Monsoon Drive to Chail

Monsoon Drive to Chail (Aug ’10)

The climate in Delhi nowadays seems to be quite good with regular rains keeping the city cool. So, we decided to go for a monsoon weekend drive to Himalayas. Also, there was a discussion going on in my favorite travel portal BCMT and people are discussing about the possibility of spending the Independence day weekend in Himalayas. Finally after have a voting system in place, the place was decided to be ‘Chail’.

I have been there already but haven’t visited in Monsoon. So we all geared up for the trip. They have formed a 7 member team and planned to come with a Qualis and we as usual with our Zen. Another couple has plans to join us in Chandigarh as they reside there.

So, everything was setup and we started our journey to Chail by 14th of August around 6 AM. The climate was very pleasant and there was an indication that it’s about to rain anytime. The drive was quite relaxed and beautiful with less traffic. The entire road stretch was good and we reached Ambala in quick time, where we met our friends. Just had a chit chat and continued our Journey to Kalka as they headed to pick up another friend.

We started from there and headed to Kalka, and around 9.30 we reached Pinjore where we had breakfast. Very close the hotel, you can see ‘Pinjore Gardens’ and slight drizzle made the atmosphere quite beautiful. We spent an hour shooting photographs and headed towards Kalka.

We all assembled at Kalka where another family from Chandigarh joined us. Then we all headed towards Chail via Kandaghat. We planned to have lunch at Sadhuphool but then the restaurant doesn’t have sufficient food for 11, and we had no choice other than head towards Chail.

We all reached Chail at 3.30 PM straight away check out in the hotel. As everybody was hungry then, all freshened up and went to the main market to have lunch (late lunch). As usual had Onion & Aloo paranthas with curd and it tasted divine :). Once done with the lunch, everybody discussed about the next plan and after a lot of discussion, all agreed to pay a visit to ‘Kali Ka Tibba’.

I haven’t visited the temple during my earlier visit and so eagerly awaited to see. Once we reached the temple, the 360 degree it offered was fantabulous. Everyone started shooting the view around like crazy and no camera can capture the views it offered. The pictures can’t do justice to what we have encountered there. It’s an amazing place and a must visit if you are heading to Chail.

The climate changed dramatically in half an hour and the entire place was covered by mist in no time. We all feared about our return as we have to navigate through the jungle road with less visibility. But we all reached safely and retired to our rooms. After some chit chat session we all headed to have dinner to the mall road and had the same paranthas for dinner. Needless to say we were all in bed in next 10 minutes.

Morning we woke up at 5 AM and decided to visit the place again, but no one has woke up at that time and we started alone to view the place in golden hour. The place was so divine and the views around are impeccable. After couple of hours of photo shoot headed towards the hotel and joined the rest of them. Had breakfast in the hotel itself and took a small nap and by the time others got ready and they had plans to visit the Cricket ground, which is located at the highest point.

So, we all headed towards the ground and after having shot some photographs, left for the Sidh Baba temple. It’s another beautiful temple located in a quite place. Once done, we all bid good bye as the other family went to Chail palace and the other gang headed towards Delhi. We reached Delhi around 10 PM with frequent stops in between for photography.

Places of Interest:

Kali Ka Tibba (Must see)
Sidh Baba Ka Mandir
Cricket Ground
Sadhupul (between Kandaghat and Chail)
Chail Palace