Budget for the trip: Rs. 2000
I have travelled to Macleodganj twice and the place has definitely not disappointed me. If one is looking for a much more quieter, slower and tinier place to go visit- Mcleodganj is the place to be. The first trip: The first trip was taken 2 years back with Alokika during October. We took a train to Pathankot (the Jammu Express). Oh my that was quite some experience! We were travelling by ladies general and as the coach was full of piligrims. The coach was so crowded that I remember sitting on my bag huddled up on the floor and noticing a tear run down Alokikas cheek. However, we soon got comfortable, the beauty of the human species is after all its awesome aptitude to adapt to the situations. (I always wonder why people don't explore that more) What started as a complete disaster resulted in one of the most exhilarating nights iv ever had- All of us women sung songs, chatted and I did manage to get some sleeping leaning on this woman. We reached Pathankot at 6 in the morning and ate paranthas in the bus stop there and took a bus to mcleodganj from there. The bus reached mcleodganj by 1. On out way,we bought plenty of sweet to tide over my tendency of getting car sick but we shall not get into that. As soon as we stepped in mcleodganj we had a guy running towards us telling us about rooms that he had to rent for 250 bucks a day. We took it. It had a T.V. set with cable, Hot running water, a restaurant, a double bed and was fairly neat and decent. Plus it was right near the monastery. After getting all freshened up, we went for brunch. There was this awesome cafe on our way down to the main monastery. It projected out towards the streets and was placed on an elevation from the main road. The cheesecake there is the best iv ever had in India. It was so good that we had more of it the next day as well. The music playing from a nearby music shop was the icing on the pretty damn awesome cheesecake. It was this prayer song with the chant of Om Mani Padme Hum and was so calming. We then headed to the monastery. The monastery was beautiful and relaxing. When one goes to visit the monastery, it should be borne in mind that it is probably the most pious places for the largest religion in the world- Buddhism: It is the home of the Dalai Lama. After spending a couple of hours in the monastery and looking at the sunset we headed out to sample some momos from the street stalls. The momos werent exactly what we were looking for. They were tofu made with potatoes and spinach and I almost hurled it all out. After a brief time spent on window shopping we decided to go eat at this restaurant called Lhasa Restaurant in the main square as was recommended by a Nepali shop keeper(daaju). The thukpa (tibetan noodle soup) was good. We bought some Old Monk from the nearby Wine and Beer shop and headed out to our hotel.Day II was the day we had allotted for trekking. We decided to eat cheesecake for breakfast and then headed out to Bhagsu. Bhagsu has a huge temple of Shiva and also has a massive waterfall. We hiked upto the waterfall and on our way got temporary tattoos and ate at this restaurant called "No name cafe" (you cant make stuff like this up). The waterfall was beautiful as was the walk to it. We then walked back to Dharamshala and sampled some Lemon Tea at Nicks Kitchen and Momos at JJ Cafe where we met these two women who we shared stories with. After some quick shopping for all our friends, we took a state transport bus and returned.
Mode to travel around the city: On foot.
Mcleodganj is an absolute foodies paradise so enjoy a lot of food and teas.

The expenditure:General Ticket: 150Hotel: 250Food: 600Shopping: 300Tattoo: 30Bus Ticket: 200
Total Expenditure: Rs. 1500
Tips to Trip:

1. Carry sour things to eat to deal with Car sickness.. menthol doesn't do the trick
2. Trek to Triund or Dharamkot if possible.
3. Its Mcleodganj, not Dharamshala!!!
4. Travel Light Go to JJ Cafe for night gigs. They are awesome and the people are very friendly.
5. Don't hesitate to explore placed for a room. Create a strict budget for accomodation.
6. Carry woolens depending on the month you are travelling in.
7. Try to be back by 8. The place gets deserted after that.
8. Do not forget your camera.