Two full days in McLeod Ganj from Delhi NCR around the overnight Volvo: kora and Tibet Museum, St John's at dusk, Bhagsu and Galu early, Norbulingka, Kangra Fort, Triund as day three.
Quick summary
McLeod Ganj is about 480 km and roughly 11 hours from Delhi by road, so two days here means two full days on the ridge with an overnight bus on either side. This plan puts you at the temple and the church for the dawn and dusk, in the valley for the middle of the second day, and keeps Triund for a third day, because Triund done in a hurry is done badly. Timings assume October or March to May daylight, with sunset around 6 to 7 pm. For background on the town and its seasons, see the McLeod Ganj destination guide.
The night before: the bus
HRTC and private Volvos leave Kashmere Gate ISBT and Majnu ka Tila in the evening; HRTC's Volvo departures are around 8 pm and take about 13 hours, so you arrive at Dharamshala or McLeod Ganj between 7 and 9 am. If the bus terminates at Dharamshala's bus stand, shared taxis and local buses run the 9 km up to McLeod Ganj in about 30 minutes. Check where your service ends when you book.
Day 1: the temple, the town and the church
8 am: the kora and the Tsuglagkhang temple
Leave bags at your guesthouse or at the bus stand cloakroom if one is open, and walk down Temple Road to the Tsuglagkhang Complex. Join the circumambulation path with pilgrims and monks, prayer wheels on your right, the Dhauladhar lit behind the town. Then into the temple for the butter lamps and the Dalai Lama's throne. Shoes off, modest dress, no photographs of the residence. About an hour.
9.15 am: Tibet Museum
At the complex gate, open from about 9 am to 5 pm and closed on Mondays. Free. An hour, and not an easy one; it documents the occupation and the exodus plainly. If you arrive on a Monday, swap this with the Namgyal courtyard visit below.
10.30 am: breakfast and check-in
Tibetan breakfast of tingmo or an omelette at a Jogiwara Road kitchen, then a shared taxi or the 20 to 30 minute uphill walk to Dharamkot. Check into a homestay in the forest, shower, and rest for an hour. You have been on a bus all night.
1 pm: Tibetan lunch
Thukpa or thenthuk and a plate of momos at a Dharamkot or town kitchen, around ₹200 to ₹300 a head.
2.30 pm: Dharamkot to the square on foot
Down through the village lanes and the forest to the town, along Jogiwara Road past the Tibetan shops, and into the Namgyal monastery courtyard by about 3.30 pm for the monks' debating session, with its clapping and stamping. Watch quietly from the edge for half an hour. Debating is not held every afternoon; if the courtyard is empty, give the Kalachakra temple murals the time instead.
4.45 pm: St John in the Wilderness
Twenty minutes down the Dharamshala road to the 1852 stone church in the deodars at Forsyth Ganj. Look at the Belgian glass and Lord Elgin's grave, then sit through the last hour of light. Walk back up with a torch; the road is dark under the trees.
7 pm: dinner
Tibetan again, or a Dharamkot cafe if you want a change. Early night; tomorrow starts before 7.
Day 2: the waterfall, Galu and the valley
7 am: Bhagsu Nag Temple and Waterfall
Walk 2 km along the ridge from Dharamkot to Bhagsu village, see the Shiva temple and its spring-fed pools, then take the 1 km path up the stream to the waterfall while it is empty. Back in the village by 9 am for parathas. Do not climb on the wet rocks by the pool.
9.30 am: Galu
From the top of Dharamkot, an hour up through the forest to the Galu Devi temple, the forest checkpost where the Triund trail begins, and a chai stall with the valley below. Chai, the view, and back down by 11.30 am. Do not keep going to Triund today unless you have a late bus, are fit and are prepared for a long day; the return is 7 km down from the top and the trail is unlit.
12 pm: down to the valley
Hire a scooter in the square (ID and licence needed) or take a cab, and ride about 12 km down through Dharamshala to Sidhpur. Allow 40 minutes.
12.45 pm: Norbulingka Institute
Lunch in the garden cafe first, then the workshops: thangka painters, woodcarvers, metalworkers, appliqué. The Seat of Happiness temple, the Losel Doll Museum and the shop. Entry about ₹50; open until about 5.30 pm. Two hours.
3 pm: Gyuto monastery
About 3 km on, the tantric college's large prayer hall. Twenty to thirty minutes.
3.30 pm: choose your afternoon
Option A: back up the hill. Ride up to McLeod Ganj by 4.30 pm, continue to Naddi for sunset if it is a weekday, then a last Tibetan dinner before the bus.
Option B: Kangra Fort. If your bus leaves after 8 pm, ride about 20 km to Kangra Fort, which keeps roughly 9 am to 6 pm, aiming to be at the gate by 4.15 pm. Climb through the gates to the palace ruins for the late light over the two rivers, leave by 5.30 pm, and be back in McLeod Ganj by 7 pm for dinner. Masroor needs a full day and belongs to a longer trip. In winter, when the sun sets before 6, choose Option A.
Evening: the bus back
HRTC buses to Delhi leave McLeod Ganj and Dharamshala through the evening, with departures listed around 5.30 pm, 7 pm and 8.50 pm; the later ones reach Delhi around 8 to 10 am. Book one after 7 pm so the second day is not cut short, and confirm the departure point, since some services start from Dharamshala rather than the McLeod Ganj stand.
The third day: Triund
If you can add a day, do Triund properly. Leave Dharamkot at 6 am, pay the forest fee at the Galu checkpost (₹100 per head per day; carry ID and cash), and reach the ridge at 2,850 metres by about 11 am after roughly 7 km and 1,000 metres of climb from Galu. Lunch at the chai stalls, and start down by 1.30 pm to be back at Galu by 4.30 pm. Or book a tent through a registered operator for the night (₹550 per tent for two including entry under the current rules, with overnight numbers capped at about 40) and come down the next morning. Carry two litres of water, a warm layer and a torch. Do not do it in the monsoon or after fresh snow, and do not start after 10 am as a day trip. The best places guide has more on the trail and the fees.
The self-drive version
- Day 0: leave Delhi by 4 am; Ambala by 7.30 am, Kiratpur by 9.30 am, Una by 11 am, Kangra by 1.30 pm, McLeod Ganj by about 3 pm. Pay the ₹170 Himachal entry tax at the border. Check in, St John in the Wilderness at dusk.
- Day 1: the kora and museum early, Dharamkot and the Namgyal courtyard, Bhagsu waterfall in the late afternoon instead of the church.
- Day 2: Norbulingka in the morning by car, Kangra Fort and Masroor in the afternoon, back to the ridge by dark.
- Day 3: Triund as a day trip, or drive on to Bir Billing (about 70 km) or Dalhousie.
- Return: leave McLeod Ganj by 5 am for Delhi by mid-afternoon; avoid the Dharamshala descent after 10 am on weekends.
Use the fuel calculator for the roughly 1,000 km round trip, and compare with bus fares in the trip cost guide.
Packing
- Warm jacket for the kora at dawn and Dharamkot nights in any month
- Walking shoes with grip for Bhagsu, Galu and the forest paths
- Torch for the walk back from St John in the Wilderness
- Modest clothes for the temple and monasteries; shoes that slip off
- Cash and UPI for Tibetan kitchens, scooter hire and forest fees; cards work in cafes
- ID for scooter hire, the Galu checkpost and teaching registration if one is on
Kora at dawn, church at dusk, waterfall and Galu before the crowd, a valley of Tibetan arts, and a fort if the light holds: McLeod Ganj in two days, with the mountain kept for the third. Build the route with the trip planner.