Everybody loves beaches, the cold waves of the ocean, the warm sand and the sunny days on a beach is always a nice idea for a relaxed vacation. But I have always been a hills baby, something in me has always had an inclination towards the lush green mountains and small towns with narrow roads surrounded by hill forests. As I always say, "anything closer to nature is closer to my heart."
The kasauli hills have always been a quick getaway for a relaxed trip, sunk in the beauty of mother nature. This time I chose the month of November for my kasuali winter experience. Spending winters in the hills is like eating an icecream in winters, and people who get the joy of having an icecream in winters can only relate to me right now.
I love spending my winters travelling in the hills. During the days, the sun feels warmer, like a blanket cozying you up. The evenings are colder but you always have a hot cup of coffee and some wood fire to warm you up with a breathtaking view right outta your window.
I spent 4 days relaxing, trekking and exploring the small town of kasauli. It was a short roadtrip that started from chandigarh.
I reached the kasauli town around 11 am after an hour drive from Chandigarh. It was a warm sunny Friday morning. I had booked a room in the Army Holiday home, which is in Kasauli cantt area and has amazing views of the hills around. As soon as I checked in and dropped my stuff in the room, I went for a stroll towards the town market which was just 2.5 kms away. I always prefer exploring places on foot, yeah I'm a sucker for long walks😅. Had lunch in one of the local places and strolled a little more, trying to get as much local experience as possible. Kasauli is a small town so there isn't too much to see in the town specifically.
Came back to the room around 4 and ordered myself a cup of hot coffee to enjoy the breathtaking view from my balcony. Later went to the famous sunset point of kasauli which was hardly a 5 minute walk from my stay. The panoramic view of the sky changing its colors as the sun went down was just so peaceful. For dinner I went to the quite a famous place in town, the kasauli club. Established in the year 1880, the kasauli club is a heritage building and the architecture and decor of the club takes you back to the British Indian army era. After the dinner headed to my room and called the day off with a hot green tea and warm quilt.
I woke up around 6 am to go for a morning trek through the hills, but had to wait until there was day light outside. The locals suggested me not to go out exploring before the sunrise because of the wildlife that wanders around during the dark hours, mainly leopards, jackals, and other wild animals in the hills. I left my room around 6.45 am and went off trekking on the Gilbert trail. It led me to an amazingly beautiful viewpoint. It was a clear morning, so I could literally spot panchkula, chandigarh, the sukhna lake, the Kalka town. Everything looked surreal. After completing that trek, I straight up went to have a full fledged heavy breakfast with a breathtaking view. During the day I went to explore another famous spot, the manki point, famous as the monkey point. It's basically a hanuman temple, which is believed to be a spot where hanuman ji touched his foot while flying towards sanjeevni mountain. The temple area and the stairs leading to the temple are full of monkeys, hence famous as "the monkey point". In the evening went exploring the local Heritage market and local famous food stalls. As I always say, you don't truly relate to a place unless you eat the local food. The famous momos at mom's kitchen and samosa buns, the pork and much more. Ended my day on a peaceful note with a full tummy🤤
Being in hills calls for early morning walks and treks, so another morning of 6.45 am trek, exploring the unknown paths through the hills in hope to capture beautiful landscapes and viewpoints.
A holiday in hills for me is all about relaxation and getting closer to nature. So today after my morning trek, I drove to a resort named 'Glenview resorts, around 8 kms from kasauli town. If you are a sucker for deep forest hills and valley views, away from the hustle and bustle of a town, then this is the place for you. The rooftop area of the resorts offers amazing panoramic viewpoints where you can sit back, soak up the sun and enjoy the delicious meals by the resort. They also have a infinity swimming pool and hot water tub. As you might have already got the clue, I spent the rest of my day relaxing, reading in one of the cabanas at the rooftop area and also spent some time in the hot water tub calming all my stress down. For my dinner I had a special thai dinner prepared by the restaurant of the resort.
My last day in kasauli, I surely wanted to make the most of it. After my morning walk around the forest area near the resort, I enjoyed a buffet breakfast sitting at the rooftop. I checkout around 11 am and headed to the kasuali town for one last stroll through the mall road, the Tibetan market and all the local places. Did some touristy shopping of souvenirs and had some more local food(yeah I'm a foodie😅). Also I made one last stop to another tourist attraction, the Christ church kasauli. This is yet another historical church built back in the days of the British. It's a very eye catching building with a clock tower and stained glass building.
Another day gone and another amzaing trip came to an end. Started back for chandigarh around 4p.m.
#HillsOverBeaches
