[Tapish]

Me and two of my buddies had been planning a trip for quite some time. However, professional and personal commitments always played spoilsport and all plans ranging from Goa to Sikkim, Leh, Spiti and others were cancelled at various points in time.

Finally we decided on the weekend of 15-16 October as the tentative dates, and Narkanda as the tentative location. However, two days prior to this, my boss, who had been travelling, unexpectedly showed up forcing me to be in office even on Saturday, the 15th. I had informed my friends that I will confirm the plan by afternoon. Meanwhile, one of my friends took the car for some pre-trip inspection.

At around four o' clock I left office. My friends were even then deliberating the destination. One even suggested Jaisalmer- the place where we had gone the last time. Narkanda was ruled out because my car's axle was giving some problem when turned extreme right. Finally at 5 o' clock we left Delhi for Kasauli.

Stretch 1: Delhi- Murthal (~80km): After the initial traffic in Delhi, the road was pretty smooth. We reached the "Sukhdev Dhaba" in about two hours. The food here is really good and despite the huge size, service is prompt. Recommended: Dal Makhani and Imarti-Rabri. Cost for 3: 480

Stretch 2: Murthal -Chandigarh (~200km): The road between Karnal and Ambala is in bad shape due to the construction of the Highway. Rest of the road is fine.

Stretch 3: Chandigarh- Dharampur - Kasauli: The road between Chandigarh and Dharampur is a breeze. The new flyover around Panchkula makes life easy and the lights of the hills visible from it are just mesmerizing. At about 10:30 we stopped by a roadside dhaba and had an awesome yet simple dinner. Cost for 3: Rs. 280 (Extremely cheap). To reach Kasauli, we take a diversion from Dharampur. The road is single laned and decent, with occasional bumps and bad patches. The car's axle did make a "Khat" sound on the extreme right turns though. We reached Kasauli at about 12.

The adventure was yet to begin. We did not have a hotel booking as our plan and destination were not final till the twelfth hour. We roamed around the entire city to find no hotels open. One of my friends was a fauji, but he was hesitant to get people awake at midnight. Driving through to the end of the town, we came across a building with some party going on. An S class, a Beemer 6 and a Freelander were visible in the front parking. Alas, it wasn't a hotel and we were advised to go back towards Dharampur to find accomodation. We were actually mulling the idea of sleeping in the car when we came across a hotel marked "Opening Shortly". Seeing a light glow, we just casually enquired if a room was available. It was, and at 1:30 am finally, we got the room and went off to sleep.

The fire at the Murthal Dhaba


Fire Part 2


The Famous Murthal Parathas with white butter


The Car "Rampyari"


Yours truly in formal clothing: straight out of the office


The room we got at Kasauli


The Night view


The view in the morning


The famous Dharampur Railway Station. The toy train passes from here.

[Tapish]

The next day, we got up late and had some parathas and omlette at the hotel itself. We asked the local staff about some place with water/river/lake, and he advised us to go to Gumberpul.
The place is about 40 kms from Kasauli and is on the way to Shoja (Diversion from Dharampur). We left at about two and were there by 4 o' clock. We passed the beautiful 14 Gokha Rifles Training Center on the way and navigated through an eternally winding single lane road. Gumberpul is a small village with a river confluence and a bridge on top of the river. The valley looks beautiful and we sat there for some two hours befor returning.

On the way back we stopped at Dharampur for dinner. Here, a retired Colonel has set up a restaurant by the name of "Shaan- e- Himachal". It also houses a Baskin Robbins outlet and one called "Bubbles" that provides exotic teas. The place was even featured in some novels. We had some awesome Mutton Rara, Butter Chicken and also some Lemon Ginger tea. Cost for three: Rs. 820

NExt day, I got up early (5:30 am) to roam around in the city. The weather was chilly but a Jacket proved to be enough. The city was silent and I took some really nice photographs. However, monkeys were a major headache. I am really scared of them (more because I have encountered lots of them in the hills). Somehow, managing the monkeys, and the occasional langoors, by walking in a straight line, and not paying an attention to them, I reached back safely.

By around 1:30, we left the hotel. The bill for two night stay and a breakfast was ~INR 4000. We hit the road to stop at Dharampur for breakfast, this time at the Gyani Dhaba, right opposite the Colonels' Shaan e Himachal. The food here was good too, but the service paled in comparison to the competitor. Cost: ~300 for 3.

We hit the throttle and were back in Delhi by 12 after a brief stopover at Panchkula.

Images from my Panny FZ 35

Ambuja Cement


The Gumberpul


Unknown Bird: Please let me know if any of you know its name


Another Unknown bird


The dog that came charging at us on the river beach. Didn't do an y harm though.


The Colonel's Shaan e Angaar


The various varieties of tea


At the market

[amitwlele]

That was a quick short trip and a even shorter TL. Thanks for sharing. I always wanted to see Kasuali. I think i first heard of the place in the movie Dil Chahta Hai where Akshay Khanna goes for some painting workshops

I guess you were short of time to capture some more of its natural beauty.

[Tapish]

Originally Posted by amitwlele

That was a quick short trip and a even shorter TL.
I guess you were short of time to capture some more of its natural beauty.

Yes, it was a very short trip. I would have liked to be there for some days, but work called me back to Delhi. As for DCH, I haven't heard that to be true. I heard of this place in Koi Mil Gaya when the place was Nainital (my hometown) and in the movie, it was called Kasaulitown .

[ranjitp1]

Nice TL.Loved the shot of the night lights on the hills.Thanks for sharing

[nurni76]

Has anyone done a trip to Kasauli from Delhi of late? Planning to go to Kasauli next month and wanted to check the road condition and the time approoximately it would take from Delhi to Kasauli.

[Zenster99]

Originally Posted by nurni76

Has anyone done a trip to Kasauli from Delhi of late? Planning to go to Kasauli next month and wanted to check the road condition and the time approoximately it would take from Delhi to Kasauli.

I last went to Kasauli three years ago, however have traveled on NH-1 quite recently (as you can tell from my recent travelogue), and the road is in EXCELLENT condition until Ambala (which is just a short way away from where you need to divert from NH1 towards Shimla). As far as I remember, the road to Shimla was pretty good even a couple of years back (which is when I used the same road to get to Chail) - the only dodgy stretch in bits was the last leg to Kasauli. Not sure what condition that leg is in, but other than that, Delhi - Kasauli should take no more than 7 hours, 8 AT MOST. . .

[Biraj]

Originally Posted by nurni76

Has anyone done a trip to Kasauli from Delhi of late? Planning to go to Kasauli next month and wanted to check the road condition and the time approoximately it would take from Delhi to Kasauli.

I was there in April. The roads are excellent. Last 15 odd KMs are a bit narrow (in relative terms) but rest of stretch will be an absolute breeze. You may check my travelogue for some details. I started from Delhi at around 7 PM and reached the hotel (~8KMs before Kasauli town) around 2.15 AM despite stopping at Murthal and Zirakpur McD. It was the first highway trip on my T-jet so, the average speed was a bit on the higher side. Covering the stretch in 6-7 hours should not be too difficult.

Wish you a safe journey.

[nurni76]

Originally Posted by Biraj

It was the first highway trip on my T-jet so, the average speed was a bit on the higher side. Covering the stretch in 6-7 hours should not be too difficult.

Wish you a safe journey.

Originally Posted by Zenster99

As far as I remember, the road to Shimla was pretty good even a couple of years back (which is when I used the same road to get to Chail) - the only dodgy stretch in bits was the last leg to Kasauli. Not sure what condition that leg is in, but other than that, Delhi - Kasauli should take no more than 7 hours, 8 AT MOST. . .

Thanks Guys. I am planning to leave early in the morning, So I guess I should be able to reach in 7 hrs.

Will definitely go through your travelogues before I leave.

[c_trivedi]

I just came back from a great weekend getaway at Kasauli (from Delhi). The roads to my surprise were, overall, in good condition. While going from Zirakpur to Dharampur, we somehow missed that new flyover that bypasses Kalka, which resulted in our getting held up at Kalka for some time because of traffic. While coming back from Dharampur, I made sure I took the straight road that had "towards Delhi" signboard on top of it, and was not disappointed. What a breeze that drive was!
NH1 was also in great condition, save for a few diversions between Karnal and Ambala. Everytime I come across such diversions, I try to pacify myself that all this work will make our road trips better in future!
Overall, a great drive and a wonderful weekend getaway. Will definitely go there again.

[wanderernomad]

For the more adventurous next time try the Parwanoo-Jangeshu-Kasauli route. Its only 18 kms from Parwanoo and you get amazing views of the Doon Valley.