Dalhousie

The hill station of Dalhousie was fashionable with British administrators based in Lahore (now in Pakistan) in the mid-19th century. It was established by the Lord Dalhousie, who, as India's governor-general, founded the Indian rail system. Today Dalhousie draws crowds of Indian tourists in the summer, so try to see it between March and May or September and November. The setting that drew the British is still spectacular, with forested slopes, green valleys, and the snow-capped Pir Panjal peaks on the town's doorstep; here you really get a sense of being close to the great Himalayas.

There's not much to occupy you in this sleepy, two-rickshaw settlement. The main town is actually the nondescript Banikhot (6 km downhill), which you climb through on the way up. The best way to soak in the atmosphere is to take walks, and perhaps watch some migratory birds. The town has pedestrian-only walkways between Gandhi Chowk and Subhash Chowk, and along Potryn Road. At Gandhi Chowk, in the Garam Sarak area, a few shops sell Himachal Pradesh handicrafts: walnut and oak-wood boxes and trays, and colorful jute Chamba slippers.