A road trip to Chamba, Khajjiar and Dalhousie by Karan Gupta

You may have listen to the famous song by Mohit Chauhan- 'Maaye ni meriye, simle di raahan, Chamba kitni Dur'. Which says that I must go to Chamba... Well folks, let me share why CHAMBA is a must visit place in Himachal through Photo Journey.

It was in July 2013 that I along with my family planned to visit Chamba for first time. With all necessary planning and arrangements we ascended uphill after a visit to Golden temple in Amritsar. I had a thought in my mind that roads to Chamba are narrow, risky with river Ravi flowing to one side, but I was taken aback when I drove as the road was pretty well carpeted and broad.
We stayed at NHPC rest house in Banikhet, which was a small hamlet en route Chamba. From here one road goes to Chamba and another to Dalhousie. We visited Dalhousie in evening which is home to famous residential Dalhousie Public School which has a wide spread campus. There is a Church in Dalhousie and a market which is quite abuzz with tourists mainly from nearby Punjab and Jammu region.

Monga’s Café is a good place to relax over a cup of coffee. There is a sweet shop even which serves delicious hot Jalebi’s.

Next day Morning we headed to Khajjiar, better known as Mini Switzerland of India. The road here is narrow but all along the way one witnesses such beautiful sights that forces you to halt for a brief picture shoot.

The open green spaces surrounded by dense pine woods possessing heights of 100 feet plus make the view a memorable one. Add to this dense clouds and a drizzle. The only sorry scene here was waste littered all over by tourists.

One can enjoy horse riding and other adventurous activities over here. There are a number of hotels and government rest houses in Khajjiar.

From Khajjiar a circular road leads directly to District Headquarters and Chamba Town. Preparations for world famous “Minjar Mela” were on in Chamba. We had lunch in The Irawati, a HPTDC owned hotel. Do try Rajmah madra and local kadhi in Chamba, along with chilli pickle known as Chukh, which is quite strong.