The Road To Mcleod-Ganj

My next stop was Mcleod-Ganj – the home of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and the Tibetan Government in Exile.

Having seen the toy train journey Michael Palin took from Amritsar to get there, I decided to head off to the train station to make for Pathankot to catch the toy train to Kangra.

The train is popular with locals, and it was packed when I finally managed to squeeze myself on. Luckily – I was able to get a window seat for the trip.

The carriages are so full that people have to hang out of the doors:



India or England:



And here's one that looks like the train journey along the coast of the Lake District:



The Lonely Planet says that the journey takes two and a half hours – but actually - it takes more than five, and with no food all day I was glad to get to Kangra.

Here's a picture of the view from the station at Kangra:



I finally arrived in the early evening, and walked down towards Kangra. I'd been thinking of staying here for a day or so, but when I saw the sign for Dharamsala jumped on the bus for the one hour ride.

After eating some of the best veg momo's (Tibetan Steamed Dumplings) at Dharamsala, I jumped on the bus to head to Mcleod-Ganj...