Himachal: Beautiful, majestic and child-friendly!

We have now reached the stage where all our trips are planned keeping our little wanderer’s school vacations in mind! Our itinerary too, was designed considering her interests.

Day 0: We set off on a hot (c.40°) afternoon from Mumbai and landed in Chandigarh. From Chandigarh airport, we took a cab to a hotel (Lotus Grand AKM) in Kalka. After checking in, we went to visit a Kali Mata temple, after which this place is named. It is a big and lovely temple, having idols of many deities. Having offered our prayers, we went to try a much-recommended kulfi (ice-cream)! There are two shops in Kalka with the same name – Ishar sweets – and they have the best kulfi ever 😋

Day 1: The next morning we woke up very early with a lot of excitement! We had booked tickets for the toy train that runs between Kalka and Shimla. The station was at a walking distance from the hotel and soon we were seated in the cutest train!!

(Pro tip: Bookings for the toy trains open a month in advance, so make sure to book as early as possible, as these trains have limited seats.)
It takes about 5 hours to reach Shimla and the train goes at a leisurely pace, allowing the passengers to enjoy the beauty along the route. As the train moves alongside the mountain and through the tunnels, one can view colourful trees and flowers. The stations along the route are colourful and charming.
The train we took has only one halt between Kalka and Shimla and that is at Barog. You get yummy cutlets and coffee at Barog station, but the halt is only for 10 minutes, and you’ll be confused whether to click pictures or eat 😁

Barog tunnel

Apart from this scheduled halt, our train stopped for signal at Khandaghat and Solan, giving us an opportunity to take pictures.
We reached Shimla station around 12.30 and proceeded to our hotel – Hotel Treebo Varuna. It was about a 15-20 minute walk but almost entirely uphill. We had a lazy lunch at a restaurant near our hotel and then set off for Mall Road – the most popular spot in Shimla city. Vehicles are not allowed on the way to Mall Road and Mall Road itself and it is a boon. We could walk carefree with our little wanderer running ahead of us!

Day 2: We reserved this day for local sightseeing and set off after a leisurely breakfast. Mall Road is surrounded by some more tourist spots such as Scandal Point, The Ridge, Christ Church, Rani Jhansi Park, Kali Bari temple, etc. All these places have to be covered by foot.  One can view mountains from these places and they provide excellent backdrop for pictures. Rani Jhansi Park has a nice playground. For shopping, one can visit Lower Bazaar and for food, there are many restaurants around to cater to all tastes.

View of Mall Road and the mountains beyond, from the Ridge

(Pro tip: Beware of monkeys!! Do not have any eatables in hand while roaming around.)

Day 3: We checked out from our hotel in Shimla and set off towards our next destination – Mashobra. But before that, we visited Jakhu temple. It is a beautiful temple and has a whopping 108 feet idol of Lord Hanuman, which is visible from most of Shimla city. The temple is situated on top of a mountain. You can take your vehicle up to a certain point after which there is a ~200 metre walk and several steps to reach the temple.

Hanuman temple at Jakhu as seen from Shimla city

En route to Mashobra, we halted at a place called Talai for lunch. Our only choices were a homestay and a small eatery – we chose the homestay and didn’t regret it! It is called Sharma Homestay and is run by a couple of elderly people who served us lip-smacking Maggi and samosa chat with imli (tamarind) chutney 😋
Right next to the homestay is a small pond and a meadow, which was a nice place to spend some quality time. Thereafter, we visited the Kali temple nearby and carried on with our journey.

Talai meadow and the pond, with Sharma Homestay and the temple visible in the distance

Our next halt was Carignano Nature Park. It is a lovely little place, with lots of trees, flowers, play area for kids, a tree house, etc.

Couple of glimpses of Carignano Nature Park

We then proceeded to our hotel – Divine Hills Homestay, which was to be our abode for the next 2 nights. When we reached there, we were pleasantly surprised with their personalised welcome for us 😍. Our room was large and spacious, with a couch and dining area outside, along with a balcony. The view from our room and balcony was simply stunning!!  We loved watching the sunset from there, surrounded by the mountains and the pine trees.

Stunning view from our room at Divine Hills

View from the balcony

The owners were friendly and courteous and the staff was very helpful. During our stay, we had breakfast and dinner at the hotel and the food was really good.

Day 4: After a lazy breakfast, we proceeded towards Naldehra, a small picturesque hill station. The tourist points in Naldehra are at a high altitude and can only be visited via horses. We rode through narrow pathways on the mountainside, which was an amazing experience. Our first halt was a scenic spot where numerous Bollywood movies have been shot. We then rode to a Nag (snake) temple, adjacent to which is the oldest golf course in the country. On our ride back, in the distance, we could view Shaily peak, a popular hiking spot.

Nag Temple

Oldest golf course in India

After the exciting horse ride through the mountainside, we visited Horticultural Research centre. It is a home to numerous types of trees, shrubs, plants and flowers. The staff is very knowledgeable. One can buy saplings from the nursery.
On our way back to the hotel, we halted for lunch at a small homestay. Since it was a bit late in the afternoon, we were the only customers and they prepared our meal afresh!
The rest of our evening was spent at the hotel. The staff at Divine Hills had offered to prepare a bonfire for us, but the rain gods did not favour it.
(Pro tip: Horse riding costs ₹500 per person and the ride is for c.45 mins, depending on how long you spend at a particular spot to click pictures/ enjoy scenery)

Day 5: With a feeling that our trip could not get any better, we checked out of the hotel, and how wrong we were!! The next place on our itinerary was Kufri, where the temperature is usually lower than the surrounding areas. On top of that, there had been a hailstorm that morning, making it even chillier 🥶
On our way, we paused at a place called Green Valley and the name is self-explanatory! It is a nice place to click memorable pictures with mountains and luscious greenery in the background. We then halted for some piping hot chhole kulcha and tea, which felt like a godsend!! A little way ahead, we got to see some Yaks. One can click pictures sitting on a yak for a nominal amount.

We passed by Kufri Adventure Park and Kufri Fun World, both of which offer adventure activities.
Our next destination was Himalayan Nature Park, which is a must-visit zoo. It is green, spacious and houses a variety of birds and animals, such as Brown Bear, Leopards, Goral, Sambar, Griffin, Macaws, etc.

Entrance to the Zoo

Indira Tourist Park is at a walking distance from the zoo. No entrance fees. It has a couple of restaurants, a garden and a small play area for kids. After a yummy lunch at HPTDC restaurant, and some shopping from the shops outside the Park, we headed to our abode for the night.
We had booked our stay at a place called Cheog Valley Homestay. It is located in a hamlet called Cheog in the Theog district of Himachal Pradesh.
The homestay is run by a family of 4, who are perhaps the sweetest people we have ever met!! The lady of the house is a delight to talk to and makes delicious food, reminding us of our moms. The family invites their guests to dine with them, giving the tourists a glimpse of the Himachal lifestyle. And needless to say, our cute little wanderer became an instant favourite with them 😀
The day we checked in, aunty had prepared Siddu for us and it was mouthwatering!!! Siddu is a bread, stuffed with sweet or savoury filling and is a traditional pahadi dish, eaten with ghee.
Although this was a homestay, our room was no less than a decent hotel’s – clean, spacious, and with an absolutely breathtaking view from the window!!

Our room in Cheog

Mesmerizing view from our window

During nighttime, temperature had fallen to single digits, and our hosts kindly provided us portable heater for the night 😇

Day 6: The next morning we were served Lotte, a pancake-like pahadi dish, to be eaten with ghee. After the yummy breakfast and the heartwarming hospitality, we thanked aunty profusely and checked out. Had we known we would have such a good time here, we would have booked our stay for much longer. In terms of sightseeing, there are a couple of temples nearby and a beautiful hiking trail.

From Cheog, we proceeded towards Chail Palace (of 3 idiots fame). The palace is open to tourists for visiting and also offers rooms to stay. Although we were not staying there, we did check out the Maharaja suite and it spelt royalty! We had lunch in the garden restaurant, spent some time roaming the grounds, then set off for Kali ka Tibba.

Chail Palace

Kali ka Tibba is the highest temple in Himachal Pradesh, situated on the peak of a mountain and offers a magnificent 360° view. After a lovely afternoon, clicking loads of pictures in the temple premises, we left for our next abode.

Kali ka Tibba and the surrounding view

One of the thoughts while planning this trip was to let our little one experience different types of accommodation. Hence, after two hotels and two varied homestays, our next check-in was a camp in the middle of a forest!!
The Jungle Stays Camp in Kandaghat-Chail road consisted of Swiss cottages, which have some basic amenities. Meals can either be ordered to the tent or can be had at the common area. There are some hiking trails and adventure activities around the campsite. One can also spot several birds here early morning.

Jungle Stays Camp

Day 7: After a comfortable night’s sleep and a good breakfast, we checked out from the camp and started off on the last leg of our trip.

On the way, we took a halt at Sadhupul, a dainty little village between Chail and Solan. The main tourist attraction here is a small but picturesque bridge over a river stream, which has become a popular picnic spot.

View from Sadhupul

As we drove towards Kasauli, we could feel the stark difference between clean air and tranquility of the mountains to the hotchpotch of the city. In Kasauli, we left our car in the paid parking lot, and explored Mall Road by foot. Mall Road here was thronged by weekenders. While the shops sold decent stuff – clothes, toys, souvenirs, etc. – they did not entertain bargaining much. We had lunch at a small outlet, shopped some more and then proceeded to the final hotel of our trip.
In Kasauli too, we had booked a homestay (Mahal Farms), which was built along a mountainside and provided gorgeous views. Their service was more professional than personal though – the staff was quite particular about adherence to meal timings. Nevertheless, it was a beautiful property and provided us ample backdrops for our pics! 😁

Mahal Farms and the view below

Day 8: We checked out post breakfast and headed for Chandigarh airport. With fond memories of the mountains and the lovely people, we returned home, back to the grind.