Best places to visit Shimla by walk

Best places to visit  Shimla by walk

Scandalpoint 

Name derived from maharaja of patialas   dalliances . Lala lajpatrai ‘s statue re –installed  here being brought from Lahore after independenc   e rendezvous plave .

Grand hotel

Once called bentink castle has perhaps Shimla only rickshaw .

Kali bari

 Built in 1845 dedicated to kali mata belived that an ancient temple of shamla (blue temple )ie kali devi exited near rothney  castle on jakhu .wooden image worshiped localy during british days ,it was removed to a  wooden structure present kali bari .

State bank of india 

Once called Dalzell house later imperial bank of india in 1924.

Vidhan sabha 

Built in 1925 the council chamber is now Himachal vidhan  SABHA

 st  michael’s cathedral

Built of stone and treak in 1885 by lord ripon at ripon place .gothic style has statue of marry gifted by maxicans

 Gorton castle 

Imposing castle made of grey himalyan ston retains original turrets conical roofs arched doorway and window belived to be quake and fire proof belonged to mr gorton  ics in 1840 one british secretariat now himachal office of account general

Kennedy house 

First permanent house of Shimla built in 1822 (now burnt down) by capt charls prat kennedy

Rhododendron forest 

A beautiful  walk from chaura maidan  post office via eva lodge to summer hill derived from greek rhodom meaning a rose and Dendron ,a tree localy  called bress specie in himachal is rhododendron arboretum grows near oaks squash is made from this flower ,which has a cooling effect (sold in nav bahar ) ,belived to be a cure for asthma and is a blood purifier ,now an endangered spicie

Summer hill 

Father of nation mahatma Gandhi styed in Georgian house of raj kumara amrit kour

Gaiety Theatre 

Built in 1887 has semi circular victorian theatre  plays and fuctions  held here  desined by  h lrwin on the lines of royal  albert hall ladon built in grey barog stone in elizabeth an style called the best equipped  theatre east of suez

Christ church 

Built in 1887 second oldest church of north india  original chancel windows designed by lockwood kipling Rudyard kipling ‘s father  stained glass windows

Clarks 

Once carition hotel in 1910 purchased by mr clarks after the end of world war 2^nd  passed in to the hands of rai bahadur ms oberoi renamed as obroi clarks hotel

Chalet day school 

 Only swiss type of wooden cottage in shimla one called then house as british officers residing in us club use to entertain their lady guests here ,now a school

Us club 

Once called Shimla united service club favourite haunt of british officers who entertained the ladies in the chalet tlas two tennis courts carignano was its country house now pwd officers

Churail baoli 

Near marina (once g lenarm ) hotel on the mall is a nullah where water flower overs mossy rocks  once a pond and baoli  ie spring existed here now has a statue of a pahari belle with a sheep surrounded by lilac coloured agapanltus (African lilly )benches forest

Cedar

More than 100 years old situated at a place called khybar pass

(being a old area ) first owned by jr william

Purchased by maharaja bhupinder singh of Patiala guest house of Punjab government

Oak wood

Heritage building at khybar pass once summer residence of maharaja patiala now office resindence of himachal chief minister

Woodville

Large german country house once residence of c-in- c later summer palace of raja rama sir  bhagat chand of jubbal now a heritage hotel

Barnes court 

Heritage building previously called himachal bhawan  now raj niwas Shimla agreement signed here

BEST PLACES TO VISIT DELHI

BEST PLACES TO VISIT  DELHI 

JANTAR MANTAR ;

An astronomical observatory with masonry instruments built in 1724 by maharaja jai  singh –ll, the mathematician and astronomer king of Jaipur. The instruments are intended to show the  movements of the sun , moon , etc.

LAKSHMI NARAYAN TEMPLE 

 Popularly known as birla mandir, it is a large hindu temple built in orissan style, in 1938, by the renowned birla family. People of all faiths  can worship at this temple.

QUTUB  MINAR 

 Qutub minar is an excellent example of afghan architecture. The minar is a  72.5 mts. High victory tower, the construction  of which began  in the final year of twelth century by qutubu’d din – aibak  and was later completed by his successors .

BAHAI’S HOUSE OF WORSHIP 

Situated atop the kalkaji hill. It is also known as “ the lotus temple “ due to its distinctive lotus shaped design in marble. It was built in 1987 by the followers of baha’I faith. The temple signifies the purity and equality of all religions. { Monday closed }

SAFDARJUNG TOMB 

At the western end of lodhi road is situated the safdarjung tomb built in 1753 – 54 by the son of the second nawab of qudh{Monday only }

RED FORT 

BUILT BY SHAHJAHAN THE BUILDER OF THE Taj mahal in agra .The construction lasted from 1639 to 1648 (Monday closed) .

 

Jama Masjid 

Jama masjid is the lagest masque in india and stands across the road from the red fort built in 1656 by shahjaha about 20,000people can pray here at a time (drive past.)

Raighat

The simple square plateform of black marble marks the place where the father of nation Mahatma Gandhi was cremated.

Humayan’s Tomb 

Built by humayun’s widow queen haji begum in the 16^th centuary it is supposed to be prototype of the Tajmahal at agra.

WILD LIFE PARKS & SANCTUARIES IN HIMACHAL PARDESH

WILD LIFE PARKS &  SANCTUARIES

two national parks and 32 wild life sancturies are located in the diverse picturesque terrain of the pradesh. marvelous trekking routes with camping facilities in the wild attract the adventurers.

THE GREAT HIMALYAN NATIONAL PARK.

Located in the picturesque valley of kullu is spread over an area of 620sq.kms, musk deer ,choral, thar, bhoral, serow, brown bear, leopard and snow leopard inhabit these coniferous forests having alpine pastures and glaciers.

A trek through the park to raktesar, the origin of the sainj river and finally a halt at the end is an event to remember.

PIN VALLEY NATIONAL PARK .

Cold desert of spiti is the high altitude location of this national park forming the habitat of big herds of bhoral and exclusive snow leopard. only the physically tough can make it to the top.

MANALI SANCTUARY .

 Starting on a bridle path from manali log huts one can wander past the dhoongri temple to enter this heaven of dense deodar, kail, chestnuts, walnuts and maple forest to meet musk deer, monal and brown bear. camping overnight at hambadug or galiani thatch can be unforgettable delightful experience.

SIMBALBARA SANCTUARY ;.

Poanta valley of sirmour district is adorned by this easily accessible sanctuary. it lies studded in the dense forest having grassy glades and a perennial stream lying  nested in this greenery is a small rest house.  ghoral, sambhar and chital can be seen majestically moving about. best season for visiting the place is winter months.

CHAIL SANCTUARY .

 The popular hill resort chail situated at a height of 7,000.ft is breathtakingly adorned by deodar and oak forests  which form a part of the sanctuary  here. sambhar, ghoral and cheer pheasants are its inhabitants. barking deer and khalij pheasants can often be spotted at dusk and dawn.

KALATOPE KHAJIAR SANCTUARY .

 Trekking on well laid out forest trails from dalhousie one lands up in the scenic meadows of khajiar surrounded by thick forests.  this sanctuary has pheasants and serow.

KANAWAR SANCTUARY .

Parvati valley of kullu district is the habitat of himalayan thar high mountain precipices here are the dwelling areas of the big goat. comfortable stay at kasol rest house after a trek in deodar and fir forests can be very refreshing.

MAHARANA PARTAP SAGAR ( PONG DAM LAKE ) . 

The pong dam and the surrounding shallow waters of the lake provide a heavenly habitat to the migratory birds from siberian region innumerable ducks can be seen in these  swamps ,black buck, cheetal, cranes,pintails and othe r varieties of water birds are found in abundance.

DARANGHATI SANCTUARY 

Upper reaches of shimla district have an undisturbed forest area with abundant wild life, monal, trogopan,khalij pheasants, musk deer. ghoral and thar are the inhabitants of this sanctuary. the forest staff posted at dofda & sarahan can be approached for a guided tour of the area. the sanctuary has network of bridle paths to wander in.

KAIS SANCTUARY .

Spread over a splendid area of 12.61 sq.mts . this  sanctuary attracts the tourists for a brush with black bear, brown bear, pheasants, monal, koklas, tragopan and snow leopard.

                                    MUSEUMS

BHURI SINGH MUSEUM ( CHAMBA).

The museum named after one of the local rajas, raja bhuri singh was opened in 1908. the place has a rich collection of chamba paintings, bronze items, local jewellery,collection of  age old coins, arms, armour in addition to locally made artifacts . embroidered textile of chamba displayed here has no parallel.

KONGRA ART GALLERY (DHARAMSHALA,DISTT. KANGRA ).

The art gallery is housed in a newly constructed building near the old bus stand in kotwali bazar. inaugurated in 1990 the place can boast of a rare collection of kangra paintings of different artists of all ages in addition to sculptures, ancient pottery, tapestries and wooden carvings. the work of photographers, painters and sculptors adorn one  section of the  gallery.

ROERICH GALLERY  ( NAGGAR DISTT. KULLU).

Nicholas roerich known as ' russians artist with indian soul ' married to erstwhile cine star of india devika rani settled in this scenic hill top after the revolution of 1917. he cherished a dream of building bridges among people through the works of art. the gallery at naggar exclusively houses his canvases on which he has captured the varied moods of nature with rare combination of colours and his brush. the memory of these paintings has a  rare charm of lingering in the mind.

SOBHA SINGH GALLERY (ANDRETTA ,DISTT. KANGRA )

Partition of india brought this genius painter to the blessed valley of kangra. he spent the rest of his life in homely, functional studio in the cosy hamlet of andretta, portraits of sikh guru which appear to be absolutely articulate. sohni mahiwal, heer ranjha etc. adorn the walls of millions  of  houses all over the world in the form of reprints.

STATE MUSEUM ( SHIMLA)

A charming colonial structure named ' jirverman' above chaura maidan in shimla houses the state museum. richness of the himalayan heritage can be seen in the galleries displaying  pahari paintings, antique stone sculptures, arms & armour, assorted bronze pieces, dolls representing different areas & anthropological items.

 

 

BEST TREKKING ROUTES NEAR KAZA

TREKKING ROUTES NEAR KAZA

 Some of the trekking routes

 langza – hikkim – comic

These three villages situated at heights between 13,500 ft and 14,400 ft above m.s.l

Favourite route for those looking for fossils. Near comic village is famous thangyud monastery. The older structure was near hikkim village. But this dilapidated structure was brought down in an earthquake in 1975. Some ruins still remain . one can go by road small vehicles only from  kaza to langza 8.5kms ; then walk to hikkim – thangyud gompa – comic 8kms and finaly walk down to kaza from comic  6kms . alternatively  one can walk upto comic from kaza 6kms ; then walk to  thangyud gompa  - hikkim and back to kaza  9kms

Those wanting to make a make a night halt should carry tents etc. medical worker is available at hikkim village.

 kaza – pin parvati trek

It is a strenuous trek of 8 to 9 days through the barren and desolate region of the pin parbati valleys. There is no habitation along the trail for many days. Porters should be hired at manali.

Best period ;- august 1 to September 20

 

The bus  from kaza crosses the spiti river near attargo , 12kms  from kaza and just before lingti. From there it is a 13kms rough and dusty journey to guling along the pin river 3kms up stream from guling , a foot trail reaches the parahio nala;  this river is crossed with the aid of pulleys and the path continues to sangam 3753mts where a pwd rest house is located. The trail from sangam to mud is again very rough and strenuous, mud is a small village of about 30 houses situated approximately 13kms from sangam . the following days walk leads through beautiful grazing grounds in the upper pin valley. After crossing the larang nala by a boulder – stream track, the trail reaches ghurguru camping ground. From there the trail becomes strenuous and leads over loose stony ground and , after crossing many turbulent