Dalhousie Khajjiar Dharamshala Tour Package 5 Nights 6 Days

Morning: Panchpula, where five streams meet, and the Satdhara springs, whose water is said to carry mica and healing properties.

Khajjiar: Twenty-two kilometres on, a saucer of grassland at 6,500 ft ringed entirely by deodar with a small lake at its centre. The Swiss ambassador declared it Mini Switzerland in 1992 and put up a marker stone, which is where the name comes from.

Dainkund: The highest point around at roughly 9,000 ft, known as the singing hill because of the sound the wind makes through the ridge. A twenty-minute walk from the road to Pholani Devi temple at the top.

• Top Places to Cover: Panchpula, Satdhara springs, Khajjiar meadow and lake, Khajji Nag temple, Dainkund Peak.
• Importance of Each Place: The Khajji Nag temple beside the lake dates to the 12th century and mixes Hindu and Buddhist styles, with carved wooden panels from the Mahabharata. Dainkund gives a full sweep of the Dhauladhar and Pir Panjal ranges on a clear day.
• Things to Know: Khajjiar fills with day-trippers between 11 am and 3 pm - go early. The Dainkund approach road closes after heavy snow between late December and February.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner | Overnight: Dalhousie

Chamba Town: Down to Chamba on the Ravi, founded in 920 AD and one of the oldest continuously ruled hill states in India. The Lakshmi Narayan temple complex holds six stone shikhara temples, the earliest from the 10th century.

The Museum: Bhuri Singh Museum keeps a serious collection of Pahari miniature painting, Chamba rumal embroidery and copper-plate inscriptions.

On to Dharamshala: Roughly 120 km south-east, arriving in the evening. You check in at McLeodganj, the upper town.

• Top Places to Cover: Lakshmi Narayan temple complex, Bhuri Singh Museum, Chaugan promenade, Chamunda Devi temple.
• Importance of Each Place: Chamba rumal is a distinct double-satin embroidery style found nowhere else, and the museum holds some of the finest surviving examples.
• Things to Know: Chamba is genuinely hot in summer compared to Dalhousie - it sits much lower. The museum is closed on Mondays.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner | Overnight: McLeodganj

Tsuglagkhang: The main temple complex and the Dalai Lama residence, with Namgyal Monastery inside it. The Tibet Museum next door documents the 1959 exodus and is worth the hour.

Bhagsunag: A short walk out of town, with a temple said to date to the 8th century and a waterfall above it that runs hardest right after the monsoon.

Afternoon: The HPCA cricket stadium has the Dhauladhar wall rising directly behind the pavilion and is among the most photographed grounds anywhere. Then Temple Road for Tibetan handicrafts and momos.

• Top Places to Cover: Tsuglagkhang complex, Namgyal Monastery, Tibet Museum, Bhagsunag temple and falls, HPCA stadium, Dal Lake.
• Importance of Each Place: McLeodganj has been the seat of the Tibetan government in exile since 1960, which is why the food, script and architecture feel entirely unlike the rest of Himachal.
• Things to Know: Photography is restricted inside Tsuglagkhang and bags are screened. If the Dalai Lama is in residence, public teaching schedules are posted at the complex and attendance is free but requires registration.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner | Overnight: McLeodganj

The Trek Option: Triund is about 9 km round trip from Galu Devi temple, climbing to 9,350 ft where the ridge opens out and the Dhauladhar wall stands directly in front of you. Four to five hours, a genuine climb rather than a walk.

The Gentler Option: Norbulingka Institute below Dharamshala, built to preserve Tibetan arts - thangka painting, wood carving and metal statuary, with workshops you can watch.

Evening: Free on Temple Road, or the Church of St John in the Wilderness, a Victorian stone church in the deodar where Lord Elgin is buried.

• Top Places to Cover: Triund ridge, Galu Devi temple, Norbulingka Institute, St John in the Wilderness, Dal Lake.
• Importance of Each Place: Triund is the classic Dhauladhar viewpoint and the trail is well used but genuinely steep in its upper half. Norbulingka is named after the Dalai Lama summer palace in Lhasa.
• Things to Know: Triund is undertaken at your own discretion and should not be attempted in rain or after dark. Carry two litres of water; the last shop is at Galu Devi.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner | Overnight: McLeodganj

Last Morning: Breakfast, then the drive down to Pathankot for your train or Volvo, about three hours.

If Time Allows: Kangra Fort is a reasonable detour, one of the oldest forts in India and held by the Katoch dynasty for centuries before the 1905 earthquake damaged it.

• Top Places to Cover: Pathankot railhead, Kangra Fort (optional).
• Things to Know: Allow a full three hours to Pathankot. The road down is slow behind trucks and there is no alternative route.

Meals: Breakfast | Overnight: Journey ends