Dalhousie Weekend Getaway

Dalhousie in a weekend: 48 hours in the colonial hill station that the British built because Shimla got too crowded. (Yes, even in the 1850s, Shimla had a crowd problem.) Dalhousie still feels like 1854 in places — the churches, the promenade along the ridge, the Scottish baronial architecture that looks like it was transported from the Highlands. Walk Garam Sadak for the sun-warmed morning views, Thandi Sadak for the cool afternoon shade, visit the Tibetan market in the lower bazaar, and drive to Khajjiar — the "Mini Switzerland" (it's not Switzerland, but the meadow is genuinely beautiful, fringed by deodar forest with a small lake in the centre). Two days. One of Himachal's quietest hill stations.