Above: Tsuglagkhang Complex is the seat of the Tibetan government in exile.
I walked down the many steps from my hotel to the bus stand. I asked around and it appeared the bus actually leaves from just outside the terminal. I asked around and through a process of triangulation with various people, settled on waiting in front of a juice stand. There is only one direct service to Dharamsala so I didn’t want to miss it.
Many buses went by and paused to pick up people but nothing for me. A couple of minutes after the departure time of 0830 a bus came pass and one of the people whom I had enquired with shouted at me from afar (surprised I heard him in the chaos) and pointed at this bus that had a route placard only in Hindi.
I hopped on and confirmed the destination and I was on my way. I could have missed it so easily without any signage in English, and the other people nearer to me were all busy tending to their businesses.
The bus was very empty till Pathankot and filled up thereafter. With the rain last night and overcast weather, it wasn’t hot on board. After 6h30 (including two rest stops) I was in Dharamsala. Along the way, there were quite a few people on bicycles that were decorated with little flags and banners. This area of the country has some important Hindu sites to which people make pilgrimages.
At Dharamsala, I managed to get the next bus to McLeod Ganj within 10 minutes wait. This 30 minute ride was a bit of a climb taking us through conifer-wooded hillsides before arriving at the seat of the Tibetan government in exile, and home of the Dalai Lama.
I needed a rickshaw to get to my hotel which would have been 20 mins by foot. It is overlooking the hillside and a bit isolated, but handy to the Himalaya Iyengar Yoga Centre where I’ll do a 5 day x 3+ hour course. I checked out the yoga centre nearby after checking into the hotel and called it a day.