himachal pradesh end march april ideas???

karin

so far thinking of railway to shimla, dharamsala, mcleod ganji. where else should I go? ooohhh I'm so excited. thanks for your help!!

SHIMLA

Yes, you're right !! Just thinking of this beautiful state gets the adrenalin pumping!!

You haven't mentioned how much time do you have at your disposal. Depending on this, I can suggest the places and the no. of days to spend at each.

__________________
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karin

hello shimla,
About 5/6 weeks thinking of going to varinassi as well. Don't want to spend all the time moving from one place to another. Thanks for your help

SHIMLA

You have plenty of time for Himachal and Varanasi !

I suggest the following :

Delhi - 3 days
Varanasi - 3 days
Chandigarh - 2 days
Kasauli - 3 days
Shimla, Chail, Narkanda with Shimla as base- 7 days
Mandi, Rewalsar Lake with Mandi as base - 3 days
Manali, Naggar, Manikarn with Manali as base - 6 days
Kullu, Katrain, Raison with Kullu as base - 5 days
Baijnath, Palampur - 2 days
Dharamsala, Mcleodganj, Kangra, Jwalamukhi with Mcleodganj as base - 7 days

Do post / PM for any more information on H.P.

karin

Thank you Shimla,
Could you tell me something about chandigarh, kasauli, chail, narkanda,mand,kalliu baijnath and palampur. I know that's a lot, just a sentence on each would do saying something about them. Also do you think Manali is worth it? I heard it was touristy and not necessarily worth it. Thanks so much for your advice!

SHIMLA

Chandigarh - Has the unique distinction of being the capital of two states and a union territory as well !! A huge, clean(comparatively!) and well planned city with the Rock Garden, Sukhna Lake, Rose Garden, Punjab University campus and the Sector 17 shopping complex being its chief attractions. A good base for visiting Himachal.

Kasauli - A tiny, charming hill-station ideal for peace and solitude.

Chail - Higher, cooler and greener than Shimla, the magnificent Palace Hotel is its chief attraction. It also has the highest cricket ground in the world.

Narkanda - At a height of over 3000Mtrs., its a cool place even in peak summer. Though its chiefly famous for winter sports, its worth a visit in summer too. The Hatu peak is its principal attraction.

Mandi - A peaceful yet bustling town on the banks of the Beas, it is the gateway to Kullu valley and also to Kangra valley. The Rewalsar Lake can also be visited comfortably from here. This town is mainly used as a stopover during the long road journeys from Shimla to Manali; Shimla to Dharamsala and Manali to Dharamsala.

Kullu - A fantastic, serene valley with the lovely Beas river flowing through it. Ideal for a quiet, undisturbed stay for a week or more ! Kullu shawls are famous too. Bhuntar- 10 kms. from Kullu and the gateway to Manikarn- is on the confluence of the Beas and the Parvati. Katrain in the Kullu valley has beautiful orchards of apple and plum; and Raison is the base for water sports!

Baijnath - On the road from Mandi to Dharamsala, it has an old and famous Shiva Temple. Shivratri( normally falls in March) is celebrated with gusto here, so if you can time your visit properly, this will be a bonus !

Palampur - A magnificent village on the road between Baijnath and Dharamsala, its famous for its tea gardens situated against the backdrop of the majestic snow-capped Dhauladhar mountains !! The excellent Kangra Tea is made here.

Manali, though crowded with tourists, is certainly worth a visit; do not miss ! It is also the base for visiting Rohtang Pass(normally opens in May/June, but sometimes earlier as it did this year). At Manali stay at Hotel Beas, where you'll be away from the crowds and also have the pleasure of being on the river front. The continuous roar of the flowing water is music to one's years during the day; but a little frightening at night!! Enjoy the experience !!

I have posted a writeup on the Kullu valley on this forum, titled "Abode of the Gods", this will be under the "Travel Articles" section; do check it out, please.

The link to the article is http://www.indiamike.com/india/article.php?a=7

himadventures

I Found SHIMLA posting very accurate and practical.
Depends upon what type of holiday one is looking for.
Much of our clients had reported that Manali is too much crowded and sorry to say...polluted !!

They prefer and love SOLANG VALLEY. SO I would add here that do have a look at this tiny valley which provides very scenic and charmong view and plenty of scope for short excursions !!
Places like NADDI is better than staying in Macleod Ganj ( I fear-this will be on top list of many people already!! ) but again...Himalayas are getting more and more..crowded these days !!

karin

Thank you so much. I found it all really helpful! It has really inspired me Now I just can't wait to go
Thanks again Karin

Muchkai

Hi people!joined the forum just a while ago..was really impressed with the insider-news that one gets in this forum!
Am based out of Bangalore in India, having stayed in Tampa and SanDiego for the last 6 years!! Love travelling ..and I thought this is a good way to share and know more about the country I stay in..!
For one, we are planning a trip to Jammu and later to Shimla from the last week of April for about 10 dyas to spare..!We have family-member posted in the army in Jammu, and would be spending some time there..and in between that I really wanted to visit Pehalgam! My cousin there, being in the army and being ultra-careful, insists that it is still not a good idea to venture into the valley..but I would definitely appreciate if I get an insider-view of someone who has been there recently.
My first question, for obvious reasons is WHETHER IT IS SAFE TO TRAVEL TO THE KASHMIR VALLEY DURING THIS TIME OF THE YEAR!!Secondly, whats the best way to travel from jammu to Pahalgam?Can we hire a car? If yes, could anyone please send me phone nos. of car rentals they have used, so that I could take it up from there?Whats the scene with public transport between Jammu and Pehalgam?I understand from the map, that one needs to break at Anantnag and take some second transport from there to Pehalgam.How long does the whole journey take?

After that..we reach Shimla(Jammu-to-Ambala by overnight train and then on a bus to Shimla).Once in Shimla, I again would love to know of any cheap and good car-rental agency from where I could hire a car for two days..one day primarily to drive southwards towards Kasauli and the second day to drive north towards Tattapani..any suggestions on this would be greatly appreciated.
of what I read,"Shimla' seems to be a veteran with Shimla!! So, here's hoping that he would really help me out with his comments and suggestions!!
-muchkai

SHIMLA

Hello Muchkai and welcome to the forum !

At the outset, let me state that I'm no veteran - I'm just a Shimla and H.P. fan; crazy enough to love what the better informed posters on this forum refer to as a "concrete jungle" !!

As you'll be visiting H.P. in May, my sincere suggestion is to avoid Shimla ! Yes, I really suggest avoiding Shimla in May, as it'll be terribly crowded, quite warm and many of the hotels there will face a water shortage.

As you'll be in Jammu, I suggest your visiting Chamba and Dalhousie, via Pathankot. Chamba is a charming town located in a beautiful valley on the banks of the Ravi; while Dalhousie is an equally charming hill-station not too far from Chamba. In between the two is the verdant saucer shaped meadow at Khajjiar.

All these places will be cooler and far less crowded than Shimla in May.

Muchkai

hey..thanks Shimla for your suggestions!
I had Chamba and Dalhousie in mind..maybe I could work around your idea and change plans. isn't kasauli and Chail beaitiful too? Actually, what I had in mind was not staying at Shimla, but making it a base point to travel to tattapani/naldehra in the north and Chali/Kasauli towards the south of shimla. Will these places me warm too? since we need to reach Delhi by the 1st of May, I was thinking Shimla-Delhi would be more convinient than from-anywhere-else-in HP tp Delhi.
Now, if I change my planning to go via Pathankot to Chamba, how I would travel from Chamba or Dalhousie, back to Delhi to catch my flight back.

SHIMLA

Muchkai,

Chail and Kasauli are indeed beautiful; the entire state of H.P. is !! ( I can safely make this assertion, though I've never seen the north-eastern part of the state).

However, I still recommend your doing the Chamba-Khajjiar-Dalhousie part. You can very easily get down to Pathankot from Dalhousie and then catch an overnight express train from Pathankot to New Delhi.

Leave Shimla, Chail, Kasauli and Tattapani for another trip, preferably September-December or March/mid-April

Muchkai

yup..I spoke to a few other people..and they seem to be saying the same..dalhousie,Chamba and maybe Dharmasala.
Hey..I was checking out the train connections from Jammu to Pathankot..wierd timings,man! They all reach Pathankot @ late evening..some evem post mid-night! So, I am wondering, maybe there are bus services from Jammu to Pathankot, at mpre convenient times..do u know abt that? Also, whats the time taken to travel from Pathankot to Dalhousie or Chamba,and whats the best way to do it?Should we make Dalhousie a base and then see Chamba and Dharamshala..what do you suggest?

SHIMLA

Muchkai,

1. Yes, there are bound to be buses at aconvenient time from Jammu to Pathankot, though I do not know their timings. You may even have a direct bus from Jammu to Chamba !

2. Pathankot to Chamba is 120 kms., so time taken by a bus will be approx. 4 hrs. If you are a group of 4, you may consider hiring a taxi; it'll be more convenient and faster too.

3. Whether you should include Dharamsala on this trip depends on the no. of days you have at your disposal; for then its not only Dharamsala, but Kangra, Jwalamukhi, Chintpurni and Palampur as well !

See Himachal at leisure and not in a hurry !! To see the best parts of the state will require more than one visit !!

SHIMLA

Having looked up the Indian Railways' website, I found three convenient trains for you from Jammu Tawi to Pathankot/Chakki Bank :

1. 9112 Ahmedabad Express, Jammu Tawi dep. 06=50, Pathankot arr. 10=15.

2. 8102 Muri Express, JT dep. 13=50, Ptk arr. 16=05.

3. 9368 Malwa Express, JT dep. 08=35, Chakki arr. 10=33.

All these these trains run daily.

Apart from the above, you also have the Jammu Tawi - Mumbai/Ahmedabad/Jamnagar/Rajkot Expresses at a convenient time, but I think these trains have a distance restriction and hence you'll be unable to get a ticket from JT to Chakki .