Banjara Diaries – Part 4
Banjara off to MacLeodGanj
The road from Khajjiar to MacleodGanj was extremely scenic with snow covered Himalayas keeping us company through most of the journey. The route till Dharamshala was filled with snow on both the ends of the road. Some patches on the road had newly formed ice resulting in low traction for the car to go forward. We helped a tempo which wasn’t able to climb up the slope due to this. It was freezing outside and it took half hour and 6 men to finally ensure the tempo crossed the slippery patch.
At one of the stops for tea, me and DH climbed up a small hillock filled with snow and managed to see some amazing views of the ranges.
It was evening by the time we reached. We reached our hotel near BhagsuNath Temple.
Due to heavy snow fall the previous week, our trek to Triund had to be cancelled. We were a bit dejected but as they say, nature has its own plans and we needed to revise our own accordingly. Over a refreshing ginger tea, we got into discussions on what to do with the extra time we had on our hands.
Little Italy in Himachal
The evening was spent walking down to the main market area wherein we had our dinner at Jimmy’s Italian Café. It has a cozy décor with books to read. There is a sitting area outside but since it was too cold, we chose to sit inside. The outside area has a nice view of the valley below, would make sense to sit there and have breakfast in the morning.
We ordered soups, pizza, pastas and desserts. I would term the overall food experience mixed bag as the group had mixed opinions on the food. Some snaps of the food we had there.
BhagsuNath
Started with a quick darshan of the BhagsuNath Temple. As per mythology, the snake god got into a battle with King Bhagsu since he had stolen water from the sacred Nagdal lake. King Bhagsu was defeated in the battle and the place was called as Bhagsu Nag. This place has a “Panchamukhi Shivalinga” Don’t miss to see it.
A small hike from the temple, leads to Bhagsu waterfall. As it was December, the waterfall was reduced to a small stream but nevertheless, looked calm and serene.
Om Namah Shivay
Further up the Bhagsu waterfall is Shiva Café.
As we reached there, we could hear Krishna Das singing “Om Namah Shivay” on the sound boxes in the café. The music led us into a trance and I was thrilled. It was love at first sight for me. Inside is a sit-down area with waist high tables and an open kitchen .
The outside area has a water tank greeting with a serpent as the tap, lots of painted stones with wisdom words about life and Shiva statue . One can either sit at the open tables outside or inside. Thanks to the music we sat inside wrapped up in our sweaters and just listened to the trance music.
We ordered a Honey Ginger Lemon tea, Hot Chocolate, Coffee, Burger, Shakshuka (An Israeli dish with eggs and tomatoes), Hummus and Pita Bread and of course Maggie.
Once back, we headed to the hotel for a small siesta. It was almost 12.30 pm when I got bored of sitting in the hotel room and decided to venture out to the market. DH joined too and we went for a 2 km walk down to the main market area. After some window shopping, I chanced upon seeing the Tibetan Kitchen. We thought to catch up on a quick lunch and went inside.
The Tibetan Kitchen
It’s a three storey hotel, with lots of sitting space. One can see the messages by Dalai Lama across the floor. We went to a sit-down and eat area on the third floor near a tall heater. It was nice to take off the boots and sit in Sukhasan to eat food. We studied the menu for quite some time. We zeroed down on Steamed Tibetan Chicken Momos (loved the burst of juices in it), Bhutanese Shamu Datshi (Green beans, mushrooms, chillies in a yak cheese sauce), Tingmo (Tibetan Steamed Bread), Fried Thenthuk (pulled noodles with veggies) and a fruit and peach beer (non-alcoholic) to wash it down. We already had the Arra and butter tea during our Bhutan trip so skipped it. Loved the place and knew that I was returning there once more before leaving for home.
A chef’s Disney land
On the walk later, spotted a sign for learning Tibetan Style Momos so thought of checking it out. Alas the door was closed and the contact number mentioned didn’t pick up the call. Maybe a visit once more is essential for a Home Chef Tibetan Cuisine cooking class. With time left on hands we thought of walking down the main market a little further to Dharamshala. The chef in me was in a Disney land . Fresh produce of Chinese cabbage, turnips, radish, different types of lettuce, broccoli, zucchini was surrounding me. Wish, I had access to a kitchen for preparing mouth-watering dishes using that produce.
Getting Literate
Walking across Macloedganj is quite a task with steep roads everywhere. One pauses at each turn to admire the beautiful Dhauladhars and then again starts the hard walk. It’s not a surprise, that this place has cafes of different cuisines. An hour walk around these roads, will leave one thirsty and wanting to grab small bites.
On one such thirsty turn, we spotted the famous “Illiterati Café”. A Bullet Bike at the entrance, shelf full of books and with an amazing view of the Dhauladhars it seemed like the perfect place to spend the evening.
After a decent wait time, we finally got two seats. While DH went around searching for a book to read, I just tried to soak in the vibe of the café. I could spend almost a week sitting there, trying to glance through each and every book of the café. Some places just connect with you, the moment you step in. This was one of them.
We ordered a Honey Ginger Lemon Tea and an Italian Coffee Cortado (espresso mixed with a roughly equal amount of warm milk to reduce the acidity). I grabbed on to “The Cook’s Encyclopedia” and read my way into the evening reading about almost 350 dishes. As the evening fell, we decided to start since it was almost a 4 km uphill climb till our hotel.
SD and AK were already at the hotel by the time we reached. We decided to have dinner in the hotel itself. The hotel had one of the best Palak Paneer, Butter Chicken I have ever tasted. Hats off to the Chef and his team. After dinner, we had one of the most entertaining conversations of the trip, with bottles, glasses and cups playing roles of people. Absolutely hilarious!!!
Even though it seemed like -2 Deg Celsius, we stepped out to have chocolate cake. It was Christmas 😊
Click below for a walk through the history of Kangra Valley.