Chandigarh-Kasauli trip (September-October 2024)
I was desperately wanting for quite some time to spend some time in fresh air in the mountains. In end of September 2024, I got an opportunity for a quick trip to Kasauli in Himachal with my friend Amit Burman.
29.9.2024 Sunday
Me and Amit started in Innova crysta (driven by driver Manish of Shri Raja Bafna ji) from my home at 10.45 am to go to Chandigarh. On the way, we took lunch at Sagar Ratna restaurant, Karnal.
At 4 pm, we reached Hotel JW Mariott, Chandigarh. We got room 669 which is adjoining the Executive Lounge on 6th floor. After some rest, we went to the executive lounge at 5 pm. There we savoured snacks and drinks and gossiped and reminisced about our earlier trips. Amit tried all liquor drinks available with the Hotel including whisky, gin, rum, vodka, wine !
Mr. Sukhjinder Singh Behl, advocate joined us at 7.20 pm (he did not take drinks). We then moved to the room at 8.30 pm and sang some songs.
At 9.45 pm, we see off Mr. Behl and walked for about 20 minutes in the street outside the hotel. We returned to the hotel and went asleep.
30.9.2024 Monday
We got up at 7.15 am. Me and Amit hit the gym and exercised for about 20 minutes. Then we visited the swimming pool but it was too hot and bright sunlight. We returned to the room at 9 am. I took bath and then we hit the café at Mezannine floor for the breakfast.
After finishing breakfast, I left the hotel at 10.50 am to attend my court case at the High Court at Chandigarh, while Amit remained in the hotel to take bath and explore the hotel.
I reached High Court of Punjab & Haryana at Chandigarh at 11.10 am. Our matter was late. After observing proceedings in the court of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu in Court no.1, I went to Court 61 and met Mr. Behl there. Our matter was scheduled to be heard by Court 3 but the bench was on leave and it was therefore transferred to Court 10. The Court 10 was very slow and it had to first compete its own cases and then take up the cases of court 3.
Me and Mr. Behl took tea in senior members club room in the High Court Bar Association block.
Since there was no likelihood of our matter reaching today, I returned to the hotel at 1 pm.
Me and Amit packed our bags and after sipping cold coffee at executive lounge, we checked out of hotel JW Mariott at 2 pm and headed towards Shimla.
At 2.50 pm, we stopped at Timber Trail resort, Parwanoo . We boarded the ropeway (ticket Rs.1050/- per person) and reached the resort atop the hill (it took 7-8 min to take us to the top).
It was such a mesmerizing view from here. It was at an altitude of 5000 ft above sea level. The weather here was good and we could feel air here cooler by at least 5 degrees ! The pleasant breeze was so fulfilling and refreshing. We took a round of various amenities / activities here. There is Moksha Himalaya Spa Resort here where tourists come and stay. We sat in an open deck restaurant called ‘Pines and Cones’ and took mushroom soup with garlic bread (Rs. 300+50). It was so delicious and tasty and the presentation was marvellous. I got good vibes here, with pleasant breeze flowing amidst sight and smell of chir / deodar trees and mountains, and restaurant music playing in the background. We could see 2700 view of the whole valley from here. We clicked pictures here.
At 4.45 pm, we came down via the ropeway, got into our car and headed towards Kasauli on Chandigarh-Shimla highway.
After about 30 min. drive from Timber trail, there is a left turn on the Chandigarh-Shimla highway, this point probably called Dharampur. From here, uphill road journey to Kasauli town start. On this uphill stretch to Kasauli are located many popular boarding schools like Lawrence School Sanawar, Pinegrove School, Kasauli Intl Public School etc. We got hold up in a traffic jam queue for about 20 min at a narrow point / intersection on this road at village Gadkhal. The traffic jam is usual at this point as people have heavily constructed houses / buildings with thin drains in front of building, leaving very less space for the vehicular traffic to move. Moreover, the Himachal roadways buses ply on this road, causing traffic blockades frequently. About 4 km before Kasauli main market, we tried hotel Lemon Tree situated on the road but we did not like it.
At about 5.50 pm, we reached the market of Kasauli which is the main hub of Kasauli. From here, our car took a narrow trail steep down for about 400 mtr to reach Hotel ‘The New Ros Common’, Kasauli which is run by HPTDC (Himachal tourism). Amit had stayed earlier with his parents at original Hotel Ros Common about 25 years back which hotel is of British era. The said hotel is still there nearby but it has only 6 rooms. The HPTDC constructed this new hotel having 32 rooms a few years back and gave it the name of ‘The New Ros Common’. One might be perplexed at this strange name of the hotel. Infact, Ros Common is a place in Ireland that remains green throughout the year. During British Era, Kasauli was the nearest hill station developed by British army between 1850-1880. An Irish gentleman developed this property as Ros common.
We got a good deal. Today happened to be last day of discounted tariff. From tomorrow 1st October, tariff would increase by 40%. We got the room for Rs.5500/- and the good thing was driver could also stay in their banquet at additional Rs.250/- including his meal.
Kasauli town is at an altitude of about 6000 ft above sea level. Kasauli is basically a cantonment located in the Solan District of Himachal Pradesh. The cantonment was established by the British Government in 1842 as a colonial hill station. From here, Solan is 25 km, Shimla is 77 km, Chandigarh is 58 km and Ambala Cantt is 94 km. Places to visit in Kasauli are The Monkey Point (Hanuman mandir), Chirst and Baptist church, Kasauli market etc.
We got room 208 on the 1st floor (there are only two floors : Ground and first). After freshened up, we enjoyed music and drinks in the room. The room had a balcony overseeing the dense forest / valley but we felt cold in the breeze. So, instead of sitting in balcony, we sat in the room with balcony door open. I do not enjoy the liquor drinks, and this task is left to Amit who loves drinking. We took dinner in the room and went to sleep at about 12 pm.
1.10.2024 Tuesday
In the morning, we got up at 6.45 am. After freshening up, we decided to take a walk in the area. We started walk from the hotel at about 7.20 am. It was a little cold. We moved up towards the main market which is about 800 mtr walk. At about 400 mtr, there is a turn on the left side which is going to Manki point and sun rise point. We took this metalled trail. It was so serene, quiet and peaceful. On the way, we passed by the old colonial Hotel Ros Common. There are many huge private properties / farms on this way. Most of these properties were colonial british, which slowly acquired by rich Indians. After walking for about 2 km, when someone told that manki point is still about 3 km away and its entry would open only after 10 am, we started return down to our hotel. /On the way back, we spent 15 min at the old hotel and took some pics here. We then walked to the main market / central point of Kasauli. There is a church here called Christ Church, Kasauli. It was closed at this hour at 8.20 am. Then we took left path which goes to Heritage Market. This is all cantonement area.
There was a huge metal bust of Major Dhyanchand (the Hockey legend) on the intersection on way to Heritage market. The so called market is a narrow street with small shops and eateries on one side. The market was still in the process of opening up and the street was being broomed.
At 9.05 am, we returned to our hotel, took bath and then breakfast in the breakfast hall on ground floor.
At 11.25 am, we started from the hotel in our car and moved towards manki point.
At 11.45 am, we reached near gate of Air Force Station Kasauli (after travelling broken road uphill). We parked our car outside the said gate like others. From here, one has to go on foot. No mobile or camera is allowed beyond this gate as it is defence area. We showed our ID (like adhar card) at the counter here set up by Air Force who issued a badge which every visitor has to wear. Mobile can be deposited here on payment of Rs.15/- but we felt it safer to leave mobile with our driver in the car. From 1st October, the entry opens at 10 am instead of 9.30 am and the entry passes / badges are made upto 4 pm.
We started walking from here to the Manki point, which is a temple of Hanuman ji atop a hill which was visible distantly from here. It seemed so far from here !
It is a self sustaining colony inside, probably of the Air Force station staff and their families.
From the Gate, we walked about 300 mtr to a point from where the steps / stairs to Temple start.
It was a steep incline and tough walk on stairs to reach the temple atop the hill (it reminded me of Vaishno Devi journey). My advice is that old inform persons should not try this as it is too strenuous.
After about 20 minutes and about 600 mtr walk / climb, we reached Shree Sanjeevani Hanuman Temple, which is locally called Manki point (not Monkey). It is believed that while carrying sanjeevani booty from Jakhu parbat nearby in Himachal Pradesh, Hanuman ji’s left feet touched this hill. This is the highest point of Kasauli. Even Chandigarh is visible from here. We read hanuman chalisa in mandir’s hall. We spent about 15 min here. There is a small cafeteria here where one can get cold and hot drinks and some snacks. The quality was so so. From here, one can have good view of the entire city and beyond. The cold breeze here at the top was exciting. Suddenly, the area got filled with clouds and fog. It felt so refreshing. I felt that I was breathing purest form of oxygen.
We then started returning.
At 12.50 pm, we started from the Air Force Station in our car to return to Delhi.
At 1.05 pm, we passed by the central point / market of Kasauli. There is a big stilt parking here run by some private persons. Do not fall prey to them. When you enter Kasauli, they will stop your car and will ask you to make payment for parking. They pretend as if they are some Government person and as if it is mandatory to pay parking fees. But once you confidently and boldly tell them that you have a booking in a hotel here, they would vanish.
At 1.25 pm, we passed by Pinegrove School, ShimlaHills, at 1.27 pm, passed by Kasauli International Public School.
At 1.32 pm. We hit Chandigarh-Shimla highway. This point is in Dharampur district. We drove towards Chandigarh.
At 1.38 pm, we crossed Toll. At 2 pm, we passed by Timber Trail.
At 2.44 pm, we hit Chandigarh-Delhi highway. Google maps was showing Punjabi Bagh as 4 hours from here.
At 3.45 pm, we stopped at Haldiram Ambala and took lunch. At 4.20, we resumed journey.
At about 7.45 pm, we returned to my home in Punjabi Bagh. Amit Burman continued his journey to his house in Lajpat Nagar and the driver dropped him at his home.
[As I am writing the concluding part of this blog, my dearest friend and my partner in almost all treks, excursions and road trips in last 15 years, Amit Burman, is no more with us. He passed away in intervening night of 21st and 22nd December 2024 while asleep in a hotel in Sariska (Rajasthan) were he had gone with his friends and office colleagues for weekend outing. I never knew that this trip to Kasauli would turn out to be my last trip with him and I will not be able to meet him again in this life. We had planned so many trips in future. Infact, we were already planning to go on long trip to Europe in May-June 2025. He was so full of life and energy and was ever ready to go anywhere with me. Time and money was never a problem with him. He was very cheerful, polite, decent and well mannered. He was well read and very knowledgeable. You could discuss with him on any topic. I used to chat with him, during trips, about the mysteries of life. Being with him was always a meditative experience. He was fond of drinking. He was an avid photographer. Infact, I learnt the tricks of photography only from him by trial and error during our numerous trips. I always got good vibes when with him. I would really miss him]
