—Categories: driving, himalayas, mountains

Driving to Shimla; Chail and Kufri

Travelling in Himachal in June – 2007
Shimla >> Manali >> Rohtang >> Chandratal >> Ki/Kibber/Tabo >> Kalpa >> Shimla
+ Previous: Giri River Camp
+ Next: A Day in Shimla
+ Go to beginning of the story or index page

Four of us left Giri River Camp and drove towards Shimla, taking a detour via the deodar forests of Chail and Kufri.

Winding mountain roads took us through pine forests interspersed with villages and small towns. We drove through them slowly and gently at speeds varying from 20kph to a high of forty plus. It was often narrow, and dangerous at blind curves and a moment unaware could immediately take us a few hundred feet down into the valley. But it is not as bad it appears and the road is more scenic than fearsome. I did not get behind the wheels, but for me, love is driving in the mountains and I have done many thousand kilometers of it down south. Nothing to beat the might of the Himalayas though; where in the world can you find mountains so tall and steep and yet so well connected and inhabited?

The other folks in the car were veterans of Himachal who gave me plenty of dope on the local way of life, culture, people and places as we drove on. There were hilarious stories to know about rich folks of Kinnaur with excessive obsession to alcohol, about the kindness of people in the high mountains, richly beautiful landscapes of Spiti, of landslides blocking the roads every now and then and so on. Apparently public transport can sometimes be faster than your own vehicle in Himachal’s roads frequently affected by landslides; in case of a landslide you can just walk across the slide and hop into a bus waiting on the other side.

We drove via Solan town on the Shimla highway and turned towards Chail at Kandaghat. Initially a vegetation of stout trees and shrubs with a generally dry atmosphere, things started changing as we climbed up towards Chail village. A small village it may be, but not undiscovered by Delhi’s footloose population trying to escape from the summer heat. Resorts and hotels litter the way and giant ad-hoardings welcome you to their properties in Chail. But thankfully, Chail village itself is unspoilt as the region around it has been declared a reserve forest and no construction permitted. The village is tiny and is marked by an old palace of the Maharaja of Patiala(now a hotel, Rs.10 for visitors to see) and the world’s highest full size cricket ground(no entry for visitors, but you can manage a sneak peek) owned by a school managed by the army. It was a moment of nostalgia for one of my friends in the car who did his schooling here and went on saying ‘this was our dormitory.. this was our classroom..’.

Chail
Deodar Forests of Chail

Chail is a different world and demarcates itself from the rest with sudden surge of deodar trees. They grow densely with little space left between trees, climbing higher and higher in search of more sunlight. But for a few rays of the mid-day sun escaping the branches and falling on the tarmac, sunlight never makes it to the ground. The temperature dips considerably on approach to the village and you have to look hard to find a place to bask in the shine. The thick vegetation occasionally gives out in steep slopes, revealing the gigantic Himalayan valleys and waves of mountain peaks beyond them. The same tall trees also hide the concrete resorts and hotels on the road approaching the village.

The one main road on the village is littered with restaurants and shops, giving an unlikely feeling of a busy town. But it is hardly a hundred meter long and in a sudden twist, makes way for the prolific deodars. Chail is the quintessential Himalayan village perfect for travel brochures; an ideal retreat that has hardly changed much within its borders.

Chail near Shimla
Chail’s main road, stretching no more than a 100 meters

We drove on from here towards Kufri and eventually to Shimla. The road to Kufri continues to be narrow and without much traffic. Soon after we descended from Chail, deodars disappeared and gave way to shorter trees. The valleys here were deeper and the peaks taller, time and again reminding me that we are amidst the Himlayan ranges. An hour of drive took us to the famous Hindustan-Tibet highway and eventually to Kufri where deodar trees made a comeback.

Road from Chail to Shimla
On the road from Chail to Shimla..

‘Kufri’s arrival is marked by horse shit,’ remarked one of my friends as he drove towards it. Sure enough, Kufri is crowded with horses meant to give joyride to tourists and we started seeing them miles before we reached Kufri. In the center of the village stood the horses and many drivers in a manner very similar to auto-rickshaws waiting for passengers in bus stands. Kufri also has a small zoo and an amusement park but none of them are worth the effort. But a walk along Kufri’s road, among the deodars at a height with vistas of the green valleys below makes being there worthwhile.

Before we hit Shimla, we stopped briefly at the tiny village of Mashobra, which hosted the famous Wildflower hall and offered views of Shali Tibba, the highest peak around Shimla. Sun had just set when we finally arrived at Shimla where I parted from my friends and walked in search of a hotel.

More Information

Chail is a little more than an hour away from Shimla and is well connected by buses. Roads are decent, and if you are used to mountain roads it is worthwhile driving. Chail village itself has no more than 2-3 hotels, but the road from Chail to Kandaghat is littered with resorts. There isn’t much to do in Chail except to walk around the deodar forest, but this is sufficient attraction to get there.

Kufri is 30 minutes away from Shimla on the same road that leads to Chail. It has some nice views and Deodar forests. You can go on horse rides and visit some tourist attractions like the zoo. Kufri is littered with resorts all around it.

Mashorba, which falls on the same road too is little more than 10km from Shimla. Although I haven’t seen any, the place is said to have a few guesthouses. There are a few restaurants along the main road. The attraction of Mashorba is similar – vistas of the mountains and deodar forest.

If you are driving and not planning to stay in any of these places, it should be possible to cover all these place in single day.

Continued at A Day in Shimla

 

—Categories: himachal pradesh, mountains, rivers

Giri River Camp, Himachal

Travelling in Himachal in June – 2007
Shimla >> Manali >> Rohtang >> Chandratal >> Ki/Kibber/Tabo >> Kalpa >> Shimla
+ Previous: First day in Himachal
+ Next: Driving to Shimla via Chail and Kufri
+ Go to beginning of the story or index page

It has been nearly a year since I made a trip to Himachal. Several attempts to write about it were never successful. First I kept procrastinating, and then I had found other things to write about. Later I suffered for many months with writers block, or blogger’s block if you wish to call it, and so on. Excuses are many, but finally it meant that a report was never completed. Here is one more attempt, I have no idea if I can finish it at least this time, but thats the goal.

To set the context first, it started as a series of posts like I normally do. Here is the story so far.

* Arriving in Delhi
* Loosing things
* First day in the mountain country

The story so far: And here is a quick summary if you are not to keen to click through all the posts. It was in mid June that I started off on a trip to Himachal. After spending a day in Delhi, I took a night bus and got down at Solan town an hour before Shimla. I was to meet a friend at a river-side camp owned by him on the bank of Giri river, nearly 30km from Solan. I reached the road head to Giri Camp where I was dropped off and walked towards the camp.

Continuation. It was a pleasant walk to the camp along the river. A few houses dotted the landscape to my right and to the left flowed the river silent. Steep hills rose up on both sides of the valley with trees hugging the slopes precariously. The camp was located along a wide curve of the river in a small plateau in the valley, where mountains blocked out views of everything beyond the curve and gave a sense of isolation. River ran deep and wide at sections near the camp, and then its channel narrowed and the flow gained speed after the curve. A few tents were pitched sparsely on the plateau. After exchanging pleasantries and meeting with a few other guests who were there, I checked into one of the tents to make up for the sleep lost in the night long journey.

Giri Camp near Solan, Himachal
At the camp

I have a never ending fascination for the rivers and Giri River provided an ideal indulgence. Its clear water flowed gently down the mountain with a pleasant gurgle. I walked along its bank for a long distance, occasionally crossing it and feeling the current pushing my legs. Pebbles in the shallows gave way to fine sand in deeper parts which was visible far deep under the water. The same river that is in a hurry to run away in a shallow stretch turned calm and inviting where it is deep. Thick vegetation of ferns drooped from vertical walls on the bank and pearls of water condensed from them into the river.

Giri River
…pearls of water condensed from the ferns into the river

My fears that the river would be too cold were alleviated quickly. There was a bit of chill and it was not inviting enough in the morning but things changed later in the day as the sun moved up. When I saw few villagers going for a swim, it wasn’t easy to resist. With initial hesitation to jump in gone, I was soon wading in the water, resisting giggles as the fish bit my legs and tickled the senses. I found a deeper section of the river going down to 10 feet and spent nearly an hour in the river swimming or sitting on the rocks. Refreshed, but tired and hungry after the swim, had a session of refueling soon after.

Giri River

I took my camera and went for another walk in the later hours when the sun started moving downwards. Temperature dipped slowly in the sunset hours and a gentle breeze blew across the river. Sun went beyond the hills early in the valley while he was still shining brightly, and the golden hues of the evening were mild, with it being the the summer. The river continued to flow gently regardless of the time, playing melodious notes as it bumped off the rocks jutting out in the shallows. We sat by the river and watched the darkness slowly capture the mountains as the last lights of the day faded slowly.

Giri River

That night was spent huddled around a campfire, listening to stories of the highlands of Himachal from my friends amidst crackles of the burning wood as we ate our dinner. The night came early and quickly and we retired soon listening to the sounds of nature in the silence.

Giri River
At the hour of sunset

Next morning, it was already time to leave. The feeling that I was leaving too early lingered with me for a long time as we drove towards Shimla.

Continued at Driving to Shimla via Chail and Kufri