Shoja - so near, yet so far. Review on Shoja

It was the beginning of June already and I had not made my yearly trip to the Himalayas as yet. Not because of the usual reasons (I am so busy, I don’t have any leaves left etc), but the simple fact that I was not able to zero-in on the destination. Wife was already getting restless. Simla, Masoorie, Nainital, Chail….. I had had enough of them and was generally sick of the summer crowd in these ‘famous’ and once-beautiful places. I went around hunting for information, talked to friends, surfed the net.. and finally decided on a place I thought would be just perfect for someone like me. Not too far off (Leh/Ladakh where you need two full days to ‘get used to’ the highs!). Not crowded and popular (Simla/Nainital, where the Mall Roads make you feel you are in Chandni Chowk). The place was a small village in Himachal Pradesh called Shoja. Thus began the journey. It was fairly simple. There are two routes to reach Shoja. We took the Chandigarh, Mandi, Aut route. The other one is through the Chandigarh, Shimla route. On the highway that leads to Kullu/ Manali, there is small hamlet called Aut. You take a left turn there and begin your drive through the hills to reach the destination we talk about. The turn is so small, it’s very easy to over-shoot.

The most amazing journey starts after Aut. If you are driving your own vehicle, a night halt at Aut will do a world of good. There are two or three small places in Aut where you can stay. Most people should find them reasonably ok. Hygiene freaks, please enter at your own risk! What starts after Aut is one of the most beautiful journeys you will ever undertake. Most of the time, you drive along the Tirthan river which eventually meets the Beas. Tirthan is great for trout fishing. Ideally this drive after Aut should be taken early in the morning when you have a lot of time to stop by wherever you feel like. The road to Aut is mostly uphill. You drive across breath taking landscapes, lush Pine forests and pear orchards. Make sure you do not cover the journey from Aut to Shoja in anything less than 4 hours. Do stop en route to taste fresh pears straight from the tree, smell the fresh air, hunt around for rare fauna, do some bird-watching, and simply laze around by the Tirthan. Finally we reach the destination. Shoja is tiny village with less than 50 families living there. We stayed at a beautiful place called Banjara resorts, a wooden building tucked away in the quiet village. There is one Government Guest house too, at a short walk from the village. Shoja is a picture postcard village with apple groves, long wooded walks, and amazingly simple and nice people. Completely unaware of all the tourist-conning techniques. The village is on the mountain edge, overlooking the valley. There is not much to “do” at Shoja. That makes is a perfect setting for a idyllic holiday, far from the madding crowd. However, taking few of the magnificent walks around Shoja is an absolute must. A short distance from Shoja (5 KMs) is Jalori Pass. You can either drive or walk to Jalori Pass. From Jalori Pass, you make short walks (5-6 KMs) on each direction to reach a beautiful lake and a fort. In short, this place sure rejuvenate your oh-so-tired-in-the-city souls and lungs. A word of caution however, is to try and avoid going there with a kid. Well, I did. My 2 year old daughter gave me a hard time, as there are no ‘flat areas’, pastures etc. where you can let the kid run around. It’s mainly highs and lows with thousands of pines and orchids in between. Perfect place for peace loving couples and oldies.