Chail in HP, an offbeat under-rated but beautiful hill station

Chail in Himachal Pradesh is an under-rated idyllic hill station with lush green forests, salubrious beauty, picturesque landscapes and tranquility which attract many tourists.

A two nights stay at Chail is sure to unwind and rejuvenate anyone with its pleasing retreat. It does not have the crowd of Shimla or Manali (overhyped) but indeed pristine with lush green hills and treks amidst the pine and deodar trees with the backdrop of magnificent Shivalik Hills.

It was discovered by Maharaja of Patiala, Shri Bhupinder Singh and was his summer retreat, now his beautiful place with lush green lawns and spacious rooms has been converted into a Premium HPTDC Hotel (rooms / cottages can be booked online on HPTDC Website).

Last summer, we took an off on a Friday and started by our car from Chandigarh at about 8 AM to Chail (about 105 km, 3 hours), had light breakfast (Alu Pyaz Kulcha with white butter, mixed pickle and curd) in a dhaba on the way, we had booked the Rooms in Chail Palace online (palace has wide variety of cottages and suites which are available from Rs.4000 to Rs.9000 per day).

We reached the palace at about 11.30 AM and checked in. After fresh up we walked to the palace lawn which has a park for children with a Bouncy House and rides etc. We spent about 2 hours in the beautiful lawn, had lunch in its Restaurant Cum Bar and retired into our rooms for a small nap. Here in their lawn monkeys are the menace who are ready to snatch away any eatable from your hands.

In the evening, we proceeded by car to the Chail Cricket stadium (built by Maharaja as he himself was a cricket lover) which can boast to be the highest cricket ground in the world. Later we roamed in the Chail Mall Road and after dinner (Himachali traditional food “Dham” which was delicious) and came back to our rooms to relax. There is not much to shop here except locally distilled pears and apple wine.

Next day morning we proceeded by our car to the Kali Temple (a very steep uphill kacha road) which is a popular religious spot with breath taking views and sceneries. After offering prayers in the temple, we came to Chail Wildlife Sanctuary which has myriad species of birds and animals.

Again afternoon was a walk in the palace exploring it’s beautiful treks and spots. In dinner, we ordered another Himachali dish Tudkiya Bhath with Raita which is like pulav and it was awesome.

Next day (Sunday) morning we did a track of about 4 km in the forest area near our hotel and checked out from the hotel at about 11 AM.

Another important spot here is Sadhupul which is a small village on the way from Solan to Chail. We stopped over at Sadhupul on our way to Chandigarh. We sat on the stones in the clean river Ashwini (not very deep) with our foots soaked in the ice cold water, ordered Maggie and tomato soup followed by tea from the makeshift shops there and thereafter proceeded to Chandigarh reaching home by evening.

It was really a stunning 3 days tour to surreal Chail which is a paradise in the lap of serenity.