Escape to The Himachal splendour

Tripoto
Day 2

After Breakfast at Hotel in shimla, We proceeded to kufri sightseeing tour.

Kufri is a small hill station in Shimla district of Himachal Pradesh state in India. It is located 13 km from the state capital Shimla on the National Highway No.22. The name Kufri is derived from the word "Kufr" meaning a lake in the local language. The region around Shimla including Kufri was once a part of the Kingdom of Nepal until the area was ceded to the British Raj as part of the Sugauli Treaty. This region remained obscure from the rest of the world until the British 'discovered' it in 1819.

Kufri has a small snow sports centre which offers activities like zipline, Snow skiing, gokarting etc

A horse ride costing about 250 per person would take you to the apple orchards, Nag devta temple and a couple of other places
On the way back to our Hotel we visited the Himalayan zoo which boasts of animals of the region like the antelope, Monal, Snow leopard etc.
NOTE: zoo is closed on Tuesday

Afternoon we were back to Hotel by 2 pm finished our Lunch n proceeded to other places

1.Jakhu Hills (Hanuman Mandir)
2. Christ church
3. Scandal point
4. Mall road

Day 3

This day began with an usual breakfast at the hotel and we began travelling towards Manali.
On the way we drove through Mandi Twon (Also known as Chota Kashi), Pandoh Dam and Kullu Town.

Not to forget shopping at Kullu Women's association Shawl centre where you get woollen shawls, sweaters and coats at a reasonable cost.

We reached Manali by evening and checked into our Hotel

Hotel : Silvermoon, Manali Aleo

Manali is a hill station nestled in the mountains of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh near the northern end of the Kullu Valley, at an altitude of 2,050 m (6,726 ft) in the Beas River Valley. It is located in the Kullu district, about 270 km (168 mi) north of the state capital, Shimla. The small town, is the beginning of an ancient trade route to Ladakh and from there over the Karakoram Pass on to Yarkand and Khotan in the Tarim Basin.

Day 4

Today morning after breakfast we drove
straight to Rohtang Pass (elevation
3,978 m - 13,050 ft). Here you can enjoy
the snow and can also do the activities
on snow like skking, snow scooter ride,
horse riding and also you can enjoy the
30 minutes high paragliding fly from
Gulaba.
Rohtang Pass is a high mountain pass
that connects Manali to the Lahaul and
Spiti district and also to Ladakh region in
Jammu and Kashmir. The Pass is an
ancient trade route between the rest of
India and the upper region of the
Himalayas. Culturally it connects a
predominantly Hindu region with a
Buddhist one. Geographically it
separates the wet and green lower lands
from the arid high lands.The Rohtang
Pass is blessed with abundant natural
beauty which contradicts the meaning of
its name. 'Rohtang' translates to "a pile
of corpses". Here you can have a
megnificent view of high altitude
mountain peaks whcih are located at
elevetion of 6000m or above.
Enroute visit Marhi, Gulaba, Kothi and
Solang Valley. Solang Valley is a side
valley on the way to Rohtang Pass. The
giant lawn slopes of Solang Valley
provide great opportunities for summer
and winter sports like paragliding,
skating, zorbing and skiing.

Day 5

As usual after breakfast we proceeded for Nagar castle sightseeing tour.

We visited Nagar Castle, Art Gallery at Nagar and on en route Nagar we also visited Sadhya Gayatri temple and ancient Shiva temple at Jagatsukh.

The Castle was converted into a rest house, a hundred year back and in 1978 this ancient building was handed over to HPTDC to run as a heritage hotel. This medieval Castle was built by Raja Sidh Singh of Kullu around 1460 A.D. The hotel overlooks the Kullu Valley and apart from the spectacular view and superb location this has a flavour of authentic western Himalayan architecture. Here, a gallery houses the paintings of the Russian artist Nicholas Roerich. Naggar also has three other old shrines. Hotel Castle is an unique medieval stone and wood mansion, once the home to the Raja of Kullu and now an HPTDC Heritage hotel.

Nicholas Roerich art gallery - Nicholas Roerich (October 9, 1874 – December 13, 1947) – known also as Nikolai Konstantinovich was a Russian painter, writer, archaeologist, theosophist, perceived by some in Russia as an enlightener, philosopher, and public figure, who in his youth was influenced by a movement in Russian society around the occult. Born in Saint Petersburg, Russia to the family of a well-to-do notary public, he lived in various places around the world until his death in Nagar. Roerich was a dedicated activist for the cause of preserving art and architecture during times of war. He earned several nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Day 6

Today morning after breakfast we checked out from our hotel and proceeded straight to Dharmashala. (Dharamshala is a city in the upper reaches of the Kangra Valley and is surrounded by dense coniferous forest consisting mainly of stately Deodar cedar trees). We spent overnight at Dharamshala..

Hotel : SkyHeaven Resorts

Day 7

After breakfast we checked out from our Hotel and proceeded for sightseeing of Dharamshala

We visited St. John Church, Mcleodganj Market, Dalai Lama Temple, Bhagsunath Temple, Water Fall,  Naddi view point, HPCA Cricket Stadium, Dal Lake and Mata Kunal Pathri Temple

By 12 P.M. we started driving towards Dalhousie and reached by evening 4 P.M.

Dalhousie is a hill station situated on 5 hills in northern state of Himachal Pradesh, India. It was named after Lord Dalhousie who was the British Governor-General in India while establishing this place as a summer retreat. It is built on and around five hills, Kathalagh, Potreyn, Terah, Bakrota and Bhangora. Located on the western edge of the Dhauladhar mountain range of the Himalayas, it is surrounded by snow-capped peaks. Dalhousie is situated between 6,000 and 9,000 feet (2,700 m) above sea level. Scottish and Victorian architecture is prevalent in the bungalows and churches in the town.

In the evening we took sometime exploring the Tibetan market, Gandhi Chowk and returned back to our hotel for Overnight stay

Hotel : New Palace, Dalhousie

Day 8

Here we opted for a half day excursion to Khajjiar

Khajjiar is a hill station located approximately 24 km from Dalhousie. Khajjiar sits on a small plateau with a small stream-fed lake in the middle that has been covered over with weeds. The hill station is surrounded by green meadows and dense forests. It is about 6,500 feet (2,000 m) above sea level in the foothills of the Dhauladhar ranges of the Western Himalayas and snowy peaks can be seen in the distance. It is also well known as Mini Switzerland (Mini Swiss).

After Half day tour of Khajjiar we started back to Chandigarh for our return journey and checked into Hotel Skylark on Zirakpur Highway

Day 9

By 10 A.M. after breakfast we checked out from our Hotel and proceeded to Airport for our return journey to Bangalore

Overall it was a memorable one with loads of excitement and the astounding nature's beauty, ever friendly people, Amazing hospitality and an unforgettable journey all together. Would love to visit this place again in the Future