Panch Pulla & Satdhara, Dalhousie

To put it bluntly, if you have seen any waterfalls (and you must have unless this is your very first trip!) and are pressed for time, do give this place a miss by all means. You will avoid getting accosted by dubious people trying to sell Saffron (if you are a female) or Shilajeet (if you are a male). Where is gender equality when you need some, I say? :-) Then there are quite a few steps to climb- which can be quite daunting for senior citizens in your group, and a few unfit members. If you brave all this to reach the fall, it isn't gigantic.

Of course, if you want to try your hand at some adventure sport, it's a different matter altogether. We did see a brave soul zipping by on an overhead rope every couple of minutes - but I suspect he was one of the men operating the equipment rather than any tourist. There are a couple of rope bridges, if you want to experience the thrill of walking dangerously. I didn't - because I come from Mumbai where BMC provides that thrill for free every day with potholes in the roads, closed pavements owing to metro work and traffic that obeys no rules. When the nearby shopkeepers asked me to take a look at their shawls, I really had to suppress the urge to tell them not to waste their time on me because unless there is a severe climate change (as in Mother Earth thumbing her nose at the US Prez!) I am unlikely to need shawls or any other winter gear in the hotter-than-hell city of Mumbai!

On a positive note, the tea vendor sells a good enough cuppa, if you are missing your daily fix.

As far as Satdhara goes, I am still wondering about its name. There is irony there somewhere, I am sure. It was just a trickle and our driver mumbled something about some mineral deposits as he stopped the car in front of it for all of 2 minutes. Even Maggi would take longer to get ready!

So do yourself a favor and drop this from place your program, if you are short on time.

P.S. This place also has a monument in memory of Sardar Ajit Singh. Nothing more than a statue and a plaque, as you can see in the photo above. Nothing is mentioned about his life. I don't know about you, but I don't remember reading about him in history books. Sad, but true. The government should provide some details of his life rather than expecting us to Google about him!