We visited Palampur (2 hours away) to spend a day in the beautiful tea plantations owned by one of our relatives. His is an entirely different world – a small, self-contained world – with its own social rules and customs.

Quite memorable was a walk from Nagrota to Hatwas and seeing the orchards, juice factories, pickle factories, apiary (honey collection) , tea plantations at Hatwas, and, of course, a visit to the plot of land which I have inherited.

We also went to the Chamunda Devi temple. This temple is dedicated the mother Goddess Chamunda. The children had a gala time in the series of mountain streams flowing down rapidly in the temple complex.

One day we went to the Kangra temple. This temple is dedicated to Goddess Brajeshwari. The golden top of the temple is visible from a long distance. The road leading to the temple has a lot of shops selling local handicrafts like woolens, brass items, medicinal plants from the Himalayas, lots of eatables, handmade ice cream served on a leaf - very delicious.

Dharamsala has the only museum in the country dedicated to Kangra art. McLeod Ganj, around 7km away, is the abode of the Dalai Lama. The Tibetan cuisine Thupkas with black beans, momos was thoroughly enjoyed by my daughter.

Then there were regular walks to the nearby rivulets, where you have the company of mules, sheep, and goats grazing silently.

Quick Tips:

Himachal Pradesh Tourism department also offers online booking. A holiday in Kangra is for people who would like to laze around. The place is as of now totally unspoilt; it is a good way to get to know rural India. Himachalis are honest and have extended family ties. Do not be surprised if you get offer for a lunch from total strangers. You will surely be helped a lot more than at any other place in India.

The place has a lot of temples of Mother Goddesses. Quite a number of devotees throng these temples during Navaratris. The temples are beautifully decorated and you will find people on the streets too singing devotional songs. I wish to just add that unless you are looking for this experience, better avoid those 9 days, which may fall on October or November.

In winters at Dharamsala, you will have winter festivals, and in summers, summer festivals. Some people like these too.

Best Way To Get Around:

When we reached the venue we could see a flurry of activities—ladies in colourful attire, rows and rows of people busy eating on a plate made with palm sized leaves joined with thin shoots, bearers busy serving the delicacies. Only rice was being served ( no bread) . It did not take me long to see that there were around 14 different dishes. The bearers were serving them in a fixed sequence. Some people were standing just behind the rows getting ready to take the seats. We were told that the feast starts with a dish made with fried curds later a lot of lentils in myriad of colours and smells are served, a curry made with curds, and gram flour signals the end of the main course and people get ready for the desert—sweet rice with nuts, dried milk and saffron.

This being my first experience , I did not want to eat in a hurry, especially with a lot of people standing on my back waiting for me to finish! But that was not to be, it looked like the entire village was invited, hordes and hordes of people went on coming. The entire set of rows start and end the lunch at the same time. The bearers were able to identify big eaters and they were given bigger portions of rice. This way every one finished the meal at the same time. When I started eating I discovered that all the items are tasty, the only problem was that if you like a certain dish—already served—and want some more of it, then it is a problem because you will have to specially request for it and thus break a programmed sequence. Of course, as you go to your second feast you will know what to take more of! Same dishes in the same sequence are served in all the marriages—a difference between a rich man's feast could be in the quantity of the dry fruit or may be free flowing fat, that's all.

The food is made by a special brahmin—a long trench is made and wood is burnt in it—big couldrons of brass are put on it, powder made of the roasted hard cover of walnut is used to give flavour to one of the dishes, a herb called  ratan jyot is put in hot oil to give red colour to one of the dishes, some of the pulses are cooked for entire night , fresh plain yoghurts are roasted in butter till it dries to make the base of one of the dishes, dried mango is used to impart a tangy flavour to one of the items. I was told that contrary to popular belief, no non-veg food is served during these festivities.