Yet another glorious morning marked our last day at Dalhousie. Waking up by 5-5.30 becomes the norm in the mountains thanks to the brightness of the morning and the early dawn. Likewise, the dusk is equally brilliant and extends well towards 7.30 p.m. in Summer. The long hours of Sunshine gives ample time to explore the place thoroughly, if one is so inclined.
After yet another lovely breakfast at the Snow Valley Resort during which Vikram Singh, our waiter, did his best to give quick and efficient service, we were ready to check out of the hotel. Our co-yatri Mr. Raju Subramanian did an excellent job coordinating with the hotel staff and ensuring all bags were safely stored on the top of the TT as well as in the other luggage space available.
Although our next halt, Mc'Leod Ganj (MG) at Dharmshala, was a short 3 hour drive, we decided to leave early in order to see the local sights there. The drive was uneventful except that it got progressively warmer as we descended from about 2000 meters above sea level to about 1500 meters above sea level. We were in MG by 2 p.m. and checked into a hotel called The Posh.
Soon, we stepped out for lunch at a nearby pure vegetarian restaurant called Anand Dhaba. The restaurant had limited seating space (as do most places in MG). We squeezed 5 or 6 in a table and had the lunch. The food was ok and reasonably priced. The Dhal was spoilt and although the restaurant manager insisted that it was fine, he did not charge us for it. After that we returned to The Posh for a short break in the afternoon.
By 4.30 p.m., we were ready to go to our first halt which was the Swami Chinmayananda Tapovan Ashram at Sidhbari. This is the place where the Guru's Samadhi is also present. Sidhbari is about 9 kms from Dharmshala. The place is serene and away from the crowds. The ashram itself was immaculately maintained with lovely flowering plants all over. There was a nice Ram temple very near the entrance which we visited. After this, we hurried towards the Samadhi as they have an aarti at 6 p.m. There were about 25 devotees present there who were singing a nice song in chorus. After that, they had a small abhishek for a Spatika (Crystal) Shiva Lingam. We were thrilled to witness this being Pradosham time and day. This was followed by a short aarti to the idol of Swamiji and prasad distribution.
We left the Ashram and proceeded towards Chamunda Temple. This was the first of the Shakti Peethams we were visiting in Himachal. Chamunda is a short 20 minute drive from Sidhbari. It is set against the backdrop of the Dhauladar mountains with a small stream flowing alongside. The Goddess Chamunda derives the name from the two demons (Chanda & Munda) She slayed in the very same mountain. She is believed to be one of the seven Matrikas created by the Gods to destroy evil. There is a also a Shiva temple in a small cave under the ground for which one has to walk down several steps to reach.
We had a nice darshan at both temples and took photographs for memories. Then, we boarded our vehicles for the return trip to The Posh at MG. After a light dinner, we retired for the night. The next day was a long day to visit 3 temples and we had to rest ourselves for the long journey ahead..
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