Peace in Paradise. Review on Kasauli

In March 1999, we had planned a trip to Kasauli where dad?s Company had a holiday home. After reaching New Delhi from Mumbai by Rajdhani Express, we boarded a Shatabdi Express to Chandigarh. There are many buses which ply between Chandigarh and Kasauli regularly. But we had the luxury of the holiday home Tata Sumo picking us up from the station. The driver was an elderly Sikh driver who insisted on being called Papaji.

Since the tenure of the stay was quite short (just 5 days, with another 2 days being planned in Agra on our way back), we had planned to make the most of the trip. This meant that we would have to make trips to Shimla (further up north from Kasauli) and Chandigarh which was to the south ? all in Papaji?s Sumo.

Day 1: By the time we reached the holiday home, it was already mid-afternoon and we decided to stay indoors and explore the exquisitely designed British period bungalow and its green surroundings replete with a badminton court. In the evening, we went out for a longish walk along the picturesque paths of Kasauli which were bordered with pine trees on either side. The view was enchanting.

Day 2: We spent the day going to nearby places around Kasauli. One was Kufri and the other was Chail. Kufri is another small hill station about 20 km from Shimla. We spent a few hours there ? the highlight being sitting on top of a yak and getting ourselves photographed. There are many other spots in Kufri such as a Himalayan Nature park and Indira Tourist Park, both of which we were not able to visit due to shortage of time. Kufri is also famous for its adventure sports as well as skiing in winter.

The other place was Chail, which was on the way to Kufri. Here we just had a brief halt to have a look at a huge cricket stadium which was also doubles up as a polo ground.

Day 3: Shimla ? the capital city of Himachal Pradesh, which is about 75 km from Kasauli. Again, there are many good spots which have scenic beauty, but since we were spending only a few hours there, visiting this was just not possible. Since the ladies were interested mainly in the shopping, we spent whatever time we had at the main mall there.

Day 4: Chandigarh ? the capital city of Punjab and Haryana, this is India?s first planned city. About 65 km from Kasauli, we spent the day visiting the famous rose garden and rock garden.

Day 5: Finally, Kasauli itself. (Readers will pardon me for spending half the review on non-Kasauli spots ? but the idea was to show that if you are headquartered in Kasauli, you can also make day trips to many such wonderful places, though I can?t dwell on each of these in detail here.)

Since we had just one day in Kasauli, Papaji took us to all the spots there. First stop ? Monkey Point (there?s seems to be a monkey point in almost all the hill stations in India!). Here you get a scenic view of beautiful Himalayan peaks and on the other side, the view goes down right upto Chandigarh.

There was also a Baba Balaknath Mandir which also had a langar going on - (this means that all devotees are given a free sumptuous meal). On the way, we also briefly stopped at the Hanuman temple.

There was a public school (if I remember correctly, it was called Sanavar school). This school had beautiful grounds ? we were allowed to take a walk on the campus and marvel at the beauty of the surroundings.

Last stop was at a Sai Baba temple. Now, I had not heard of such a temple existing here ? so far away from Shirdi!!!. So it was really a pleasant surprise. Inside, there was a small crowd of devotees praying with devotion, while there was a live bhajan recitation going on. The statue of Sai Baba was an exact replica of the one at Shirdi. The peace and serenity of the place was moving. I couldn?t control myself due to the joy of meeting Sai Baba in this place. I had to be pulled out of the place by the rest of the gang.

Finally we were deposited at the local mall which had a number of tents by Tibetans (this species seems to be sprouting at every North Indian Hill station) selling their wares. The ladies in our group went berserk with the extremely tempting offers and our luggage multiplied like crazy. We rounded off the day (and our stay at Kasauli) with a meal at the dhaba situated in the mall.

Where to stay: Since we were staying in a company bungalow, we did not do much research on hotels here. But I?ve heard that Kasauli Resort is a good enough place.

Other highlights: Don?t miss the Litchi juice which is made by Himachal Cooperative. Its available in every store in the town and is a treat. Also, the famous Himachal apples are a must-buy. You can get a good deal if you buy in bulk.

Recommendation: Kasauli is a beautiful place, as I have said repeatedly in my review. But most importantly, the following factors go in its favor:

4) Complete peace and tranquility during long walks in lovely surroundings.