This post is about one of my old travels in Himachal Pradesh, India. Its a small town called Narkanda in the Shimla district. It is situated on NH-22 and surrounded by the Shivalik mountain ranges.
Situated at an attitude of 2708 meters, around 65 kms from Shimla, Narkanda in Himachal Pradesh, India offers a spectacular view of the the Pir Panjal and the Dhauladhar mountain ranges.
It is a place to enjoy the snow capped mountains, apple orchards and deodar (Himalayan cedar) forests. Narkanda is also famous for Skiing & Winter sports in the winter months.
Narkanda is an ideal paradise for travellers seeking some peace and tranquility out of the hectic city life.
I travelled to Narkanda in the month of October so happened to experience the end of the apple harvesting season and just the onset of the cold weather.
The Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation’s hotel Hatu offers a nice place to stay and enjoy the beauty of Narkanda. There is a nice garden outside the hotel where you can sip your tea and enjoy the view of the mountains.
There are quite a few places of interest to visit around Narkanda. To get a spectacular view of the snow clad mountain ranges, it is best to drive up to Hatu Peak (3400 mts), which is around 8 kms from Narkanda.
The road to Hatu peak is surrounded by pine and deodar trees. You can enjoy the drive uptown the peak or for the more adventurous ones hiking your way up to the peak to enjoy the flora, fauna and natural beauty of the surroundings.
On the top of the mountain, there is a temple dedicated to Hatu Mata. The temple is made out of wood with intricate carvings.
A link road bifurcating from Narkanda takes you to Kotgarh and Thanedhar, which is renowned for it’s apple orchards. The famous Stokes Farm is located at Thanedhar.
It is said that Stokes while on a summer visit to Shimla, fell in love with the Himachal environments and started the apple farm which soon became renowned for its variety of the Red Delicious, Golden Delicious and Royal Delicious apples. Since the apple season was nearly over when I visited this place, there was just a few hanging on to the trees.
Around 10 kms from Narkanda towards Thanedhar, Kotgarh there is an artificial water fed lake called Tani Jubbar Lake. There is a wide passage around to the lake and pine covered promontory makes this an idyllic location for a day outing or picnics. There is also a local shrine to Nag devta (the snake god) on the side of the lake.
Another famous place to visit is Kacheri, around 7 kms from Narkanda, where an ancient Mahamaya Temple situated. This temple dedicated to Goddess Kali and located in a tranquil area surrounded by huge deodar trees.
HELPFUL HINTS
- Narkanda is around 65 kms from Shimla and best way to travel is by bus or car from Shimla
- It is best to rent a local car as the drivers are knowledgeable of the area and very helpful
- Hotel Hatu offers good meal options but there are other eateries available. Better to carry your own bottle of water everywhere.
- You can pay with your card at Hotel Hatu but most of the other places like local eateries and shops you need to pay in cash.
- For those with some extra time, another place to visit is the Jallori Pass, around 90 kms from Narkanda. The scenic route passes through the Kullu Valley and a 30 minute walk from the Pass takes you to Sarolsar Lake.
- Do shop for locally produced jams and pickles, they are really good.
Hope you enjoyed reading this post. Your comments and suggestions are most welcome. You can also subscribe for new posts.
Please share using links below:
1 Comment