faridabad to Kalpa, Sangla, Chitkul

Hello IMers..I want to take my wife and two kids to Himachal next weekend, starting June 9th from Faridabad and return by June 16th. I have Narkanda, Kalpa, Sangla, Chitkul as the places to checkout. Can you please guide me on the following:

1. I want to drive all the way..have Swift VDI in good shape...with wife and two kids...Hope this is not an issue/concern for this route.. I had done FBD-Manali (two stops, chdg and mandi) once during Dec 2010.

2. Do not want to spend more than 6 hrs of drive at one time in a day...so I am very unsure of the track I should select...

In light of this self-imposed restriction:

I understand from other related blogs that two routes Fbd-delhi-amb-chg-shimla-narkanda-rampur-kalpa and fbd-delhi-karnal-ymnngr-poanta sahb-chakrata-Rohru-Rampur-Kalpa exists. but the former seems to be the choice of most the IMers. Please throw some light on comparing the two routes with respect to road conditions/travel time/stay options.. Also, please elaborate on the hours of drive between each stopover points.

3. I am not planning to book hotels in advance, prefer the flexibility of staying or moving on from a place. Will this be a concern?? since its high time of the year? I believe there still should be some properties letting out rooms on demand vs internet/telephone booking..

Please guide me on where I should make my first stopover (Chandigarh or Chail or Shimla or Narkanda??) given the above challanges...

Appreciate a quick reply and suggestion... (Respected Dilliwala, please help).. I have been following a lot of blogs on this section but haven't been able to derive a conclusion.

Regards
Nikhil

Thanks to Naveen and Rajat for the inputs I got through the below post in itinerary section.. I am on my way and will be posting updates on the trip through this thread...

Thanks Naveen, Rajat..
Kinnaur by Car (from Faridabad)

Most welcome Nikhil and wishing you a pleasant and enjoyable journey.

Started this morning, June 9, 4:45 AM exact from Faridabad..It was still dark on the west but was giving way to brightness towards the east..Thanks to Faridabad bypass road which takes you all the way to Badarpur border non-stop 1 red light only and lesser traffic (this is specially for sector 18 onwards)...We zipped through the border, entered into Delhi and exited Delhi in about 1 hour (yes )...We didn't want to stop much in this leg since we had brought home prepared soft Idli's , however I still felt attracted to the famous makhkhan wale paranthe when I was zipping past Murthal dhabhas. Kids were asleep, so thought I should stay course with Idlis (Idlis are Idlis, Paranthas are Paranthas, they won't mix ).

Anyway, 6:15AM and we went past Murthal, hitting Panipat around 7:20, though the L&T Toll was showing 6:26..Refuled just after Panipat and it was my dear wife's turn on the wheel...Believe me, it helps a lot if your better half is half on the wheels as well ...We cruized through Karnal around 8 and then Ambala around 9 AM...Per plan I would take back the wheels before Zirakpur since it was going to be a never before route after that and as a rule(MAN made) males are better drivers when it comes to hill driving.

So it happened, around 10 we were reaching Zirakpur and as we were about to take the river over bridge (next to Mount Shivalid Breweries of Thunderbolt fame) my google map suggested a NH7 alternative to avoid Panchkula. I got tempted and turned around at the McDonalds (just after the flyover on the river) and went back to the town just before Zirakpur to take NH7. Don't know if that worked to the advantage, but there was hardly any traffic. From NH7, we hit NH5 avoiding Panchkula.

What a road !!! WOW !! NH5...I am surprised, why can't we emulate some things that we have in India to all our cities/towns (cities should be Chandigarh'ish and all highways should be like NH5)... This road is amazing and well built and scenic...sadly it was only till Parwanoo...but even after, it was typical hill drive with NO POTHOLES and well built road. We halted at a shabby looking snack point (wife insisted that we must take a break now) and the tea was a dissappointment..The uncle was generous and gave two candies to my kids but we realized that this was anyway paid through the cost of tea (15 bucks) which was pathetic..we couldn't even sip more than 3...

I was trying to be very careful (since my tyres are close to their life) and also didn't want to get into any trouble with locals and so many DELHI taxi and private numbers.. Reached a point where we had two options, Solan through Barog or take the bypass Barog option...the intersection was getting stuck and I opted the bypass...the bypass was indeed lengthy but was well carpetted, lesser traffic...Reached Solan around 12..Bought some mangoes and a box of cherry..Kids loved both...We knew we'll be there by afternoon so there was no sense of urgency.. I had called into the hotel to confirm my booking (made it two days before). Reached Kandaghat around 1245-1 and took the right turn to Chail leaving the traffic sprinting towards Shimla ..

The MDR (Major District Road) from Kandaghat to Chail (29km) is a superb road..One needs to be careful as its narrow and trucks, yes TRUCKS come close to headon in the fascinating hill drive. The air was already cool by now and we were sure of the much needed relax for the day..Stopped couple of times in between to take some snaps and allowed kids at a point to climb the hill, they needed that break from motion..

2 PM sharp, at Hotel Grand Sunset, Chail and we checked into their delux room...THe view was fantastic from the window and the climat was really beautiful..The max temp was around 27-28 but the nip in the air was pleasing...Min 18.. Took lunch and went to sleep...Chail's a nice cool place but not much to do around...We went to the highest cricket stadium but it was not allowed for general public (only military school)..Anyway, no complaints about that...visited a temple (the road was even thinner and dangerous) and then the local market...Packed our dinner from Sher-e-punjab hotel and here I am with my family relishing it at Chail...

Tomorrow's plan is to head straight to Sarahan..will review the homework before hitting the tarmac....Will come back soon !!

THanks
Nikhil

Chail is a lovely halmlet; all the best Nikhil for your onward journey. Look forward to hear more from you.

Just saw this thread.

The route you took, avoiding main Panchkula - that's the standard route for Ambala-Shimla.

Hope this place stays accessible in December/ Jan.... BTW is ther snow around... would love to see some snow around

Guys..I am back from the heavens, unfortunately..Will soon post the travelogue separately. Thanks for catching up on thist post. Lookout for the follow up.

wasn't able to post image, how do I do that?? I have my pics posted on picasa web. The url isn't showing up the picture here..?? am I doing this incorrectly??


trying from flickr

awaiting the travelogue and pictures - was wondering how it went.

here it is...still to complete it...

http://www.indiamike.com/india/1426598-post1/