McLeodganj Dharamshala Triund

McLeodganj isn't a place you just visit — it's a place you end up in. The Dalai Lama has lived here since 1960, and the town around him has grown into something genuinely unlike anywhere else in India: Tibetan refugees who've made Himachal their home, monasteries that smell of butter lamps and juniper, an incredible café culture, and the Dhauladhar range rising straight up behind it all like a wall.

Triund is the ridge that sits above all of it at 2,828m, accessible via a 9km trail from Dharamkot. The climb gains about 900m, passing through rhododendron and oak forest before the trees give way and the entire Kangra Valley opens up below you. The last stretch through the '22 curves' is a rite of passage. When you walk out onto the camp meadow and the snow peaks are right there, you'll understand why this is the most-loved short trek in Himachal.

We camp on the ridge overnight. Tents, sleeping bags, mess tent, a bonfire, and a sky with zero light pollution. Morning brings a sunrise that turns the Dhauladhar peaks amber and then orange and then white. Then you descend, have breakfast at a rooftop café in McLeodganj, and leave wondering how soon you can come back.