From Triund Trails to Khajjiar Meadows: Palak’s Himachal Journey with Thrillophilia

Thrillophilia Verified Booking
PNR: BKDYGVEDNFA
Rating: ★★★★★
Traveller: Palak Kothari
Travellers: Palak Kothari, Anmol Trivedi & Jeel Parekh
Trip Duration: 9 Days | 8 Nights
Travel Date: 15 Jan 2026 to 23 Jan 2026
Destination: Himachal Pradesh
Package Booked: Dharamshala Dalhousie

Nine days, three friends and two of Himachal Pradesh's most loved mountain escapes made up Palak Kothari's latest Thrillophilia holiday. Travelling with Anmol Trivedi and Jeel Parekh, Palak explored Dharamshala and McLeod Ganj before heading towards Dalhousie, with a Triund trek, mountain viewpoints, old churches, forest trails, Khajjiar and Chamba along the way.

This wasn't Palak's first time trusting Thrillophilia with a holiday either. It was her fifth trip with the company, and her review focused on the planning and support that made this Himachal journey work smoothly from start to finish.

Dharamshala in the Mountains

The journey began with an overnight ride from Delhi, waking up to the cooler air and mountain scenery around Dharamshala. After settling in, Palak, Anmol and Jeel headed out to explore the area, moving between places that showed very different sides of the region.

At Kangra Fort, the group stepped into centuries of Himachal history. The fort sits on a hill above the confluence of the Banganga and Majhi rivers, with the surrounding Kangra Valley opening out below. Later, the atmosphere became quieter at the Norbulingka Institute, known for preserving Tibetan art, craft and cultural traditions.

By evening, the group had shifted from sightseeing to simply wandering around Dharamshala's local streets and markets. It was an easy start to a holiday that was about to become considerably more active.

The Climb to Triund

The next morning, the backpacks were ready for Triund.

The trek begins around the Bhagsunag area and gradually climbs through the forests above McLeod Ganj. The trail is not particularly technical, but the steady ascent makes you work for the views. Pine trees line parts of the route, and as the trail rises, the mountains begin to open up around you.

At the top, the effort starts to make sense. Triund sits at roughly 2,850 metres, with the Dhauladhar range rising dramatically ahead and the Kangra Valley stretching out far below. After the climb, the group stayed overnight at the campsite, trading the comforts of a hotel for a night surrounded by the mountains.

There is a particular charm to reaching a place like Triund with friends. After spending hours walking uphill together, the summit becomes more than a viewpoint. It becomes the place where everyone finally drops their bags, catches their breath and takes in the landscape they had been climbing towards.

McLeod Ganj Had Its Own Rhythm

Back in McLeod Ganj, the pace changed completely.

The group visited the Bhagsunath Temple and Bhagsu Waterfall, where the trail leads through the surrounding hillside before opening up around the cascading water. They also visited the Dalai Lama Temple, a quieter space that offered a different atmosphere from the busy streets outside.

Then came St. John in the Wilderness Church, tucked among tall deodar trees. Built in 1852, the church is one of the oldest surviving structures in the Dharamshala area and is known for its neo-Gothic architecture and stained-glass windows.

Later, at Naddi View Point, the group had another reason to stop walking and simply look around. The mountains spread across the horizon, and the view from Naddi made it easy to understand why Dharamshala has long attracted travellers looking for both adventure and a slower pace.

Dalhousie Changed the Scenery

The road to Dalhousie brought another shift in the landscape.

Dalhousie sits across five hills, surrounded by pine and deodar forests, and the atmosphere felt distinctly different from Dharamshala. Instead of rushing through the town, Palak and her friends had three nights here to explore the surrounding mountains.

One of their adventures took them towards Dainkund Peak. The group drove up to Lakkar Mandi before beginning the trek, following a quieter mountain trail towards the highest point in Dalhousie, at around 2,755 metres.

The higher they climbed, the more expansive the views became. The trail opened towards layers of mountains and valleys, with the surrounding forest giving way to open ridgelines. It was the kind of walk where the group could keep stopping for photographs because the view changed every time the trail turned.

A Meadow Called Khajjiar

If Triund was about climbing towards the mountains, Khajjiar was about walking straight into them.

The famous meadow is surrounded by dense deodar forests, with Khajjiar Lake sitting in the middle of the grassland. Often nicknamed the “Mini Switzerland of India”, Khajjiar has an almost storybook quality when the meadow is framed by the surrounding forest and mountains.

Palak's group spent time around the meadow and lake before continuing towards Chamba, another old Himalayan town with a very different character. The journey included Chamera Lake, where the mountains meet the deep blue waters of the reservoir.

The contrast made this stretch particularly enjoyable. One moment the group was surrounded by open meadow and forest in Khajjiar; later, they were looking out across a mountain reservoir and exploring the historic surroundings of Chamba.

More Than Just a Road Trip

There were plenty of quieter moments between the bigger experiences too.

The group had long drives through Himachal's winding mountain roads, with pine forests, villages and deep valleys appearing outside the windows. They also explored Kalatop Wildlife Sanctuary, where dense deodar and oak forests create a completely different atmosphere from the open viewpoints of Triund and Dainkund.

In Dalhousie, places such as St. John's Church and Subhash Baoli added another layer to the trip. Subhash Baoli, named after freedom fighter Subhas Chandra Bose, is surrounded by tall trees and is associated with the period he spent in Dalhousie in 1937.

By the final days, the trip had covered a surprisingly broad slice of Himachal. There had been steep trails, quiet forests, Tibetan cultural spaces, colonial-era buildings, open mountain viewpoints and wide green meadows.

Why Palak Keeps Choosing Thrillophilia

Planning a multi-stop Himachal holiday is not just about choosing attractive destinations. Mountain roads, transfer times, trek schedules, hotel locations and sightseeing windows all need to fit together for the trip to run comfortably. With Dharamshala, Triund, Dalhousie, Dainkund, Khajjiar and Chamba included in one nine-day journey, getting that structure right was important.

This is where Avika Mour, Thrillophilia's Destination Expert for Himachal, played a key role, supporting the planning and coordination of the holiday. The team handled the larger travel arrangements so Palak and her friends could focus on the experiences rather than constantly figuring out the logistics between destinations.

And Palak's strongest endorsement is perhaps the simplest one: this was her fifth trip with Thrillophilia. After five holidays with the company, her review came down to two things she valued most: “Amazing planning and support from the team.”

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