Part 5: Kufri and Naldehra

Way to Kufri:
Details:
Kufri is almost 16 Km from Shimla and is on NH22 (National Highway 22). It is the place where "Sugauli Treaty" was signed between India and Nepal. Kufri is pne of the famous tourist spot near Shimla and adventure-seeking travelers throng Kufri in winters to enjoy skiing and tobogganing along its snow-covered slopes. The Skiing season spreads between November to February and the tourist inflow is at its peak during winters.

Main attractions of Kufri:

Mashru Peak: The highest peak in Kufri.

Indira Tourist Park: The Indira Tourist Park is near the Himalayan Nature Park and provides panoramic view of the locations around. 

With this much of basic information from the driver we drove towards the place. The surroundings were beautiful without any doubt and the misty morning added enough to its beauty. There were several stops on the way from where snaps can be taken. We halted at one such place to see the green valley. As far as we can see there were green trees which looked like a fresh carpet. At the end of the road several tourists gathered and were capturing the beautiful moments within their camera. Some local people were also thronging here and there with different wild animals to earn money for their livings.

After spending some time we continued our journey and reached Kufri. It was crowded already and the only way to the peak is to hire horse. We hired two horses and went ahead. The road was steep, filled with mud (from ice) and very slippery. So one had to be very careful while riding the horse. Accidents happened where couple of tourists fell down and injured themselves. We proceeded with extreme care.

The top of the hill was flat with different shops and a temple. These shops displayed some of the local artifacts crafted beautifully. Wooded horse, winter clothes were among them.

We visited the temple which was a pretty old one. The other side of the temple was at the edge of the peak and we can see reminiscent of snow way down from there. We hurriedly ran down to see those white beauties.

After spending couple of hours we came down again through that risky road and started towards “Naldehra”.

Our experience in Kufri was a mixed one. The time we chose was probably wrong as every where there was water coming out of the snow. Otherwise it was a nice place.

We drove on with the sweet memories of Kufri towards our next destination “Naldehra”.

                                                                                       

Part 4

Explore:
I was awakened by a beaming sun light that fell on my face through the small gap of the curtain in the window. I got up hurriedly and found it is already 6 o'clock in the morning. The long journey has made me so tired that I slept like a hibernating snake. My wife was still asleep and it took me one second to wake her up using one drop of chilled water :P.
After a quick dressing up we came down stairs. The sun light has not reached that side of the hill and it was very cold. But the other side was lightened up by the sun and a warm atmosphere was created that we realized soon.
We came down the stairs and took the small road infront. Shimla was not fully awaken that time. Only a few people, morning cab services were rushing. The hills were covered up with a thin layer of fog as we started strolling accross the empty streets.

After walking a few meters we crossed a small tunnel and came opposite site of the hill and felt the warmth of the morning. It was pleasant and enjoyable. From the hill top small villages appear to be a perfect picture in the morning. The small toy train track was deserted with a couple of brids flocking in the station. The whole area was so enchanting that after such a long when i finally decided to write about them, they were still fresh in the memory.

We could not walk for long as our driver gave us a call that remined about our plan for the city tour. We hurriedly came back to our hotel and had our breakfast. The car came and we were off to our city tour.
We planned to visit famous Kufri and Nalderha that the hotel manager had told in lot details.

For fellow Travellers:
Places that be visited around shimla are:
1. Kufri (Approx 16 Km from Shimla)
2. Naldehra (Approx 25 Km from Shimla)
3. Kasauli (Approx 78 Km from Shimla)
4. Fagu (Approx 23 Km from Shimla)
5. Chail (Approx 45 Km from Shimla)

Also within the city itself there are several places of interest. like
1. Shimla Mall
2. Shimla Kalibari

How to Roam:
After reaching Shimla one can go to the taxi stand and bargain for a cab for these site seeing. Typical taxi stand can be seen in any crossing or beside road.
If not good enough in bargaining then another option is to contact Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) and make some arrangements.
Also each hotel has several contacts for getting a cab for these site seeing, so such arrangements can also be opted for.
If you are tech savvy then browsing internet also can give few cab owner contact details for prior booking.
                                                                                                                         

Part 3

End less road:
Our car speed through the wide streets of Chandigarh. We went past many unknown villages, towns and after almost 2 hrs journey we reached Kalka. As we moved through, slowly the wide straight roads started becoming narrow with sharp turns. A change in the climate also could be felt as we were approaching nearer to the great mountain.
It took almost 4 and half hours when we started seeing the hills of Shimla with high pine trees. The road turns were becoming too sharper and the outside temperature also fell to considerably low. We were so charmed by the beauty of nature that when we reached to our hotel we did not even notice. Being a resident of a crowded metro like Kolkata, we were too much relaxed seeing the huge open area with boundless sky, range of mountains covered with pine and so many other unknown trees.
The sky was colored in crimson and the huge shadows of the hills laid long back behind those. Sun played a hide and seek game with us as we slowly drove through the narrow lanes of Shimla.Our hotel arrived and we stepped out. A shivering cold greeted us as we stood on a hill top. It was a majestic view and we could see through a long distance.

It was getting dark so we left our car and entered in the room. It was the month of March still the temperature was way down as we covered ourselves with huge blanket. After a long tiring day, traveling almost 1800 KM we finally reached our destination. We soon fell asleep targeting to wake up early so that nothing could be missed from this spectacular hill station.

For Fellow Travellers:
There are several ways to reach Shimla from any part of India.
1. First travel to Delhi by air or by train.
2. From Delhi Shimla is almost 370 KM on road and one can take bus, cab or volvo buses.
3. Another option is via train. Delhi is connected with Kalka by a broad gauge train. From Kalka tourists can travel to Shimla via the toy train. This journey is spectacular as the train route passes through the beautiful hills of Shimla. It crosses some 102 tunnels and 87 bridges in its way.
4. Another option is to reach Chandigarh and from there take the road to travel to Shimla. This distance would be somewhere near about 122 KM and takes about 5 hours to complete. There are several options like hire a cab, or a bus for this journey. Reaching Chandigarh can be completed via air or via on road from Delhi
5. There are several ways to reach Kalka from delhi on train. From Kalka Shimla is about 90 KM which also can be completed by either booking a cab or by taking bus services.
 

Part 2

Chalo Delhi:

It was 10 o’clock in the morning when our flight landed in Delhi’s old airport. It was my first visit to the nation’s capital so was quite exited to get out. The weather was perfectly soothing in the month of late February. The temperature was warm (not too hot) and a gust of chilled wind welcomed us as we stepped out from the airplane. After collecting our baggage from the conveyer belt we boarded on the air port provided bus towards the newly built international terminal.

The wide roads, clean and beautiful surroundings made me amazed of the nation’s capital. My astonishment reached at its peak when we reached the international airport. It is an architectural marvel, with its astounding design, cleanliness and organized system. The place was beautifully decorated with different high end merchandise brands. People of different ages were enjoying the surroundings as we sat in front of a coffee shop and completed our lunch. We were too impressed by the airport and could not resist ourselves from roaming its different parts. Time spent without our notice and suddenly we heard announcement of our flight to Chandigarh.

We rushed to the check in terminal and boarded on a small carrier. The aircraft took of on time and after 40 minutes we reached our destination.

As we walked out of the small airport our driver greeted us with a smiling face. He was a perfect “north Indian” and his tone of Hindi pleased us. We put our baggage behind the car and our journey started.

Part 1

Battle ground 2011 hunting for the place:

When I thought of touring India floods of ideas rushed in the memory. It is difficult to select a place as India can boast of thousands of places to visit. After a long round of discussions with my better half we finalized to visit Shimla & Manali, the place that was still unseen to me.

As our schedule was approaching within a very short time span, lots of activities need to be completed. Things became fast paced in the daily life and words like “shopping”, “planning” started getting importance.

Booking air tickets seemed to be a difficult task considering both budget and time, but some how we manage to get those. After the air tickets hotels were also booked and we waited eagerly for the d-day to come.

It was expected to a great holiday; break from the daily busy life of Kolkata.

Pack the Bag: 

As our holidays were approaching nearer, our excitement was also increasing. A sense of getting rid from the daily hustle was creating an unknown joy in our minds and hearts. Though the bags were packed few days earlier they were frequently got opened in order to review and reorganize the belongings.

D-Day: 

At last the d-day arrived. It was 3:40 in the morning we wake up to catch the earliest flight to Delhi. Our rout plan was Kolkata to Delhi, then Delhi to Chandigarh and finally Chandigarh to Shimla.

Our car drove fast on the Kalyani express way to wards the Dum Dum airport. We reached on time and bid adieu to the relatives. We checked on time and finally the plane took off for Delhi.