Chail-Hiker’s Paradise

Chail: A beautiful place, just 43kms from the Capital of Himachal i.e. Shimla.It is surrounded by lush forests with a commanding view of the snow-capped Himalayas. It was also the former Summer Capital of Patiala ( A city in Punjab State of the country).Chail is built on three hills namely: Rajgarh Hill,Pandhewa Hill,Sadh Tiba .
There are certain prime attractions to visit. Lets see them one by one:-

Maharaja’s Palace :-
A little history behind this palace. Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala built Chail as his ‘summer capital’ when he was banned from Shimla after a clash with the British in 1891.Never one to be left behind, the Maharaja conjured his very own Xanadu, the Chail Palace, a magnificent mansion in surroundings that overshadowed any resort the British commanded. The magnificent Rajgarh palace, with elaborate furnishings, built in 1891. With comfortable log huts and cottages, dense forests and serene walks, sprawling lawns, a childrens park, a `lovers hill’, and sports facilities, Chail is a resort in the real sense of the term.

Cricket Ground :-
Surrounded by gigantic deodar and well maintained Chail Cricket ground is the highest cricket ground in the world. Built in 1893, this cricket pitch located at the height of 2,144m is also used as polo ground.

Sidh Baba Ka Mandir (A Temple) :-
Maharaja Bhupinder Singh had originally intended this to be the site of his palace, and had even started building it, but as is believed, a ’sidh’, saintly person appeared in the Maharaja’s dream, and declared that this was the place where he had meditated. Consequently, Bhupinder Singh shifted his venue and built a temple on the spot.

Something about Chail Sanctuary :-

Chail is a hill station visited by many tourists. The Deodar and Oak forests with grasslands around the township are the abode of wildlife. Chail sanctuary was notified on 21st March 1976 near Chail Town in District Shimla and covers an area of 10,854.36 hectares. Barking deer and khalij pheasant are often spotted at dusk and dawn in the sanctuary.I guess you like this place. So just pack your bags and look out for this ……………..

Dalhousie : Another cool place

Hi friends, Today I am going to tell you about another good hill station of Himachal Pradesh: Dalhousie.  It is a little hill station that still retains much of it’s charm. The man and the place; a name and a hill station. Dalhousie, the gift of Lord Dalhousie to Himachal Pradesh. Its lush forests of pine, cedar and deodar attract nature-lovers, along with the usual throng of tourists seeking shelter from the sweltering heat of the plains. Dalhousie is an enchanting little town with a colonial hangover.
Set on five hills and facing the Pir Panjal range, one can view the Ravi, Beas and Chenab rivers from certain vantage points. Fold after fold of mountains, snow-capped and pristine, can be viewed from the jagged Pangi Valley, which is a trekker’s paradise. If your heart beats for Kashmir, head here, for this is the only part of Himachal Pradesh that juts into Kashmir.

Lets discuss about some places of interest in this lovely hill station:-
Bhuri Singh Museum: Bhuri Singh Museum is a hidden gem in Chamba and a must see for any serious visitor to Dalhousie and Chamba. The museum is a storehouse of the original Pahari art and sculpture.

Churches and Christianity: St. Francis Church, Dalhousie – 1894. This Catholic church is located on a hilltop at Subash Chowk (aka Charing Cross). The money for the church was raised by army and civil officers. It has beautiful glasswork and intricate stonework. The architectural design is Scottish.

  
Laxmi Narayan Temple:- This temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu and was built more than 150 years ago. The temple enshrines a beautiful image of Lord Vishnu. The temple is frequented by local devotees. The temple is located in Sadar Bazar approximately 200 mtrs. from Subhash Chowk. Kalatope (10 km from Dalhousie):- A wildlife sanctuary, Kalatope, is inhabited by many species of animals, which include the ghoral, barking deer, and the Himalayan black bear, and a large avianfauna population. There is also a Forest Resthouse, for those who wish to spend the night in the sanctuary.
Keep watching this space ………………………..

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Another beauty : CHAMBA

Today we are going to talk about a beautiful destination called Chamba. Blessed with some of the most spectacular and beautiful landscapes anywhere, it is a travellers paradise. In the higher reaches of the Ravi Valley, just 56 km from Dalhousie, Chamba is perched on a little plateau about 100 m above the river. The capital of an ancient kingdom, Chamba was founded in 920 AD by Raja Sahil Varma who named it after his favorite daughter Champavati. Regarding climate, Chamba is 726m. above sea level. The maximum temperature of Chamba town in summer is around 36 Celsius. Winter temperature comes down to almost OoC. Heavy woollens are required in winter and light woollens or tropical clothes in summer.

There are lot of places which we can see in Chamba . Here are few of them :-

• Lakshminarayanan Temple :-

In a group are six ancient temples carved in stone, with tall vimanas. Dedicated to both Shiva and Vishnu, they were built around the 8th century AD. The Lakshminarayan Temple, the oldest in this group, is richly ornamented.

• Chamunda Devi Temple:-
  

Just 1 km from the Chaugan is a temple overlooking the river, Dedicated to the goddess Chamunda Devi, the temple is embellished with fine wood carving.

• Hari Rai Temple :-

This 11th century temple located near the Chaugan, has an exquisite bronze image of the Chaturmurti – the four armed Vishnu, enshrined in the sanctum.

• Maharaja’s Palace :-

This palace belongs to the erstwhile rulers of Chamba and the most outstanding buildings in the town. Of these, Rang Mahal or ‘the Painted Palace’, with towers on either side, is undoubtedly the most interesting one. There is one room in the building, the walls of which are painted with murals depicting episodes from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

• There are certain famous fairs and festivals of Chamba :-

Chamba’s annual Suhi Mata Festival, which lasts for four days in early April, commemorates Rani Champavati, the wife of the 10th century Raja Sahil Verma. Only women and children participate in the festival, dancing on the Chowgan before processing with an image of Champavati and banners of the Rajput solar emblem to the Suhi Mata temple. Manjar Fair is a week long festival of singing and dancing at the start of August to celebrate the growth of maize. The Manimahesh Yatra to the sacred tarn of Manimahesh is held immediately after the festival of Janamashtmi. Chrewal, Badronjo or Patroru is a festival of fire and flowers and a time for purification of the fields during the month of August. In same month several places in Chamba celebrates the Gugga fair, which is connected with the worship of ‘Gugga’, the Nag Devta.

I think its not enough right ……….

A Unique place: Ladakh

Ladakh:-

Ladakh is a land abounding in awesome physical features, set in an enormous and spectacular environment. Bounded by two of the world’s mightiest mountain ranges, the Karakoram in the north and the Great Himalaya in the south, it is traversed by two other parallel chains, the Ladakh Range and the Zanskar Range. Ladakh was once covered by an extensive lake system, the vestiges of which still exist on its south-east plateaux of Rupshu and Chushul, in the drainage basins or lakes of Tso-moriri, Tso-kar and Pangong-tso. But the main source of water is winter snowfall.  Lets talk about the culture of this place:- People here exhibits a natural joie-de-vivre, which is given free rein by the region’s ancient traditions. Archery is a pastime for all in summer. Among the Buddhists this sport often takes the form of open-air parties accompanied by dance and song. The game of polo is yet nother proud element of the popular culture. Archery is an ancestral sport of Ladakh, which is part of the culture. In Leh and its surrounding villages, archery festivals are held during the summer months, with a lot of fun and fanfare. Polo, the other traditional sport of Ladakh is indigenous to the western Himalayas, especially to Baltistan and Gilgit. It was probably introduced into Ladakh in the mid-17th century by King Singge Namgyal, whose mother was a Balti princess.

Except this, Ladakh offers many options for undertaking adventure activities amidst landscapes of spectacular, rugged beauty. These mainly include river rafting, mountaineering and trekking. Ladakh offers a range of rafting options on the Indus and its major tributaries. The best stretch for professionally guided runs in white water is on the Indus between Spituk and Nimu or Saspol . The trekking season normally extends from early June to mid-October. But short, localised treks within the central Indus valley can be undertaken even in May.

                                                            The journey continues …………………………

Something about Spiti Valley

Today, we will talk about Spiti Valley:-

Spiti is the sub division of Lahaul & Spiti district with its hqrs. at Kaza. It is called “Little Tibet” because it has almost the same terrain, vegetation & climate . Spiti also means “Middle Country”. It lies between Tibet, Ladakh, Kinnaur, Lahaul & Kulu. From Shimla via Kinnaur there is a motorable road which remains open upto Kaza for 8 to 9 months. About 10kms. ahead of Pooh, satluj enters India near Shipki la & Spiti river joins it at Khab. The road then goes to Sumdo via Hangrang valley.

From Sumdo Spiti valley starts. The Spiti river flows fast through deep gorges at some places. The valley is not wide but there are villages and some fields where people grow barley, buck- wheat, peas & vegetables. It has an area of 4800 sq. kms. Some inhabitants have adopted Budhism as there faith and Bhoti is the spoken language. The people are simple and honest
The main Spiti valley is split into eastern and western valleys. They are connected with Ladakh & Tibet on eastern side & Kinnaur and Kulu on western side through high passes. This area is known as the fossil park of the world. The mountains of this area are devoid of any vegetation, the rocks have been laid bare by the erosion of wind, snow and sun over thousands of years.

There are a lot of monastries in Spiti. Lets talk about some of them:-

1. Kye Monastery:-
   The Kye gompa, built in the 14th century, presents a fascinating sight to the trekker. Located on a hilltop overlooking Kaza, this cluster of white–roofed buildings is rather similar to a fort. The Kye gompa, built in the 14th century, presents a fascinating sight to the trekker. Located on a hilltop overlooking Kaza, this cluster of white–roofed buildings is rather similar to a fort. It is perhaps the largest and oldest repository of Buddhist learning in the Western Himalayas.

2. Tabo Monastery:-

Overlooking the steep banks of the Spiti River and lying between high brown hills at the crossroads of two ancient trade routes is Tabo. It is referred to as the Tabo Chos – hKhor – the doctrinal circle or doctrinal enclave.
Tabo is one of the oldest Buddhist monasteries in the Spiti valley. It is also one of the most important Gompa in the entire Tibetan Buddhist world. This is the place where the present Dalai Lama will retire to from his duties.

There are certain cave attractions also :

Opposite the village, some caves are locally known as Duwang, with some famous ancient murals. Pho Gompa the only surviving has early murals showing pure Indian influence. The caves are being gradually restored after being damaged over the years. The main reason for which photography using flash is strictly prohibited. 

Still more to come. Watch it………………..