I am so glad you wrote about this! I was in Mandi, a village above Dharamsala, for 7 months during the beginning of the pandemic learning Thangka Painting and it was the best (and most challenging) time of my life. I felt as though I was living in a place that had seen and known human habitation for millennia, but all the way up to the present day, humans were able to live in harmony with nature while also being advanced and futuristic. Himachal Pradesh truly lives up to its reputation as Dev Bhumi, and the mountains and forests spoke to me as well, telling me to be ~balanced~ and ~calm~ even when I'm not on this sort of pilgrimage. I hope to become such a person before I go on a trip such as that again, because it's truly truly precious the kinds of sacred places that India has to offer.