Day 1. April 29. Dharamsala City, Dalai Lama’s Palace.
Arrival in Delhi. Domestic flight from Delhi to Dharamsala at 09:40.
Travel time 1:30 hrs.
Time from hotel to airport 1 hr.
Check in at hotel in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh.
After rest and breakfast take a sightseeing tour of Mcleod Ganj, the central area of Dharamsala. There are many shops where you can buy Tibetan souvenirs, rosaries, jewelry.
We will have lunch at a Tibetan cuisine restaurant.
We will visit the Dalai Lama’s Palace and take a ritual circumambulation (kora) around the Palace.
Tonight we’ll watch the monks debate in the Palace. Debate is a form of teaching in Buddhism that is very active and entertaining.
Dinner
Day 2. April 30. City of Dharamsala
Breakfast.
Today we will visit Men-Tsee-Khang Tibetan Medicine Center, consult with doctors (pulse diagnosis) and get recommendations. If necessary, we will return at the end of the Dharamsala program.
Optional consultation with a Tibetan astrologer at Men-Tsee-Khang.
Visit the Dalai Lama’s library, where manuscripts secretly taken from Tibet from the 10th-16th centuries are kept.
Lunch.
Visit the beautiful museum of preserved ancient Tibetan artifacts in the library and a modern interactive museum of Tibetan history.
Nearby is Nechung Temple, home of the Dalai Lama’s official oracle. Here we can write down the names of our loved ones and the monks will pray for them at the puja (temple service).
In the evening we will take part in a puja at Nechung Temple.
Dinner.
Day 3. May 1. Triund Plateau.
Breakfast.
Today we have a hike to the Triund Plateau – trekking to an altitude of 2,850 meters, with stunning views of the Kangra Valley below and three snow-capped peaks. The hike is long, up stone steps, but not very strenuous – it takes 3 to 4 hours up and about 3 hours down. We go necessarily in sneakers (or, if desired, in trekking boots).
On the way we meet several cafes, there is a place to rest and drink tea.
If you wish, you can stay in the cafe and admire the views while waiting for those walking up to the plateau.
Dinner.
Day 4. May 2. Kangra Valley. The Dalai Lama’s residence.
Breakfast
Today we drive to the beautiful Kangra Valley.
We will visit the Dalai Lama ‘s summer residence – Norbulinka Traditional Tibetan Art Center. It is set up as a place where the traditions of Tibet are preserved. It is a picturesque park with a beautiful working Buddhist temple in the center.
Here you can watch the process of creating works of art and buy them: tanks, clothes, woodwork. Some guests come specifically to take a course in woodworking, creating mandalas in Tibetan style.
Architecturally, Norbulinka is built in the form of a figure of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. We start our journey at the feet, where the doll museum and workshops are housed and end at the temple at its head.
After lunch we will drive to the largest fort in the Himalayas, whose history dates back to the 5th century BC. – admire the ancient walls and stunning views of the Kangra Valley.
Dinner in Dharamsala.
Day 5. May 3.
Breakfast.
We have some free time today.
You can walk around Dharamsala, meditate in the Palace, take another bark around the Palace, ride the cable car to lower Dharamsala, buy Tibetan jewelry and clothes, revisit the Tibetan Medicine Center and adjust further treatment.
Day 6. May 4. Manali City, Kulu Valley. Manu and Hadimba temples,
Today we have an early transfer to the city of Manali on a beautiful mountain road.
Breakfast on the way.
Accommodation in a cottage in Manali, Kulu Valley.
After rest we will take a sightseeing tour of Manali with a visit to the ancient temples of Manu and Khadimba, the patrons of the valley.
We will take a walk around the main square of the city, buy Himalayan shawls, jewelry, Buddhist bells.
Lunch.
We will warm ourselves in therapeutic hot radon springs.
Dinner.
After dinner a review lecture about the Roerich family and their spiritual heritage.
Day 7. May 5. Naggar city, the residence of the Roerichs and the Rajah’s Palace.
Breakfast.
Today we will go to Naggar to the residence of the Roerichs:
We will take a tour of the memorial residence and the Urusvati Institute.
Lunch in Naggar.
We will visit the Raja’s Palace Naggar Castle and the symbol of Naggar – the Hindu temple Tripurasundari.
Dinner.
After dinner we will have an overview lecture on the culture and ethnography of the Kulu valley.
Day 8. May 6. Lahul Valley.
Breakfast.
We drive to the beautiful protected valley of Lahul, where great Yogis and Yoginis meditated. We will ascend to the Buddhist temple Shashur at an altitude of 3000 meters, where the Roerichs worked.
Lunch in Lahaul.
On our return we will have dinner and an overview lecture on Hinduism.
Day 9. May 7. The sacred Prashar Lake.
Breakfast.
We drive along the most beautiful serpentine road to the sacred lake Prashar, which is located at an altitude of 2700 meters. All the gods of the Kulu valley worship the god Prashar, who “lives” in a temple on the shore of the lake. They say if you walk around the lake three times, you can change your destiny.
Lunch is on the way.
Return to the Kulu Valley.
Dinner.
Day 10. May 8. Krishna and Giri temples.
Breakfast.
Today is dedicated to the Krishna Temple in Naggar.
Our group will perform a special puja (temple service) for health, safety and prosperity.
Lunch in Naggar.
After lunch, we will visit another protected ancient temple, Jiri, near which there is a healing spring. The water from the spring cures skin diseases and gives strength.
Dinner.
Day 11. May 9. Transfer to Delhi.
Today we bid farewell to the Kulu Valley and head to Delhi.
You can choose the option convenient for you: go by car (4-5 people), on a comfortable night bus (then it is necessary to leave in the evening on May 8) or take a domestic flight.
Day 12. May 10.
Departure home (or departure home the next day, depends on the flight).
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