Jul 21, 2006 09:44 AM
5506 Views
We started from Dharamshala at 9:30pm and reached Shimla 6:00 am next day. Mind you there are no luxury buses as such from Dharamshala to Shimla. You have HP state transport buses available which are not comfortable however is the handy option if you do not want to spend much money on hiring private vehicle or don’t mind taking another route.
There are no autos available through out Shimla. You just have private taxis. Its better to hire a taxi from outside rather than from pre-paid booth as it will cost lesser. Minimum amount you will be charged for any place is 100 bucks. Shimla runs local transport buses however they are not available at odd hours.
We stayed at Hotel Rajat on Mall road. Its a nice hotel with good food as well. Hotel also does taxi booking for Shimla and surrounding sight seeing. You can also request HP tourism buses booking from hotel itself.
We booked taxi to take us to Kufree the first day and Nalderaha for the second day.
Kufree
This place is around 20km from Shimla and is the most famous spot. The taxi charged us 450/-. The trip takes around 4-5 hours depending on how much time you would like to spend at the spot.
From Kufree base to the actual spot, depending on the weather conditions you have the option of either taking a horse or talking a walk. Day when we visited, it rained heavily the day before, the complete road was a real mess. Riding on horse was the best way and we did not regret that. There are 3 associations, out of which you can choose any one to get a horse. Usually people will approach you. Ride back to the base costs 250/- per head. Once you reach the top, all spots are just in vicinity. You can spend around 1-2 hours there and get back. On the way back you just have to approach your association and they will provide you with any horse available.
Nalderaha and Mashobara
These spots are not so frequented by tourists although I felt they are better than Kufree. Our taxi guy suggested these places rather than visiting local Shimala. At the end we were happy that we listened to him. This place is 22km from Shimla. The taxi costed us 400 bucks.
Nalderaha is a beautiful spot with a fantastic view of the valley, deep woods where shooting for lots of hindi movies had taken place. Horses are also available (250/- per person) to visit around 6 spots along the way. The complete path is around 1km. Takling a walk is the best way to enjoy the spot, my personal opinion.
Mashobara valley is visited on the way back from Nalderaha. You can see multi layer farming fields, stunning view of high rise hills and valley, apple farms on the way.
The complete trip does not take more than 4 hours so you can plan out any other site visit within the same day.
