Barot - A Hidden Treasure of Mountains

Life sometimes makes us very busy and we hardly find time for other things, but we at Travellingrants always try to find time out of our busy calendar for our ever-going expedition of exploring this magnificent planet. We wish all our readers a Happy New Year.

2012 was welcomed by nature with snow in hilly areas. Hills and vallies covered with white sheet of snow give a  view as if the nature is showing canvas at its best. Driving through the snow covered hills is always refreshing and one tends to forget all their anxiety, stress and busy programmes.
We decided to give a break and started to prepare ourselves to explore a small but a very scenic valley in the lap of mountains  -- Barot, a small place in the state of Himachal Pradesh under district Mandi, situated along  the Uhl River and surrounded by Dhauladhar range of the Himalayas.

Snow-capped peaks, a small river running through the lush green valley, chirping of birds, fresh wind flowing through valley, it seems like nature has blessed Barot with all grace. We found this valley as one of the most beautiful place we have traveled so far.
Barot is not a big tourists destination, only those few who love to be close to the nature know about this beautiful valley.

How to Reach
To reach Barot, one has to take a diversion at a village named Ghatasani, situated on national Highway No 20 (Pathankot-Manali). Barot is about 25Km from Ghatasani. Nearest main places from this are Mandi (District) and Jogindernagar.
There are a few buses  operated by State Roadways and private operator running between Palampur, Mandi, Jogindernagar to Barot.

The nearest railway station is Jogindernagar, a narrow gauge railway line connecting Jogindernagar to Pathankot.
If you want to take the aerial route, two nearest airports are Gaggal (Dharmshala Himachal) and Kullu.

Best Season
Best time to go Barot is an individual preference and choice. On papers Summer is the best time to go there, but if you love to see the clouds covering the Valley, sun rays coming out of the clouds, rainy season (July-September) is a good time.
For all those who love to see a white blanket covering the valley, reflection of sun rays from snow, winters are your best bet.

Due to heavy rains, the area tends to encounters heavy land slides and can be closed for any uncertain numbers of time, so we suggest our readers to plan accordingly in the rainy season, In winter heavy snow fall can also create the same situation.
Beside some primary health center, one needs to go Mandi or Jogindernagar for any emergency medical situation. State government provides facility for 24X7 Medical ambulance and can be reached at the following telephone number - 108, keep this number with yourself for any such case.
For one who is on medication, please carry sufficient amount of medicines with you as you will not find any good medical shop in this area.

Temperature during the winters can go very down, so its advisable to keep enough woolen clothes with you,

All major service providers have there coverage in Barot, besides one can find number of STD/ISD telephone booth there. Still we suggest our readers to get a connection from BSNL as this state own service provider is giving services in all such remote areas also.

Route Map:
One of the most comfortable and direct route to reach Barot
Delhi  ->                 Ambala
Ambala->             Chandigarh
Chandigarh->        Kiratpur Sahib
Kiratpur Sahib->   Swarghat
Swarghat->           Bilaspur
Bilaspur->             Mandi
Mandi->              Ghatasni
Ghatasni->           Barot
We are sure that you have made up  your mind to explore this small yet beautiful valley, so don't wait, start your packing, we at Travellingrants wish you a happy and safe journey.

If you still have any questions about Barot, leave us a comment and we will be happy to help you to make your journey a memorable experience.