Dalhousie, Khajjar, Chamba.. Suggestions please

tsk1979 · 9th December 2008, 15:22

Month end we will go to Khajjar.
I was googling around, and found an interesting place 20kms from Chamba. Its a village called saho, and is on a high plateau.
Any other offbeat places within 50kms of chamba/Khajjar?
Apart from regular Ravi, Kalatop etc., what else is to see in that area. We have never traveled to north himachal.
What is the traffic jam scene. For example Shimla road has Kalka which sees 4-5 hour traffic jams in rush hours. What about this section.
I presume this is 5-6 hours from Jalandhar, and north punjab, so it should be a favorite haunt during winters, esp Khajjar etc.,

any updates please

rkbharat · 9th December 2008, 15:37

Though I only visited the places you have already listed, but all worth visiting. I went there almost 6 yrs back.

Khajiar in winters should be beautiful but full of HR and PB gaddiss

Roads were pathetic from Pathankot to Dalhousie and then from Khajiar to chamba, but you have 4X4 beast to all set,

Traffic situation should not be bad I think even in peak, except at khajiar. BTW are you staying in Dalhousie or Khajiar?

enjoy your trip..and post some super pics as usual

Quote:

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Month end we will go to Khajjar.
I was googling around, and found an interesting place 20kms from Chamba. Its a village called saho, and is on a high plateau.
Any other offbeat places within 50kms of chamba/Khajjar?
Apart from regular Ravi, Kalatop etc., what else is to see in that area. We have never traveled to north himachal.
What is the traffic jam scene. For example Shimla road has Kalka which sees 4-5 hour traffic jams in rush hours. What about this section.
I presume this is 5-6 hours from Jalandhar, and north punjab, so it should be a favorite haunt during winters, esp Khajjar etc.,

any updates please

tsk1979 · 9th December 2008, 15:42

I am staying at Khajjar.
I am told that if it snows, the direct Road from Dalhousie to Khajjar may get blocked

Dragonov · 9th December 2008, 16:00

Out of the three places that you mentioned, its better to stay at Dalhousie(upper dalhousie to be specific). Khajjiar not khajjar

is a meadow where you would not find much to do from a staying over perspective. Chamba again is a plain area at the foothills and nothing much to rave about the place apart from the fact that it is famous for some mela which is held during the summer season.

The drive from Jalandhar should not take you more than 4.5 to 5 hours. The road is in a okay condition barring the jalandhar-pathankot stretch which is absolutely pathetic filled with potholes and no roads at places. Regarding the traffic its not that bad but yes do keep in mind the PB and HR numbered people in the hills - they tend to forget about lane driving and have often seen accidents over there. Try to be in your lane and honk as much you can as its a very narrow road leading upto Dalhousie.

suvi · 9th December 2008, 17:01

I did not see much traffic between Pathankot and Dalhousie (maybe i have Bangalore as reference

). I was there in April just before the peak traffic. I recommend staying in Dalhousie and visiting Khajjiar. Dalhousie offers plenty of walk tours with crowd being much less than Shimla and Manali.

tsk1979 · 9th December 2008, 17:06

Beggars can't be choosers.. I did not find any place to stay in Dalhousie. All hotels, budget, premium etc., were full. Finally found a small place in Khajjiar, and plan to visit Saho if the road is open

hvkumar · 9th December 2008, 23:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Beggars can't be choosers.. I did not find any place to stay in Dalhousie. All hotels, budget, premium etc., were full. Finally found a small place in Khajjiar, and plan to visit Saho if the road is open

Hotel Manimahesh at Dalhousie (HPTDC) is the best place to stay in. 2 days ago, rooms were available for the week starting Dec 25.

rkbharat · 10th December 2008, 11:45

I recieved this message long time back on my website. I have no idea about this hotel or the owner. See if this helps

"""""""""""
Dear Sir Hotel Mount View In Dalhousie is "A PREMIER RESORT HOTEL" which is"A Destination in itself" Our Exhilirating and Soothing Interiors ,,Exteriors, Terraces, Landscaped Gardens and Public Areas Lobby Restaurant Terrace Eatery Et aLL offer the Client a wonderful Experince in itself all the rooms face Lush Green Lawns, Flowered Beds, Water Bodies and our Terraces overlook a 180 Degree View of the Snow Covered Pir Panjal Ranges, Bathri Valley and the Dalhousie Cantt (The Only One of its Kind View in Dalhousie) giving a varied Landscape to the Clients and a virtual destination in itself at Mount View. Our Lobby Diwane Khas is very well done up, the Multi Cuisine Restaurant Davat, Majlis the Conference Hall With a Capacity of 200 People in Theatre Style is the Biggest Hall in Dalhousie Our Banquet and Catering Services are Highly Recomended by all and other related services are rated among the best in town. Regards, M. Chadha MD Hotel Mount View Dalhousie Himachal Pradesh Ph. 01899 - 242120, 240610 Fax: 01899 - 240741 Mob. 09418050000, 09418010822, 0981683208 Email: info@hotelmountview.com Website: Hotel Mount View
""""""""""

Quote:

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Beggars can't be choosers.. I did not find any place to stay in Dalhousie. All hotels, budget, premium etc., were full. Finally found a small place in Khajjiar, and plan to visit Saho if the road is open

tsk1979 · 10th December 2008, 11:49

Yes Manimahesh was available.. But only the 2400/night rooms, the 2100/night room was available for just 1 night out of 3.
Thats why skipped that. Max budget is 1500/night for stay(the lower the better!)

Ditto for Mountview... 3000/night is way way way too expensive

sudev · 10th December 2008, 12:26

A long time back we had visited this area...and I mean long time...and one of the best areas that we drove up to was Saloni (may be mis-spelled) from where we went to see the head of race tunnel of Baia-Sul hydro project.

Another area for a drive would be to drive up to Jogindernagar (main chamba valley) and then to Barot. This is start of the Uhl river hydro project. Incidentally if you can pull some contacts of PSEB (yes Punjab State Electricity Board for a project in Himachal!) and get booking for the old guest house at Barot you will have best possible location.

Oh man I wish I had that much time.... 8-)

rkbharat · 10th December 2008, 13:17

I have heard of a good place called Bharmour, some distance from chamba.

amip · 10th December 2008, 13:52

Bharmour was the ancient capital of Chamba and if full of interesting temples if you're interested in that kind of holiday
When I was in Dalhousie, I also visited Palampur - but thats in a different direction

tsk1979 · 10th December 2008, 17:05

I am really interested in sahoo, since its a high plateau 10,000 feet+ above MSL. But I could not find much info about the same

rkbharat · 10th December 2008, 17:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by tsk1979

I am really interested in sahoo, since its a high plateau 10,000 feet+ above MSL. But I could not find much info about the same

Google map does not shows any road from chamba to Saho, but MapMyIndia does show one, may be offroad kind. Should be very interesting.

Worth trying

rajen83 · 10th December 2008, 22:48

I will be in dalhousie starting from 20-Dec. Can someone tell me what is the temperature like now and is it snowing?

9th December 2008, 15:22	#1
tsk1979 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 23,717 Thanked: 22,825 Times View My Garage	Dalhousie, Khajjar, Chamba.. Suggestions please Month end we will go to Khajjar. I was googling around, and found an interesting place 20kms from Chamba. Its a village called saho, and is on a high plateau. Any other offbeat places within 50kms of chamba/Khajjar? Apart from regular Ravi, Kalatop etc., what else is to see in that area. We have never traveled to north himachal. What is the traffic jam scene. For example Shimla road has Kalka which sees 4-5 hour traffic jams in rush hours. What about this section. I presume this is 5-6 hours from Jalandhar, and north punjab, so it should be a favorite haunt during winters, esp Khajjar etc., any updates please
	() Thanks

9th December 2008, 15:42	#3
tsk1979 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 23,717 Thanked: 22,825 Times View My Garage	I am staying at Khajjar. I am told that if it snows, the direct Road from Dalhousie to Khajjar may get blocked
	() Thanks

9th December 2008, 16:00	#4
Dragonov BHPian Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 205 Thanked: 31 Times	Out of the three places that you mentioned, its better to stay at Dalhousie(upper dalhousie to be specific). Khajjiar not khajjar is a meadow where you would not find much to do from a staying over perspective. Chamba again is a plain area at the foothills and nothing much to rave about the place apart from the fact that it is famous for some mela which is held during the summer season. The drive from Jalandhar should not take you more than 4.5 to 5 hours. The road is in a okay condition barring the jalandhar-pathankot stretch which is absolutely pathetic filled with potholes and no roads at places. Regarding the traffic its not that bad but yes do keep in mind the PB and HR numbered people in the hills - they tend to forget about lane driving and have often seen accidents over there. Try to be in your lane and honk as much you can as its a very narrow road leading upto Dalhousie.
	() Thanks

9th December 2008, 17:01	#5
suvi BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 121 Thanked: 6 Times	I did not see much traffic between Pathankot and Dalhousie (maybe i have Bangalore as reference ). I was there in April just before the peak traffic. I recommend staying in Dalhousie and visiting Khajjiar. Dalhousie offers plenty of walk tours with crowd being much less than Shimla and Manali.
	() Thanks

9th December 2008, 17:06	#6
tsk1979 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 23,717 Thanked: 22,825 Times View My Garage	Beggars can't be choosers.. I did not find any place to stay in Dalhousie. All hotels, budget, premium etc., were full. Finally found a small place in Khajjiar, and plan to visit Saho if the road is open
	() Thanks

10th December 2008, 11:49	#9
tsk1979 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 23,717 Thanked: 22,825 Times View My Garage	Yes Manimahesh was available.. But only the 2400/night rooms, the 2100/night room was available for just 1 night out of 3. Thats why skipped that. Max budget is 1500/night for stay(the lower the better!) Ditto for Mountview... 3000/night is way way way too expensive
	() Thanks

10th December 2008, 12:26	#10
sudev Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 3,838 Thanked: 3,179 Times	A long time back we had visited this area...and I mean long time...and one of the best areas that we drove up to was Saloni (may be mis-spelled) from where we went to see the head of race tunnel of Baia-Sul hydro project. Another area for a drive would be to drive up to Jogindernagar (main chamba valley) and then to Barot. This is start of the Uhl river hydro project. Incidentally if you can pull some contacts of PSEB (yes Punjab State Electricity Board for a project in Himachal!) and get booking for the old guest house at Barot you will have best possible location. Oh man I wish I had that much time.... 8-)
	() Thanks

10th December 2008, 13:17	#11
rkbharat Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Gurgaon/New Delhi Posts: 1,601 Thanked: 724 Times View My Garage	I have heard of a good place called Bharmour, some distance from chamba.
	() Thanks

10th December 2008, 13:52	#12
amip BHPian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Toronto Posts: 166 Thanked: Once	Bharmour was the ancient capital of Chamba and if full of interesting temples if you're interested in that kind of holiday When I was in Dalhousie, I also visited Palampur - but thats in a different direction
	() Thanks

10th December 2008, 17:05	#13
tsk1979 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 23,717 Thanked: 22,825 Times View My Garage	I am really interested in sahoo, since its a high plateau 10,000 feet+ above MSL. But I could not find much info about the same
	() Thanks

10th December 2008, 22:48	#15
rajen83 BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 35 Thanked: 0 Times	I will be in dalhousie starting from 20-Dec. Can someone tell me what is the temperature like now and is it snowing?
	() Thanks