My Rejuvenating Trip to Mecloedgunj By Dr. Sonia Goel

My Rejuvenating Trip to Mecloedgunj

By Dr. Sonia Goel

---

Our journey began from the crowded train station of Sarai Rohilla, New Delhi. Fed up with the metropolitan chaos and rush of daily work, I needed a complete break and what I call a ‘Proper Digital Detox’. After an overnight journey by train, we arrived at Pathankot.  And then we took a taxi ride to the alluring hill station of Mecloedganj, wedged into the heart of Dhauladhar Himalayan Range.

This part of my hill station journey was a musical voyage to the magical street of ‘Mecloedganj’. This journey was not only a part of my vacation but also a deep cleanse for my body and higher mind. In older days, people used to go on trips and treks in order to stay fit and I too was reliving that lifestyle.

Mecloedgunj is a beautiful suburb of Dharamshala which lies in the Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh. This exquisite town was hidden in the darkness of isolation until it was discovered by the Governor of Punjab in the Time of British Colonial Rule; Sir David Friell McLeod.

The town’s well-preserved fortifications, streets, and buildings are of such great historical significance that the entire town is on the Tibetan inventory of heritage sites. Moving deeper into the heart of the city and more closed to the mountains, we came to the residence of His Holiness The 14th Dalai Lama. This monastery was called Tsuglagkhang which is equivalent to the Jokhang Temple in Lansa which was built in 1969. The monastery has a large gilded statue Shakyamuni Budha and has a series of prayer wheels. The prayer wheel is filled with thousands of Avalokiteshvara Mantras (Om Mani Padme Hum). And the philosophy behind this artifact is that if you turn this wheel then you will earn merit equals to the recitation of mantras filled inside this wheel.

There was another old practice related to the customs of the temple, the ‘The Seek for Repentance’. In this practice, the pilgrims are supposed to lay straight on their belly while praying and seek for the forgiveness for their sins. The old legend says that if you do it 1 million times in three months then all your sin will be forgiven. As a fitness expert, I found this practice quite fascinating. After a bit of chatting with temple’s locals and priests, I also tried this for a few times and to my surprise I find it rejuvenating. After a brief troll in the vicinity of the temple and attending the mass prayer we headed for some further sightseeing.

I loved the small and cozy feel of this beautiful place. And like this, a day passed. For the next day, we prepared ourselves for a mountain hike. Our destination was the Triund Hill track. Magic View Point was a midpoint. We took a thin stony trail between the silent rocky hills of Dhauladhar mountains to reach our destination. As we keep on walking we found ourselves covered more into the wilderness and with fewer facilities. 

There were few shops in between the trek which only served boiled noodles, rice, and lentils curry. But even though all these the place was drenched with the beauties of nature. On our way uphill, we were told that we were supposed to carry our own trash as it is very tough for any other person to go and collect trash from all the way up to the top. 

Seems like the locals have a quite humane and compassionate nature when it comes to caring for each other’s well-being which we rarely see among the city folks. After a brisk walk of about 4 hrs, we reached the top or destination ‘The Triund Hill’. 

For a few moments, I was speechless. I was captivated by the beauty of that place, seems like it completely bewitched my body and soul. My mind was calm and I felt a deep gratitude for the life that I was gifted. I was grateful for the blessing that the universe has bestowed upon me. I often like to travel to these kinds of places which makes me realize that we are such a small speck of dust within our universe and we brag about our success and accomplishment while forgetting this fact. 

And this kind of journeys keeps me a bit down to earth and reminds me that I am a small being just being cradled by this big giant earth.

A pro travel trip to visit this kind of places is that you must carry your own toilet and medical kit because there are no any public toilets available on this trail. So, make sure you manage all these emergencies kits before you go on to these hikes.

I recommend staying for a night in the wilderness when you plan these hikes because you will get a chance to gaze the starry night as in the plains we couldn’t get the perfect view of this outer space because of pollution and scattering of artificial light. But in the wilderness, you can gaze the perfect heaven.   

After this track, it was the time for visiting some local restaurants and tasting some local cuisines. At first, we visited Illitarati café on the Jogibara Road, Mecloadgunj. The place is very good for book lovers. I celebrated my birthday there with my family. And about the food, one must try their Pumpkin Soup, open sandwich and Carrot Cake.

Our hotel was near a beautiful waterfall called ‘Bhaksunag’. Surrounded by lush green wilderness, our trip was a good dose of experiencing the true natural beauty.

We also thought to visit the nearby church but suddenly it started raining and we had to cancel our plans. That church was set amidst the Himalayan Cedar forest of and thus the name ‘St. John in the Wilderness Church’. Built in the Neo-Gothic architecture with painted Belgian glass windows, this Church is quite famous among the visitors.

From my earlier blogs, you might know that I am a big yoga enthusiast and Mecloadgunj is a perfect place for yoga lovers. There were many yoga centers that I was very keen on visiting one of them. I happen to visit Mahi Yoga and spend an amazing time over there. I took a drop in yoga class which was very refreshing. We tried partner yoga and other asanas and met a lot of warm peoples across the globe. 

I also became friends with the owner of the ‘Mahi Yoga’. We chatted about our shared interests in yoga and meditation. Overall it was an amazing experience.

I bought some souvenirs, local tea and handmade peanut butter from the local markets. 

We also tasted other Tibetan Cuisines like Thukpa and Coconut Soup which was perfect for that monsoon weather at Tibetan Kitchen. The interior of the Tibetan Kitchen was just amazing. There were inspirational quotes from His Highness Dalai Lama which made the experience extra peaceful. There was another shop which I liked a lot and that was Woeser Bakery, I liked their walnut tart the most. 

In short, that trip was very unexpected, cozy, refreshing. After a three day of stay, it was the time to return to our normal rush of city life. With a heavy heart, we left the embrace of the alluring mountains and took a train ride to return home.

So, that was my travelogue about my recent visit to Mecloadgunj. I hope you liked the description of my journey. 

And that’s all. I hope you like my salad recipe. Hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as I did.

Till then, take care and thrive.

You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google plus to get the regular updates of my blogs and other recipes. You can also watch my other food videos on my YouTube channel. Make sure to subscribe and hit the bell icon to get updates of my other videos.