HIMALAYAN FOOTHILLS: North India

Tribal & religious festivals celebrated year round

If you wish to get away From it all, have us arrange a spiritually rejuvenating journey to the intensely beautiful valleys of Kullu and Kangra in Himachal Pradesh located between Punjab and Tibet. Walk amongst the surrounding hills and alpine meadows in undisturbed bliss. Visit nomadic Gaddis and quaint villages.

This region offers magnificent scenery with snow-covered mountain ranges stretching majestically for hundreds of miles. The Kangra Valley with its varied cultures, fragile ecosystems, thick pine forests and snow-fed, crystal-clear streams is flanked in the north by the perpetually snow-capped Dhauladhar mountain range.  This region abounds in ancient temples and monasteries and is where the famous Kangra School of miniature painting was born.

Journey to Rishikesh with its peaceful ashrams and go up the mountains to Shimla, the lovely summer capital of the British. In September celebrate the famous weeklong Dussehra Festival where about 200 statues of devtas (Hindu Gods) are brought from the surrounding villages in carved wooden chariots clad in bright silks under lavishly embroidered parasols. Rejoice in the festivities and mingle with snake charmers, astrologers, sadhus (holy men), and gaily dressed Himachali dancers. Drive past lush tea gardens to Mcleodganj, a small sleepy Tibetan town in the Kangra valley where the Dalai Lama now lives in exile. Visit the pine-covered slopes of Dalhousie reminiscent of the Raj. Admire the glittering dome of the golden temple that rises above the teeming streets of Amritsar, the holy city of the Sikhs.

Destinations

Delhi * Rishikesh * Shimla * Manali * Dharamshala * Dalhousie * Amritsar