the stereotypes of tourist brochures and the glossy travel press. Travelers should also look at favorite tourist activities such as picture-taking and souvenir-buying in the context of their impact on their host country and its people. The local infrastructure should be used moderately, without drastically increasing demands, and travelers should consider buying products that are characteristic of the local culture and tradition, not those that are a byproduct of the tourism industry.

Can we make a difference :- Yes we can !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There is no way to turn back the clock to the days before jet travel, when only a few people ventured to foreign countries. The tourist industry will continue to grow. Distant locations and people will continue to be exploited as travel destinations. We all leave footprints in the places we travel, but we can learn to minimize them and reduce their impact. We can also set examples for others by following our own ethics of travel. An increasing number of travel businesses have recognized that responsible, ethical, and respectful travel is in fact the only solution for the preservation of our travel destinations and the future of travel.