Consulting the map  we saw that going to Dharamsala means only  200-300 kilometers long detour on our way from New Delhi (the airport) to Amritsar. We decided to go to Dharamsala first and then to Amritsar. At that time we knew nothing about Indian transportation and so everything looked easy. It wasn't. To give you a hint: while we planned for this 600km trip to last about 10-12 hours (based on the bus schedule), our rented car with a hired driver needed 24 hours. We finished the final three kilometers on foot,  in complete darkness at 3 am. Despite all the problems on the way there, Dharamsala was a highlight of our trip and definitely worth the trouble.

"Surrounded by forests of chir pine, rhododendron and Himalayan Oak, it is set against a backdrop of high peaks on three sides, with superb views over the Kangra Valley..."  So says our guide book. Dharamsala is a little town at the foothills of Himalayas, in Himachal Pradesh in Northern India. It has two parts: Lower Daramsala in the altitude of 1300 m and Upper Daramsala, also called McLeod Ganj, 600 m higher. In the times of British rule Upper Daramsala  was a "hill station", a place where wives and daughters of  British officers and government officials spent hot Indian summers. In the first years of Indian independence, the place quickly lost its importance. In 1959 after the Chinese invasion to Tibet, the Dalai Lama fled from Tibet to India and was offered  the former hill station, now known as McLeod Ganj, as a  place of residence of the Tibetan exile government.

Nowadays, Dharamsala (the former "lower town") is almost entirely Indian, while McLeod Ganj is mostly Tibetan. Since the Chinese occupation there has been a continuous flow of  refugees from Tibet. Many of them have found a new home in McLeod Ganj. Actually, a mixture of  people live here: the Kashmiris (also sort of refugees from their beautiful, from war suffering home), European and American volunteers and tourists, beggars from the whole subcontinent (not too many), and, of course, Buddhist monks from all parts of the world. The white peaks of Himalays on the horizon guard the place and remind everybody of  lost Tibet. There are other reminders ever present: smiling faces of  the Tibetans, Buddhist cloisters, shrines, prayer flags and wheels, mantras carved in stone, Buddhist monks in red robes (not orange or saffron as it is often stated), Tibetan music, singing bowls and all attributes of Tibetan Buddhism in shops etc. Above all, HH Dalai Lama´s residence and the Kalachakra Tempel.

The place has a very special atmosphere. Wonderful nature - air crystal clear, golden eagles circling the high peaks,  scented forrests, quiet of the evening hours, distant bell ... Cannot be described, must be felt. And yet, it is not a fancy paradise, Shangri La. It is a part of our reality, together with the rest of  India, together with the rest of the world.

Pictures:
All prayers and practises are dedicated to the happiness of all living beings. Every turn of a wheel, every breath of wind to the  flags activates the prayers.

Titbits: Beware of monkeys -  cute but nosy and messy. Richard Gere´s gift. Ecology. Ingenious solution.

Good-bye
Three days we spent in Dharamsala. We lived very intensively and it felt much longer. Still, far from long enough. It was hard to say goodbye and yet, saying goodbye belonged to this experience. On the way down to the Kangra Valley we watched the white mountains grow taller and taller. For a time they stood unshakable on the horizon. Then they were gone.