Have you heard? Khajjiar the beauty that no one talks about

Early in the morning, I stood outside on the terrace of my hotel and I could see the sun lighting up the Blue Mountains and the mighty snow-clad Himalayan ranges. I threw a blazer on me and thought of taking a stroll. As I walked up to the lanes I could see children of Guru Nanak public school getting ready for exams. On moving forward I could see the locals setting out for their work. The air seemed enchanting filled with happiness. What a refreshing start of the day!

I was staying at Hotel Bombay Palace

Cost 1 room - 2/3 people max - Rs 1200 per night

After having our routine ginger tea and breakfast, we were all decked to enjoy the day. I just prayed - No more rain. And, as the Universe heard me, the sun shone like the hellfire. As I was in the lobby trying to connect my Wi-Fi, I saw beautiful pictures of snow Dalhousie on the walls. It seemed some sort of Magical realm quite striking similarity to Narnia the fantasy land. Another bucket list decided, visit Dalhousie in winter. The roads are mostly in the shape of 8. Besides the roads, you can find flower poles painted in the colour of school emblems. Many inspiring quotes on success, hard work and morality were painted on the walls.

Some side of the roads were covered with patches of snow, and somewhere water seeping on the road from the melting snow. You can take few snaps against the white fluffy snow backdrop. The hills were loaded with big pine trees mostly cedar. There were hoardings that showed you may be lucky to sight snow leopard and many wild birds.

Cost of booking taxi from Dalhousie to Khajjiar and back visiting Kalatop and Panchpula - Rs 4500 - 5500 for a sedan/SUV

So following the twirls and swirls of roads we reached the mini Switzerland of India Khajjiar in about 2 hours. You can witness vast green meadows stretched to many miles, standing amidst the dense cedar trees, which looked like a picture straight from the dream. The undulating hills bordered the meadow patch that offers soul searching in peace and tranquility. Small children’s paradise it is indeed. You can find big cows and sheep grazing on the pasture. There are many professional photographers that offer to take snaps in Himachali attire. There many people carrying big beautiful baskets with colored flowers and endearing rabbits. They charge for you to take pics holding it. You can also bring out the adventurer inside you for there are options to get you thrilled. You can carry out many adventure sports like Zorbing, paragliding, and horse riding that will keep you in high spirits.

The picturesque panorama will imprint the everlasting memories in your mind. We spent around 3 hours strolling, taking dozens of pics—posing, rolling and jumping. There is a small lake in the center that completes the entire scenery. There are many food joints roadside, where Maggi being the basic food, well egg bhurji can be eaten too. Also, there are many medium-sized restaurants to satiate your hunger pangs.

Cost of Zorbing - 1 person - Rs 250
Cost of paragliding - 1 person - Rs 500

On our return journey, we stopped for Kalatop plateau. We were too excited for khajjiar, so decided to visit this later. You need to stop your cars and hire cars parked at the bottom of the plateau. But we decided on a trek and found it was a wise decision as the roads were quite narrow. The cap of the hill is a huge spread out comprising of too thick foliage and probably it gives the black shade for being named as Kalatop. The jungle is quite thick and with grey cloud approaching, I thought it was best to leave early. There are claims for seeing birds of different animals and birds like Pheasants, Monal, leopard, black bear, Himalayan black bulbul, Great Barbet, etc. But we did not get the chance to see any.

Please note that you have to rent SUVs/other vehicles outside Kalatop entrance as private vehicles are not allowed deep inside forest and only trained and local drivers know the terrains.

Cost of 1 SUV on rent at Kalatop -Rs 1500 to Rs 2000

It was almost 4 pm, so we decided to visit Panchpula. On our way to Panchpula, we saw Satdhara waterfall. The water cascaded on the slopes babbling and rippling. The water is believed to have medicinal and therapeutic properties. After 15-20 min drive, we reached Panchpula. We got the info that it is the primary water supply for entire Dalhousie. There is a beautiful monument erected where several streams meet. Our driver said there are many hiking trails that boast of soothing environment, varying wildflowers and the joy of a marvelous beauty that is irresistible to eyes. But due to lack of time, we had to drop the plan. I wish we had planned this as our first stop. So guys if you want to hike please start early from your hotel and make this as your first stop. If you have another day you can entirely dedicate it to hiking.

We reached the market in Panchpula where the shops tried hard to sell Khotulu. It is beautiful which the shopkeepers use to make tall claims. But we did not have space to carry it. So, I kept it for the next time. Even I saw some people trying out the zip line. I was more interested in sipping hot tea and eating little hearts. So I just sat in the tapri and peacefully had my tea before we started for the return journey to the hotel. On our way back, the entire road was fringed with different lovely trees and flowers that are an absolute treat to eyes. I was completely exhausted, so bought a souvenir quickly in Gandhi market and retreated back to my hotel.