Here are several routes for travelling to hillhacks. You can also refer to Wikvoyage Dharamshala to get more details. **Feel free to edit or add to the information below**.
Usual way is:
* Take a bus to Dharamshala. * Take a bus to Fatehpur or Sidhpur and walk up from there to the venue (1.5 kms) * Or take a cab from Dharamsala straight to [[venue.maps|the Venue]]
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Telephone Number for directions, queries etc: 9818489610
* Bus Connectivity There are buses available from Chandigarh (5 hrs), Pathankot (3 hrs), Delhi (11 hrs), Dehradun (11 hrs), Palampur (1 hr), Manali (8 hrs) and other places of Himachal.
If coming from Gaggal direction (Gaggal is on the way if coming from airport or via train to Pathankot), get down at Sheila Chowk and take bus to Fatehpur.
If coming from Palampur/Baijnath/Mandi/Manali/Shimla get down at Tapowan turn and walk up 1.5 kms to reach Ghoomakad, near school ground, village Rakkar.
If coming from Dharamsala bus stop or town (if you have come via bus), take a bus to Fatehpur, and walk up 1.5 kms or straight cab to venue.
From Fatehpur, walk up 1.5 kms to reach Ghoomakad, near school groumd, village Rakkar.
Accommodation at Ghoomakad will be a few shared rooms and tents. It is very simple and basic; all we can provide is a mattress and a blanket / sleeping bag. Bathrooms will be shared, and some of them will be outside, as the tents are. We do have ladies-only room, tent and bathroom. **Please bring your own camping gear, if you have any!**
If you prefer to stay in your own room / have your own bathroom / anything else beside a bed in a room or tent, please contact us and let us know what you are willing to spend on that, so that we can watch out accordingly and give you recommendations on what to book. There are some hotels/homestays around and also village homes. .
Breakfast, lunch and dinner will be made by our kitchen team on site. Breakfast is served at 9:00, lunch at 12:30 and dinner at 21:00. Participants lodging elsewhere will join us for lunch and dinner. Tea is also there sometimes. Everyone is doing his/her own dishes.
The menu will be simple vegetarian Indian meals (rice/roti, dal, sabji), cooked by our team, and enjoyed in the “food corner” spread out on the ground and at tables. In the peak time some of us will be supporting the kitchen team with chores. Please let us know if you would like to be part of the kitchen team, too!
Other food options are 15 minute walk away up to Dharamkot, Bhagsu or down to McLeod.
1. Turn it on (power button). All 3 lights glow 2. Wait for 60 seconds. Turn on the “water button” 2 lights glow (Red+Green) 3. Collect water in the lower container 4. Fill your bottle/cup from the lower container
Please fill empty water bottles whenever you can. If you can't drink the Indian way, carry your own bottle with you.
As of April 2016, Ghoomakad has 3 ISPS with a total bandwidth of 16mbps (10 AirJaldi, 5 Vayudoot, 1 Pacenet)
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During the day (when the sun is out) it'll be warm enough to wear a t-shirt, in the evenings you might want to wear a sweater/hoody or two, and maybe even socks and a cap.
In general it will be around 25°C during the day, and around 15°C at nights. But be aware! We are on 2000 meters altitude, it can get down to 10°C and on the other hand side it can rise up to 30°C. As we have sometimes some rain which is very unusual, its also colder than usual :(
Get details on temperature and weather on the pages of the McLeodGanj Weathergeek or at Forecast.io.
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The annual monsoon begins in late June. Here's what McLeodGanj Weathergeek has to say about the weather around the time of our event:
“There can be raucous periods of thunderstorms during that period, but normally they are short-lived, with a return to sunshine not far away. The warmest temperatures of the entire year are concentrated during that time frame – especially between mid-May and mid-June.”
May is one of the driest months of the year, better then October: hillhacks 2014 was in October, and we had only two times some short rain. But: We are in the mountains, we are always prepared to handle some rain - and so should you!
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It's up to you, but you might consider packing:
Dont forget to **label things with your name/handle** - especially gear like multiple power plugs, chargers, torches, that can easily be taken by mistake… .
Contact 9818489610