A trip to Kasauli and Baru Sahib on bike

I was once invited by my cousin to join him on a trip to Mussourie on a bike. I could not but upon hearing his stories when he returned I regretted my decision. This would have been my first trip had I agreed to go. But this made me think of all the fun that was missing from my life. I am a biker and my ride is a Honda CBF Stunner so riding a bike didn’t scare me. I started reading about different weekend getaways and destinations and finally chose Lansdowne or Kasauli. I called one of my friends, Harmeet, who have done such long trips on his bike and that too alone.

Harmeet with his Hunk

We made a plan but it got cancelled. We made the plan again but again Harmeet called me and told me that his bike is not ready for a long trip as the carburettor of his bike was faulty and he had to get it repaired. He told that he was getting mileage of 30 kmpl due to that but he also added that there would be no harm either if he takes his bike to the trip apart from that bad mileage. He rides a Hero Honda Hunk.

I convinced my parents for our trip and they agreed too. Believe me guys, this is the most important part and most difficult part if this is going to be the first long trip for you and that too on a bike. :) Harmeet had planned to stay at Baru Sahib, which is a Gurudwara situated 70 kms far from Solan. So I had to come back alone.
Day 1: Finally, the day came and we had to leave. But Harmeet had to go somewhere in the morning so the plan got further delayed. Finally, we managed to leave by 2 from our respective homes in the afternoon. Harmeet was on his bike with carburettor not working properly and with a mileage of barely 35 kmpl. As soon as I left from my house, it started raining very heavily. Riding a bike was next to impossible so I had to stop somewhere and had to wait for the rain to either stop or at least slow down. I waited there for almost 30 minutes but when it didn’t stop I started. Reached petrol pump in 15 minutes and got my bike’s tank full just within Rs. 600 as the fuel tank in Stunner is just of 10 ltrs. and it already had some fuel in it. The small fuel tank could be a problem sometimes but the decent mileage compensates it well :) .

As soon as I left from the petrol pump, the rain stopped. I thanked God for this favor :). My friend joined me at GT Karnal Road which is NH1. We reached Murthal at 4 PM and had paranthas at Sukhdev Dhaba. As soon as we entered the Dhaba, it started raining very heavily once again but thankfully, it stopped before we left. We left from there at around 4.45 PM. Since we were very late, we decided to ride not less than 85 kmph- 90 kmph and reach Chandigarh by 9.15 PM. We kept on riding at average speed of 75 kmph and crossed Panipat, Karnal and Ambala.
Harmeet’s bike’s chain got loose so we had to get it tightened. We got it done at a local mechanic just after crossing Karnal. After reaching Ambala, we took right towards Chandigarh and started riding on NH22. The road condition on NH1 was very good but with some diversions as construction work is going on. The road condition on NH22 was also very good. We managed to reach Chandigarh at 8.50 PM. As both of us were hungry, we thought of taking a break at Gurudwara Nada Sahib near Panchkula and have langer for dinner.

After dinner, we left from there at 9.45 PM. It was completely dark on the roads and our journey was getting a bit more adventurous. I had never ridden my bike on such dark roads. We reached Pinjore and just after crossing Pinjore Garden, we stopped to have some water. We didn’t know that something bad was waiting for us. Stopped our bikes in front of a Gurudwara again. It was 11 PM. As soon as we started our bikes after having water, Harmeet noticed that his bike’s throttle cable has broken. We asked someone if we could find any mechanic at this time and everybody whoever we asked from just denied as it was more than 11 PM now. We came to know that there was a spare parts shop nearby and the owner just lives on the first floor of that building. We went to the shop and it was not open as expected. We then knocked the door and the person came out. He was a nice person and he helped us at that time.

We got the throttle cable for CbZ Xtreme and fitted that in Hunk. It worked great and we were again ready to move further. It was now 12 AM so both of us thought of staying at Gurudwara Sahib. But then again, we decided to reach Kasauli tonight and start our day from there so we started moving again. The road condition from Chandigarh to Pinjore was good with a few potholes. After crossing Pinjore, we reached Parwanoo. The mountains started from there and welcomed us with fresh and cold air. I was not sure how Stunner was going to perform on hilly roads but kept moving.

The level of road started getting higher. It was completely dark with just the lights of our bikes and a few trucks who were passing by. Riding bike on a completely dark road surrounded by mountains, we all know how amazing this is. We kept on riding and reached Dharampur. From there, a road was turning left towards Kasauli and one was leading to Solan. Harmeet then told me that watching Solan in the night from the highway is an amazing experience so we headed towards Solan instead of Kasauli.

Solan was still 22 Kms far from Dharampur. We kept on riding and reached Solan at 1 AM. It was really an amazing experience. It was a breathtaking view. Completely dark, so dark that we could not even see our own hands and then the street lights of Solan. We felt like we were in the sky with stars all around us. Believe me guys, you got to experience this once.

After that, we moved back to Dharampur. Took a 15 minutes tea break before reaching Dharampur. From Dharampur, we took right towards Kasauli. It was a narrow and very old road. The forest alongside the road started getting dense. That road is a continuous steep road. Now, I was feeling a bit scared too as this was the first time I was riding my bike on mountain roads and that too completely dark. It was just the headlights of our two bikes. There was no other vehicle on our way from Dharampur to Kasauli. The road condition is poor and it will really put the suspensions of your machine to shame.

We then crossed a small village Garkhal and reached Kasauli at 2.30 PM. We didn’t even reserve any room in advance. Checked with a few hotels but no room was available. We moved back to Garkhal and stayed at a Gurudwara there. The Sewadaar of the Gurudwara was a very nice person. Finally, managed to sleep at 3.30 AM.

Day2: Got up at 7.30 AM. Checked the engine oil in our bikes and found that engine oil level in Hunk was very low. Asked the locals about any spare parts shop around and got to know that we can find one in Dharampur. Started our bikes again at 9.30 AM and moved on to see the very famous ‘Monkey Point’. Harmeet’s Hunk was loaded with 3 heavy bags as he had plans to stay at Baru Sahib. We reached Monkey point and got to know that we will have to trek and bags were not allowed. There was no place available where could keep our bags so had to drop the plan for ‘Monkey Point’.

Clouds all around at Sunset point

After that, we reached ‘Sunset point’. It was really an amazing place with a lot of breathtaking views. It was greenery all around and completely quiet place. Just the sound of birds. Just feel the fresh air and feels like you are in heaven. It was a very nice experience. After spending some time, enjoying the beauty of nature, we went to the market to have lunch. Had Chinese food at a shop but the food turned out to be pathetic.

Way to Sunset point

Beauty of Sunset point

The beauty of Kasauli

Spotted a Delhi number ‘Reva’ near Kasauli

We left from there and decided to go to Shimla and then Kufri from there. Left from Kasauli at 3 PM. While on our way back, I started feeling sick and suffered from indigestion and gastric problems due to the food that we had. Reached Solan as Harmeet had to buy engine oil for his Hunk. Got the engine oil from Chambaghat near Solan. I was still not feeling well. Took a tablet of Pantop-D and we then decided to go to Baru Sahib due to health issues.

On the way to Kasauli from Gadkhal

Baru Sahib is located at 70 kms from Solan. Once you leave Solan, the road becomes muddy with a lot of pebbles. Before riding on this road, I was thinking that the road between Kasauli and Dharampur was the worst but I was wrong. After 2 hours of off-road riding (kind of :D), we reached Yashwant Nagar and had our dinner. The food was just amazing. We reached Baru Sahib at 12.30 AM. We booked a room there and slept for 7 hours :D .

A random pic on our way back from Baru Sahib

A waterfall near Baru Sahib

Day 3: Woke up fresh and was now feeling perfect. After some sightseeing near Baru Sahib, had our lunch. This place is very quiet and full of beautiful sceneries, huge mountains and greenery all around. Left from Baru Sahib at 3 PM. Harmeet and I was now on my bike. We reached Solan at 5.30 PM and went to the local market. One thing I noticed about riders in Solan was there was no bike I saw that had stock paint on it. Every bike had custom paint. Also, hardly saw any 100 CC or 125 CC bike there. All I saw was atleast 150 CC. Nice!!! Harmeet boarded a bus to Rajgarh and I left from Solan on my Stunner at 7 PM. Just stopped before Ambala to call my Dad for 5 mins. Rode continuously for more than 320 kms and finally, reached home at 12.15 AM.

Heading Home

Overall, it was an amazing trip for me as it was my first trip and I just loved it. The fuel cost for my bike was around 1200 and when I reached home, trip meter showed a reading of more than 900 kms.

Planning for our second trip in the end of November now. :D