A Day Beyond Shimla to Narkanda

8/8/2019 A Day Beyond Shimla to Narkanda

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A day beyond Shimla to Narkanda

One day we planned to visit Shimla and Kufri. So I started the journey from

Ludhiana and my friends from Delhi. We met at Chandigarh ISBT to catch a bus to

Shimla. There are two major bas terminus in Chandigarh. One in Sec 17 and another

one in Sec 43. You have to catch the buses for Himachal Pradesh from Sec- 43 busterminus. We catched a Keylong Depot bus, that was going to Keylong via Shimla. It

was early morning around 4 AM. The bus passes through the beautiful hilly terrain

of Himalaya’s Shivalik Range. The beauty of nature is spread all around you on the

way. En- route to Shimla bus stopped once for the tea and snacks. It is around 4-5

hrs bus journey from Chandigarh to Shimla. There were different types of people in

the bus. There were tourists, local folks and students of ITI going back to their home

after vacation. We enjoyed our conversation with the students, even some of them

from Keylong invited us to visit Keylong and to stay at their places. Anyway, we

thanked them and terminated our journey at Shimla around 9 AM.

[caption id="attachment_8487" align="aligncenter" width="448" caption="Chirst

Church, The Mall"][/caption]

You can also take narrow gauge train from Kalka Railway Station to Shimla. Kalka is

well connected to the major cities in India through the Rail network.There are

ordinary as well as AC deluxe trains available for Shimla. In my previous visit I went

to Shimla by this train only. The train runs normally at the speed of 25-30 kms per

hour and take around 5 hours from Kalka to reach Shimla. It passes through approx

http://www.ghumakkar.com/?attachment_id=8487



100 tunnels and number of bridges. The slow moving train give you a lot of

opportunities to enjoy the hills and take the photographs.

[caption id="attachment_8488" align="aligncenter" width="448" caption="Train to

Shimla"] [/caption]

[caption id="attachment_8489" align="aligncenter" width="448" caption="Narrow




Gauge"] [/caption]

It was a pleasant beautiful morning in Shimla. We decided to stay in a hotel. So

contacted a local person who came to ask if we were in the need of

accommodation. When we were going towards the hotel, we changed our mind to

stay there and decided to proceed further beyond Shimla. Since it was my second

visit to Shimla, I too want to proceed beyond Shimla. We went to a restaurant at

Mall Road, used their wash-room to get fresh and had breakfast there.




Meanwhile I met a travel agent, who offered a sightseeing package at the cost of

Rs.1500. It included Green Valley, Jhaku Temple, Fagu, Kufri, Narkanda, Hathu Peak

and some other places. In the month of March there was no snow in the Shimla. So

the agent said us that there is some snow at Hathu Peak near Narkanda. I have

earlier visited Sri Nagar, Gulmarg, Mussoorrie etc, but never able to find that

exciting white piece (snow). So we said yes to the agent and bargained the package

at Rs.1200.




It was a Tata India Cab and we started journey from The Mall, Shimla to Narkanda.

First we went to Green Valley. It is a road-side beautiful green valley full of Deodar

Trees.

[caption id="attachment_8492" align="aligncenter" width="800" caption="Green

Valley"]




From there we went to Kufri. It is around 19 kms from Shimla. It gives some great

views of valley all around. There is a nature park upside the hills and you have to

hire a pony (cost around Rs. 150 per person) to reach there soon. Otherwise this 2-3

kms climb on foot can delay your onward journey. Anyway, we skipped to go upside,

clicked some photographs around and started moving further. In Kufri you can get

an opportunity to ride a Yak. The owner of Yak will charge Rs. 10 or 20 for a single

photo on the back of Yak.




Then we reached to Fagu Valley approx 3 kms from Kufri. It was a perfect place to

relax all day away from the madness of the Shimla. We stopped there for half an

hour to clicked photos and then moved to Narkanda.




There were apple garden all around on Shimla-Narkanda Road. It is the Himachal

Heartland for the apple production.




Narkanda is a quaint sleepy town, 64 kms away from Shimla. When you are in

Narkanda, you feel free from all the tensions of the world. At first glance, its look

likes an ordinary town. But when u started climb on the hills to Hathu Peak, u get

thrilled with the stunning beauty all around. It’s a very narrow road with dangerous

turns, slips and only one vehicle can go from one side. My friend was very nervous

through the climbing phase and started crying to go back.




Anyhow, we continued further and reached at a parking place. From there we have

to climb on foot only till the temple on the top. There hills were covered by the

snow, not fully, but at least we could enjoy that. This was my first encounter with

snow. We climb further and enjoyed the snow. After 10 minutes of walk, we reached

to a point from where you can see snow covered top of Himalayas clearly. It seems

so near to you.




We spent at least two hours there and then returned back to the base of the hills at

Narkanda. We did our lunch in a restaurant there and started downward journey.

We reached to Shimla by 6 PM in the evening. We walked on the Mall, enjoyed ice

creams. There are lots of Ice Creams Parlors at The Mall and it seems like a tradition

to enjoy the icecream, while walking on the Mall. This is not with the case of Shimla

only; I have experienced this at Mussoorie, Dharamshala, Dehradun etc also. The

ice-cream is the best way to enjoy the evening walk in the hilly areas.




When we went to bus stand to return back, we found that almost all the good Volvo

or Express Buses had been already booked. So if you there in Shimla and want to

return back by bus, book your return ticket in advance. Around 8 PM, we got a bus

to Chandigarh and came back to our destinations. It was a wonderful trip to get

more familiar with "Devabhumi Himachal".


A Day Beyond Shimla to Narkanda

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