Nature At Its Best- KASAULI – Part IV (Shimla – Kasauli)

Sahil Sethi

2 years ago

DAY-4 — 30th March’11
SHIMLA – KASAULI – CHANDIGARH – DELHI – 415 Km

In this part I will only discuss about Kasauli.We woke up at 7am as we knew this would be a long tiring day. We were ready by 9am. Cleared all the Hotel Bills and then the porter took the luggage to the Parking area. I switched on the engine at 9:15 am. Encountered a traffic jam in the Shimla City which wasted about 20 minutes. Then as the roads were clean and less traffic we were maintaining good speed and crossed Shoghi around 9:50 am. Crossed Kandaghat and Solan in no time. Then took the Solan Barog road . A Starter Pic –

Views enroute Kasauli

Just then I was feeling that the car was bubbling ie. it was going overspeed due to greater tyre pressure. Then started going a little slow in search of a mechanic. We found a road side mechanic and when he checked the air pressure of the tyres , it was greater than the normal. When I had started from Delhi I had made the tyre pressure accurate. The mechanic told that due to continuous driving in hot temperature , the air pressure inside the tyres was increased.

Exiting Shimla

Views From Barog

He reduced the air pressure to normal and we again resumed our journey. By 11:30 am we were at Dharampur where we stopped for refueling. After refueling , As we had not done the breakfast , we stopped at Giana Da Dhaba for the Breakfast cum lunch. From Dharampur , turned right for Kasauli on MDR 10 (Major District Road No. 10).

Kasauli , Here We Come…

KASAULI – There are some hill stations which along with their old charm , retain the cleanliness. One of them is Kasauli. Cratered in the steep slopes of Himachal Pradesh, Kasauli is a small cantonment town located in the Solan District. It is at an average altitude of 1900m (6000 feet). It is located 78 Km from Shimla , 67 Km from Chandigarh and around 325 Km from New Delhi.

It is much better than the other exploited Hill Stations. Kasauli was built in 1842 as Raj’s Retreat away from the relentless heat and dust. Kasauli is also called as Kas by the locals. The sloping tin roofs , smoke chimneys are so typically colonial in their style and they look all the more in beautiful in the bright red , green and pink colours. What makes Kasauli so special are the things like there is a Letter box which still has a Victoria Cross which has been there since the British times and also some Water taps which are there from the Raj times. The integrity of the old buildings specially the wodden ones are a piece of true Architecture.

Some views

Ways to reach here :

By Bus : If you want to come on some bus , you have to fetch bus of Dharampur or any bus which is going towards Shimla .It will definately stop at Dharampur.From that place, you can catch a bus of Kasauli. If you want to go comfortably , you can also hire a taxi from Dharampur. As far as I know, there is no direct bus to Kasauli.

By Rail : Same is the case for Railways. You have to go to Kalka first , then catch train going towards Shimla .There are many trains like Kalka Shimla Mail , The Himalyan Queen etc. and many more.Then stop by Dharampur station and follow the same procedure.

By Road : This is my favourite mode of transport .In my views , Traveling and solo driving by road is the best way to travel in hills.You will fall in love with the curves.There are two ways to go to Kasauli –

1.Old Kasauli Road
2.New Kasauli Road

I drove on both the roads. Here are reviews on both the Roads.
ROAD CONDITIONS –

NEW KASAULI ROAD (MDR-10 ) = DHARAMPUR – GARKHAL – KASAULI – 14 Km – VERY GOOD
This is default highway which most of the people use .National Highway number is 22.Road is good,broad and comfortable. Route is – Delhi – Chandigarh – Panchkula – Kalka – Parwanoo – Dharampur. You have to take left turn from Dharampur to reach there on MDR-10. As we were coming from Shimla Side , so we turned right from Dharampur. It was a good winding uphill road.
DRIVING TIME – 1 HOUR ( With innumerable photo breaks )
This is a video of driving on the New Kasauli Road –

Driving on the New Kasauli Road

Silver Queen On the New Kasauli Road

Clouds Play

OLD KASAULI ROAD = KASAULI – JANGESHU – MASOOLKHANA – TAKSAL – PARWANOO – 28 Km – AVERAGE
I would not refer this road if you are going for first time as road is too narrow.This is a kind of shortcut from Parwanoo.
I would not refer you to go to Kasauli with your family as it is kind of difficult to drive on the narrow , steep road .Its around 30 km from Kalka.But if you are alone , or with your group , or you want to see the flora and fauna , drive on tough roads , have some fantastic views,go by this road.Its kind of unexplored area. I drove on this road while coming back from Kasauli . It was a very aloof road and in 1.5 hrs drive Only one tractor passed us. My family was also little afraid that if the car breakdown occurs what we will do. In reality even I did not have any answer. I was hoping that these 1.5 hr should pass as fast as possible and we can reach Parwanoo city.
DRIVING TIME – 1 HOUR AND 15 MINUTES ( With innumerable photo breaks )

Old Kasauli Road

This is a video of driving on the old Kasauli Road. Take a look for the road conditions –

Driving on the Old Kasauli Road

Silver Queen on the Old Kasauli Road

Coming back from the route to Kasauli. After reaching Kasauli , we first parked our car in the parking. The little Kasauli has one way traffic and in a very symmetric way. As it is Cantonment area at every point there is a Military Person. Throughly neat and clean place. Now there are two options – Whether to go to the Lower Mall first or the Upper Mall first. We went to the Lower Mall First. It was nothing special a very small market which was called as the Lower Mall, but the feeling that you are not in a city market but a market among hills gives a nice cool feeling. As you will walk on the lower mall , you will see Kasauli Club. Kasauli Club is one of the most prestigious social clubs in India. Its membership is highly sought after and thus, there’s an average 15 year waiting time. The Club is managed by a regular Indian Army Officer assigned as ‘Club Secretary’. The remaining staff are civilians. The history of this club dates back to the era of British rule.The interior finish and decor is lavish. Facilities include lodging(4-5 rooms), a squash court that has been recently redone, two tennis courts, bridge/card rooms, billiards and an outdoor garden. It was established in 1880.

The Lower Mall

The Upper Mall or the Pine Mall

Then we proceeded to the Upper Mall Road which is called as the Pine Mall. This is a little big broad market. We roamed around there eating some snacks and passing some time. After roaming there we proceeded to the parking and started for another point in Kasauli which is called as the Manki Point. Legend has it that Kasauli came into being when Lord Hanuman, on his way to getting the Sanjeevni herb, stepped here for jumping on to the Sanjeevani hill. At Kasauli there is a Hanuman Mandir atop the 300 m high hillock, called Manki Point (locals call it Monkey Point ), where Lord Hanuman is supposed to have rested his foot. This temple lies within the confines of an air force radar station and base and is subject to security restrictions (no cameras or bags allowed). The gates to the station are closed at 4 pm. So visitors need to be inside the gate before that. Manki point is around 4.5 Km from Kasauli and is situated at an altitude of 6400 Feet. It took us around 15 minutes to reach there. From the top of the point , one can see the beautiful view of the Chandigarh City. As cameras are not allowed there , there are no pics.

Milestone at the Upper Mall – Don’t be Mean , Keep It Clean And Green.

There is also a point in lower mall of Kasauli called as Gilbert point or Sunset point.You can sit there on the benches and enjoy the beautiful side of Sunset and see the magnificent colors of sky. Finally we started our return jouney from Kasauli at 1:45 Pm. As we were just leaving the place , we stopped at our last point in Ksauli which was the Christ Church.Christ Church was previously an Anglican church built in the 19th century. Since 1970 it has been under the auspices of CNI (Church of North India).The Parsonage was built in 1850 for priests of the Anglican church.

The Christ Church, Kasauli

We finally started our return leg of the journey via the Old Kasauli Road. The condition of the road , I have already posted above. In my views Kasauli is really a very Clean , Green and a Serene Hill Station. Small children may feel a little bored there , but for people like me who are now really tired of the other crowded hill stations, Kasauli is like a Little Paradise.

Views from the Old Kasauli Road. Look at the beautiful Curved Roads.