We ganged up this time after a gap of more than 7 months for a quick break to our favorite spot - the hills! What better place than the evergreen and ever refreshing Kasauli, which isn't very far away from Delhi to eat up on the entire time in travelling, and yet not so close by to miss on the perks and fun attached to a road trip with friends!
We left at 9 pm from Delhi on a Friday in a rented Mahindra XUV. It was perfect for the 6 of us and the journey was fun filled with loud music of various genres to pump up the already high mood! After several pit stops we arrived at Garkhal near Kasauli at 6 am and were left amazed by the early morning views of the hills!
Omkara - sabse pyara! Ya, that was the tag line of the homestay and it indeed was very cozy, clean and comfortable.
Day 1 Highlight: Gilbert Nature Trail & Manki point
It was the best walk in the woods experience with views worth saving in the eyes! The trail was located in the army area and had several army paramveer chakra holders and their details along with inspiring messages on both sides of the road. The broad trail with signboards and quite a number of tourists ended at a nice picturesque cliff and majority of the people were returning back to the main road from that point. But we ventured further on a narrow trail on the other side of the hill that seemingly led to a huge Hanunam Temple on the top of the neighboring hill. We walked and walked clueless, yet enjoying the nature at its best. There were no sing boards and we could spot only 3-4 people on the path ahead of us. After spending around 2 hours walking along the trail which was just wide enough for one person to pass, we finally came to a point where the way ahead was not clear. The Hanuman temple was clearly visible,but the trail to it seemed lost in the woods. The group of guys just ahead of us warned us to return back to the place where we had parked our car as the trail apparently ventured into an unknown village.
Caution: Don't stop and keep walking on the trail, as later the care taker at our homestay told us that the end of the trail was the Manki point which led to the Hanuman Temple's base! And we simply missed it by whiskers, as we were discouraged by a few people ahead!
The day ended with a fulfilling walk of approx 4 km and we treated ourselves with super tasty samosa bun and other local specialties at the Mall Road market.
Day 2 Highlight: Parvanoo Timber Trail Heights Ropeway
The Timber Trail ropeway station is located on the Kalka Shimla Highway and takes around 10-12 people to the Timber Trail Heights Resort located at an altitude of 3 km above, which is otherwise a 40 min drive. The ropeway journey was a beautiful experience as it was pouring heavily and we could see clouds below us while going up. The beautiful pine cones, the meandering roads, the step farming and the painting like landscapes were worth the 1200 bucks we spent for the ropeway. The return ticket was valid for 2 hours extendable to 6 pm if we used the restaurant at the resort.
The property of Timber Trail Heights was very well maintained and well kept. We had a fulfilling lunch at the Restaurant and spent time in the gardens of the resort. It was definitely worth a visit!
We hopped back into the car and continued with the road journey back to Delhi. This time the mood was quite morose. But all in all it was a memorable trip and executed well in time as we were back to Delhi by 11 pm, on Sunday.
