Two full days in Dalhousie between overnight trains to Pathankot: Bakrota, St John's and the Mall loop on Day 1; Khajjiar at dawn, Kalatop and the Dainkund ridge at sunset on Day 2.
Quick summary
Dalhousie is about 560 km and roughly 12 hours by road from Delhi, so a 2-day Dalhousie trip works best if you travel overnight both ways: the overnight train to Pathankot and a taxi up the hill, two full days in the hills, and an overnight train or bus back. This plan covers the Bakrota circular road and the Mall loop on Day 1, and Khajjiar, the Kalatop forest and the Dainkund ridge walk on Day 2, with the two places that need timing, Khajjiar and Dainkund, done at the right hour. A Chamba day and a three-day version with a night at the Kalatop forest rest house are at the end. For routes, seasons and costs, start with the Dalhousie destination guide.
Before you go
- Season: this plan works from March to June and October to November. In the monsoon (July to mid-September) the Banikhet road has landslide-prone stretches and the views are in cloud; from late December to February the Khajjiar and Dainkund roads are blocked after heavy snow until the PWD clears them, and the Dainkund path is under snow. Check the best time to visit Dalhousie before booking.
- Daylight: sunset in Dalhousie is around 6.55 pm in mid-April, 7.35 pm in late June, 5.55 pm in mid-October and 5.25 pm in mid-November. Dainkund timings below are given for both the long-day and short-day seasons.
- Trains: the 14035 Dhauladhar Express leaves Delhi Sarai Rohilla at 23:20 and reaches Pathankot Junction around 08:10 to 08:20; on the current timetable it runs three days a week, so check NTES. The daily Jammu and Katra trains stop at Pathankot Cantt between 2 and 3.30 am, which means a wait or a very early taxi. For the return, the 12426 Jammu Rajdhani passes Pathankot Cantt at about 23:05; the Dhauladhar also runs back overnight. Confirm timings before booking.
- Taxis: book the Day 2 taxi at the Subhash Chowk stand on Day 1: a 6.30 am start for Khajjiar and Kalatop returning for lunch, and a separate afternoon run to the Dainkund gate. Rates are fixed at the stand.
- Chamba day: if you add it, make it Tuesday to Sunday; the Bhuri Singh Museum is closed on Mondays and gazetted holidays.
The night before: overnight train to Pathankot
Board the Dhauladhar Express at Delhi Sarai Rohilla at 23:20. It reaches Pathankot Junction around 8.10 to 8.20 am. Pick up a pre-booked taxi (a sedan is about ₹1,800) for the 80 km hill road through Dunera and Banikhet, about 2.5 hours with a breakfast stop at a Banikhet dhaba, or take the HRTC bus for roughly ₹210 to ₹310 and an extra half hour. If you arrive on a Jammu-bound train at Pathankot Cantt in the small hours, wait for first light before taking the hill road.
Day 1: Bakrota, St John's and the Mall loop
11.00 am: check in on Bakrota
Check into a hotel on the Bakrota hills above Gandhi Chowk, drop your bags and have tea on the terrace; on a clear morning the Pir Panjal snow line is across the valley. If the room is not ready, leave the bags and keep going.
11.30 am: the Bakrota circular road
Walk the circular road round the top of the hill through deodar and pine, about an hour at a stroll, with the snow line on the north side and the town below on the south. It is the best walk inside Dalhousie and a gentle way to start after a night on the train.
1.00 pm: lunch at Gandhi Chowk
Walk down to Gandhi Chowk, about 20 minutes, for a dhaba or hotel lunch. Ask for rajma madra and chukh, the Chamba chilli chutney, if they have it.
2.15 pm: St John's Church and the Thandi Sadak
Fifteen minutes in St John's, the 1863 stone church at the edge of the chowk and the oldest in Dalhousie, then the Thandi Sadak, the shaded road round the north side of Moti Tibba, to Subhash Chowk about 2 km away. See St Francis Church (1894, Belgian stained glass), look round the bazaar, and book the Day 2 taxis at the stand.
4.00 pm: Garam Sadak back and sunset
Return along the Garam Sadak, the sunny southern road, with the valley below, reaching Gandhi Chowk in about 45 minutes. Walk up to Bakrota for sunset on the range from the north side of the circular road: about 5.55 pm in mid-October, nearer 7 pm in April.
7.00 pm: dinner and an early night
Dinner at the hotel or at Gandhi Chowk. Be in bed by 9.30; Day 2 starts at 6.30.
Day 2: Khajjiar, Kalatop and Dainkund
6.30 am: leave for Khajjiar
Twenty-four kilometres of forest road through Lakkar Mandi and past the Kalatop barrier, 40 to 50 minutes, with the deodars in first light.
7.15 am: Khajjiar
Mist on the meadow, the lake still, the Khajji Nag temple bell going and almost nobody about. Walk the rim under the deodars, see the 12th-century temple with its carved roof and snake idols, and sit on the grass. Have tea at whichever stall is open. Leave by 9 am, before the first buses and the horse rides arrive.
9.30 am: Kalatop forest walk
Drive back about 16 km to the sanctuary barrier at Lakkar Mandi, pay the vehicle fee if you are driving in (or leave the taxi outside and walk for free), and follow the level 3 km forest track through old deodar and blue pine to the 1925 forest rest house. About 45 minutes each way, with time to look at the bungalow and the view from its lawns. Stay on the track and in company; black bear live in the sanctuary. Back at the barrier by about 11.45.
12.30 pm: lunch and rest
Back in Dalhousie for lunch and two hours off. The middle of the day is hazy and flat on the ridges, and the right time to do nothing.
Dainkund: 3.15 pm in October and November, 4.30 pm from April to June
Drive about 12 km to the Indian Air Force station gate (30 minutes), show photo ID, and walk the roughly 3 km ridge path to the Pholani Devi temple, 45 minutes to an hour, with the Chamba valley filling with light below and the Pir Panjal turning gold to the north. In October and November, when the sun sets around 5.25 to 5.55 pm, aim to be at the temple by 4.45 and start back by 5.15 so you reach the gate before full dark. From April to June, with sunset near 7 pm, a 4.30 pm start from town gives the same margin. Carry a jacket in every month and a torch for the last stretch; do not photograph the Air Force installation.
7.00 pm: dinner, then the night train, or a second night
If you are taking the 12426 Jammu Rajdhani back (Pathankot Cantt about 23:05), eat early and leave Dalhousie by 7.45 pm for the 2.5-hour drive down; the hill road is quiet after dark, so use a taxi driver who knows it rather than driving it yourself for the first time. If you have booked a second night, dinner at the hotel and an easier morning before the Dhauladhar or an HRTC day bus back.
Day 3, if you have it: Chamba
7.30 am: leave for Chamba
About 50 km through Khajjiar and down to the Ravi, 90 minutes, dropping roughly 1,000 metres into warmer air.
9.30 am: the Laxmi Narayan temples
The row of six stone shikhara temples in the centre of town, the oldest from the 10th century and still in daily worship; allow an hour for the carving.
11.00 am: the Chaugan and lunch
The grassy square below the town, the bazaar around it, and an early dhaba lunch of madra, chukh and rice.
12.30 pm: Bhuri Singh Museum
Pahari miniatures, embroidered Chamba rumals and the kingdom's inscribed stones, founded in 1908. Open 10 am to 5 pm, closed Mondays and gazetted holidays; ₹50 for Indian adults, ₹100 for a camera. Allow 90 minutes.
2.30 pm: back to Dalhousie, or on to Pathankot
Return up the hill by the Khajjiar road to reach Dalhousie by about 4.30 pm, or take the direct Chamba–Pathankot road down the Ravi valley for an evening train; allow about 3.5 hours for that drive and check the current road condition locally before committing.
The three-day version with a Kalatop night
Day 1 as above. Day 2: Khajjiar at 7.15, then walk the 3 km track to the Kalatop forest rest house with an overnight bag and stay the night, trails in the afternoon, an early dinner and a dawn chorus of pheasants and forest birds. Day 3: walk down to the barrier by 8.30, taxi to Dainkund for a morning ridge walk instead of the sunset one, then Chamba for the afternoon or the road down to Pathankot. The rest house must be booked weeks ahead through the Divisional Forest Officer, Chamba, or the Himachal ecotourism portal; confirm the tariff and food arrangements, carry cash, and expect no mobile network.
The bus version
HRTC's overnight buses from Kashmere Gate ISBT arrive at the Subhash Chowk bus stand in the morning (around 7.10 am on the ordinary service and 9.30 am on the Himsuta Volvo, as currently listed). Start Day 1 with breakfast at the chowk and the Mall loop, saving Bakrota for the evening. Use HRTC buses to Khajjiar and a shared taxi to the Dainkund gate. Return on an overnight bus from Subhash Chowk on the last evening; departures run through the afternoon and evening, so pick one that leaves after the Dainkund walk.
Driving or riding from Delhi
With your own car or motorcycle, Day 1 becomes the drive: leave Delhi by 4 am, reach Pathankot by early afternoon and Dalhousie by 4 to 5 pm, paying the ₹170 Himachal entry tax for out-of-state cars at the border barrier. Do the Mall loop at dusk, then Day 2 as above and Chamba on Day 3, before driving back on Day 4. Riders often break the journey at Pathankot in each direction, which makes it a five-day trip. On the way back, a detour to McLeod Ganj via Chamba and Nurpur adds a day and a very different hill town.
Packing
- Warm jacket, cap and gloves for Khajjiar at dawn and Dainkund at dusk, in every month
- Walking shoes with grip for the Kalatop track and the ridge path
- A torch for the Dainkund return
- Photo ID for the Air Force gate
- Cash for taxis, dhabas, the Kalatop barrier and tea stalls
- Binoculars for the forest
The Bakrota road on arrival, the meadow at quarter past seven, the forest before lunch, the ridge at sunset, and a thousand-year-old town on the third day if you can take it. For what each stop is and why it earns its place, see the best places to visit in Dalhousie; for what the trip costs, the Dalhousie trip cost guide; and to turn this into a saved plan, the Dalhousie trip planner.