Palampur, Andretta and the tea gardens
An hour from Dharamshala and ten degrees warmer. Kangra tea planted to the foot of the Dhauladhar, a working pottery in a village of artists, and a thirteenth-century temple on the way home.
- Palampur
- Andretta
- Tashi Jong
- Baijnath
Good for — Anyone based in Dharamshala who wants a night somewhere flatter and quieter
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Most people staying in Dharamshala give the Kangra valley an afternoon on the way to somewhere else. This is the version that gives it a night, which is roughly the difference between seeing tea and understanding why anyone plants it here.
What the extra night actually buys
Two things that do not fit in a day.
The first is the estate. A tea factory is only interesting while it is running, and it runs to its own timetable — so the visit has to be arranged rather than attempted, and it wants an unhurried couple of hours rather than a stop between two other stops.
The second is that Andretta is a morning. The pottery is a working studio and a school, not a shop that opens for visitors, and the difference between arriving at ten and arriving at four is the difference between watching people work and looking at a locked door.
The order things go in
Tea first, on the afternoon you arrive, because the light on the gardens is better late and because the estate visit is the thing most likely to need moving if the factory is not processing.
Andretta second, on a morning you have not spent driving. It is twenty-five minutes from Palampur on a small road through fields, and the village is about four hundred people, one gallery, one studio and a great many trees.
Then home the long way, through Tashi Jong and Baijnath. Neither adds much to the drive and both are the sort of place you would never make a special trip for and are glad to have seen.
A note on Baijnath
The temple is early thirteenth century, built in the Nagara style in stone, and it has been in continuous use since — which is rarer than it sounds, because most of what survives from that period in the hills survives as a ruin.
It sits directly on the Pathankot–Mandi road with a car park and no ceremony, and the standard experience of it is a coach stopping for eleven minutes. Go in the early evening when the buses have gone.
Who this does not suit
Anyone with two days who has not yet seen McLeod Ganj. This is a second or third trip out of Dharamshala, or a trip for somebody who has been before and wants the valley rather than the ridge. If it is your first time here, do the temple and Bhagsu first and save this for next time.
Day by day
How the 2 days run
- Day 11 hr from Dharamshala
Down into the tea
We leave after breakfast rather than at dawn, because the point of this trip is that it is short. An estate first, arranged beforehand so somebody is expecting you and the factory is running — turning up at a gate gets you a look at the bushes and nothing else. Then the Neugal Khad terrace in the late afternoon, which is where the Dhauladhar stands directly behind the town.
- Day 225 min to Andretta, 90 min back via Baijnath
Andretta, Tashi Jong and the road home
Andretta in the morning while the studio is working: the pottery, the Sobha Singh gallery in the painter's own house, and Norah Richards' mud and slate cottage. Tashi Jong on the way back for the thangka workshops, and Baijnath — a stone Shiva temple from around 1204 that almost everyone drives straight past. Back in Dharamshala for dinner.
The price
What is in it, and what is not
Included
- Private car and driver for both days, fuel, tolls and parking
- One night's accommodation in or near Palampur, twin sharing
- Arranging the tea estate visit ahead of the day
- Pickup and drop anywhere in Dharamshala or McLeod Ganj
Not included
- Entry and camera tickets at the gallery and the temples
- Pottery course fees, if you want to throw rather than watch
- Food and drink
We do not publish a rate card. The number depends on the season, how many of you there are and the sort of hotels you want, so we price each trip on its own — and whatever we quote is what you pay.
Questions
What people ask about this one
Can this be done as a day trip instead?
It can, and it is the wrong shape. Palampur is an hour away, so a day trip spends two of its useful hours in the car and forces the estate and Andretta into the same afternoon — and the studio is a morning place. The night is what makes the two halves fit.
Will we actually get inside a tea factory?
Usually, because we ask in advance. Kangra production is small and the estates are working businesses rather than visitor attractions, so access depends on whether they are processing that week. We will tell you before you travel if the answer has come back no.
Can we take a class at the pottery?
Yes, and the short courses book up well ahead — tell us when you enquire and we will put you in touch directly rather than guessing at dates. Half-day sessions are the usual thing for people on a trip this length.
Is this a good base instead of McLeod Ganj?
For a lot of people, yes. It is warmer, flatter and considerably quieter, and it is forty minutes from Dharamshala rather than in it. The trade is that evenings are very quiet indeed and the restaurant choice is small.
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