Chail is a beautiful, peaceful and lovely small hill station nestled in valleys of Himachal Pradesh. It is situated around 40 kms from Shimla, 110 kms from Chandigarh and 360 kms from Delhi. One of the intersting facts about Chail is that it is situated at an altitude of 2250 meters, even higher than Shimla.
We visited Chail during holidays of June,2014.
Day1 : We started our journey from Zirakpur at 10 am in the morning and reached Chail at around 3:00 pm. It was all because of bad condition of the road from Kandaghat till Chail that we reached later than expected. Another problem was hotel booking which we hadn’t done in advance and I would recommend fellow Ghumakkars to book hotel in advance if you are visiting Chail during summer holidays. Being the peak season, all hotels were booked. However we got to stay at Rashi Resorts, Chail. It is a nice resort and we got to stay at one of their individual huts.
Sunset in Chail
Resort Hut
Rashi Resort
Day 2: After breakfast we proceeded to Chail Palace Hotel, once owned by Bhupinder Singh, Maharaja of Patiala. Well known for its architecture, the palace has now been converted to a heritage hotel. Many films have been shot here. You can also enjoy delicious food at their restaurant. Do try their cold coffee..it was yum!!! There is also a drinks bar for those who love to booze. We came back to the town after spending some time at this beautiful place and proceeded to Kali Ka Tibba temple. Kali Ka Tibba is a must visit place in Chail. Being located at a hill top it , you can enjoy mesmerized view of Chail valley and breathe cool and fresh air. The road leading to the place is very narrow and poor in condition making it quite an adventurous experience. It was around mid of the day and our next destination was Chail Cricket Ground. It is being used as a play ground of the Military school in Chail. We were disappointed with the place as entry to the playground is restricted to everyone except school staff and students. We came back to our resort after strolling for some time and buying wooden souvenirs from Chail Mall Road. Compared to Shimla’s crowded long Mall Road, Chail Mall Road only has a few shops and eating joints. There was nothing much to purchase in Chail but you know it is a custom in our homes that if any family member goes on a trip, they have to bring gifting specialties of that place.
Kali ka Tibba
Himachali Dress
Cricket Ground
Chail Palace
View From Kali Ka Tibba
Day 3: We started our journey back early in the morning and decided to have breakfast at a happening place Sadhupul on our way back to Chandigarh. Sadhupul is located 13 kms before Kandaghat. It is the most amazing place I have ever been. A perfect place to hang out with your friends. Sadhupul is a small village based around a small bridge constructed over the river Ashwini. A restaurant is being run on the river Ashwini. You can sit on chairs laid on the running river water under huts. Don’t worry water level is not so high if it is not monsoon season. In fact some of the sitting area was reserved that day by army personnel for some celebration. It was just an amazing experience. My two and half years old daughter was not willing to sit on chairs at any cost, she kept standing and playing in running water.
Sadhupul Restaurant
River restuarant Sadhupul
We enjoyed hot aaloo parathas and tea while sitting in cold river water and then returned back to Chandigarh with sweet memories of a lovely hill station Chail.