Chamba Valley

Chamba Valley, also known as Ravi Valley, is a land enveloped in ancientness, art and spectacular sites. The valley is located between the mighty Dhauladhar and Zanskar range in the south of inner Himalayas. The scenic panorama and tranquilizing beauty of the valley is just breathtaking making it a popular holiday destination among the tourists. You will get to see the wild olive, pomegranate and fig trees coalescing with the Acacia, Shisham, Pipal and some other trees here. Chamba valley is famous for medical herbs and varieties of flowers. You get a picturesque site of small villages and hamlets extending over the landscape.

Occupying the northwestern portion of the state of Himachal Pradesh, the Chamba, the valley of milk and honey known for its streams, meadows, temples, paintings, handkerchief and lakes, stands on a plateau on the right bank of the river Ravi valley. Chamba valley attracts tourists for the immense scope for site-seeing in form of temples and festivals. Besides, the expertise art work of Chamba, its recherché miniatures and handicrafts are also famous. The best time for you to visit Chamba is between the months of March and June and September to December .

The Valley is the most popular trekking site in the Himachal Pradesh. There are a number of interesting treks from Chamba. Two of the toughest and most exciting treks are to the Pangi Valley and the Manimahesh Lake. Some of the treks are:

- Sural Valley Trek
- Hundan Valley Trek
- Sainchu Valley Trek

Sural Valley Trek accommodates the villages of Kanwas, Ganmas, Rusmas, Sural Bhatori (Sural Tai), Barsal Adwar. The idols of Buddha, Avaloki-teshwara and Padmasambhawa can be seen in the Gompa at Andar Bhatori. Hundan Valley Trek takes you into the beautiful sub-valley of Hudan full of alpine meadows. You will see small villages inhabited by Buddhists, a Gompa with few paintings and a beautiful lake en route. Sainchu Valley Trek is the most enjoyable side-trek in Pangi and you can reach Twan, the last village in this valley.

Besides trekking, Chamba Valley also provides exciting opportunity for rock climbing and mountaineering. The Ravi River and its innumerable tributaries meandering through exquisite gorges and valleys, playing gleefully and foaming over rocks and boulders, provide excellent opportunities for white water rafting, canoeing and kayaking. There’s also enough fish in these waters to keep anglers satisfied. Fascinated by nature ! You can take a nature walk around the Chamba Valley or can pass time venturing in the rice fields or go for the wildlife safari in the Kalatope Khajjiar Sanctuary. While in Chamba you can visit the Bhuri Singh Museum, which provides the fine collection of murals, paintings, and miniatures from Basholi, Kangra and Chamba school of painting.

Sightseeing in Chamba is all about temples. Chamba valley is the famous pilgrimage site so you can enjoy temple tour here. The town is known for its finely carved temples built in the shikhara or the spire style of the Indian plains. They are devoted to Vishnu (the Preserver of Hindu Trinity of Creator-Preserver-Destroyer) and Shiva (the Destroyer) as well as to different avatars (forms) of Devi (goddess). You can visit to a number of temples such as Laxmi Narayan Temple, Brajeshwari Devi temple, Chamunda Devi temple, Sui Mata Temple and Hari Rai Temple. If you are fond of shopping then you can shop for the handicrafts items made by the local artisans. You will be all praises for the items manufactured by these adept craftsmen.

Many famous fairs and festivals associated with Chamba like Minjar fair, Suhi fair, Bharmaur fair, Manimahesh fair, Baisakhi festival, Hori festival, Bhojri festival, Nag Panchami festival, Rath Rathni festival etc. makes it ideal to visit during the fairs and festivals to feel the pulse of local heritage and culture.
The valley has everything for everyone. From trekking to adventure sports, from nature sites to temples, every site is just basking in beauty. A visit to Chamba valley is sure to leave you enthralled. So welcome to the valley sheltered by snow-clad mountain barriers.

Swati Saxena

Nal Sarovar Wildlife Sanctuary

Located just 64 kms from the main city of Ahmadabad lies the Nal Sarovar Wildlife Sanctuary. Nal Sarovar is the largest wetland of Gujarat and comes as one of the largest in India. Thousands of migratory birds fly and cross borders to come here. Once flocked they make their own world and live here till the season ends. They flock here just after the monsoons, in the month of September and stay here till the end of February.

The shallow area of the pond attracts the migratory birds which migrate in the water feeding themselves. The area supports more than 210 birds species of birds which feed in the shallow waters. Including these species are the black necked strokes, kingfishers, egrets, darters, storks, pelicans and flamingos, purple herons, spoonbills, green pegions. Others include ducks, geese, European migratory ruff and reeve, great Indian bustard, bengal florican, green pegion, gulls, terns, god wits, ducks and goose, shanks, swifts and swallows which flock here every year. Besides these are the Birds of prey like the ospreys, eagles, sparrow hawks and falcons hover here in search of prey. Those with long bills like whimbrels, curlews, spoonbill (derives its name from its spoon-shaped beak), sandpipers, snipes and kingfishers, cormorants and the darter or snake-bird probe into the details earth in search of food.


And if you want to see them all, then the best time to be here are the months of September to January. By February some of the migratory birds turn their backs back to their homeland. Apart from the birds there is another attraction which call people from all over the world. These are the migratory Padhars who populate the islands of the lake. This Bharwad Shepherd community is excellent in folk songs singing, folk dance and artistry. Sitting on the shores of this 112 km long natural lake and listening to these people its one of the most divine things to do here. Of course, you have to pat on their backs by giving them a little sum of money!



The Nal Sarovar Lake also arranges for a boat ride which will cost you INR 50 per hour. But mind it, the entire ride would take around 3 hrs. The good thing is that they don't charge anything per person. But then this ride is worth the price as its really beautiful in the interiors! There are also arrangements of a night stay or camping around the lake. O if you want to see the Nal Sarovar and be back in time the sane day then you have to began early in the morning at least at 5 a.m. . It takes around 5 hrs to reach Nal Sarovar from the main City of Ahmadabad. Don't forget to take binoculars along and some snacks too. Lunch can be had in any of the nearby restaurants of Nal Sarovar.

Chikhaldhara Hills - Tourist Delight

Maharashtra doesn’t boast of snow laden hill stations but there are immensely gorgeous hills that mesmerize many travelers because of their eternal charm, peaceful ambiance and nature’s blessing. Chikhaldhara is such a tourist spot lies deep along the northern rim of Maharashtra, in the region of Vidarbha. Though apparently peaceful, Chikhaldhara is implausibly chaotic because of its numerous wildlife species and cascading waterfalls. Most of the people from plains come here to escape scorching heat and exasperating climate and at the same time savor the crispy clean air, cool breezy climes and lush green meadows of Chikhaldhara.

According to Hindu mythology, the five Pandavas came here in search of anonymity during their exile. The place is also named as Kichakdhara as Bhima, the strongest of all Pandavas killed the monster Kichak in this place. Later British changed the name to Chikhaldhara.

Chikhaldhara is approximately 255km from Nagpur and also accessible from Mumbai. Vidharba Express from Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji station reaches Badnera the next morning, a twin town of Amravati. From the here local taxi or car can be hired and to reach Chikhaldhara in four hours. The road is fairly good with very little traffic. The road walks in through forest area where animals roam freely, thankfully only at night. Rainfall is also frequent in this region. Marriage between rain and landscape makes the place one of the glorified versions of nature’s bliss.

Three kilometers south of Chikhaldhara is Gavilgad fort is situated. A few kilometers away lay Bhimkund, a place of great historical significance. Here a 3,500 feet deep valley and a meandering Bhimkund stream, make it a tourist hotspot. Devi Point, another tourist spot can be reached by car. It is believed that in the small hill goddess Devi resides in a den like enclosure with the Chandrabhaga River flowing near by. To experience magnificence sunset one has to head to Mojhiri Point, which is next to Devi Point.

Horsley Hills – Virgin Hill Station Of Andhra Pradesh

We often hear about the phrase ‘small is beautiful’ and Horsley Hills are the best illustration of this. An obscure hill station in Andhra Pradesh, is almost fail to notice in map, even people drive pass it and miss it! Most of the people head for much known hill stations in south India such as Ooty, Coorg or Kodailkanal but little aware of Horsley Hills. Also place is devoid of five star hotels and luxury resorts. In spite of all these so limitations, this sleepy hill station is an excellent place for spending time in solitude.

Although it is believed that Matheran in Maharashtra is the smallest hill resorts of India but when you visit the Horsley Hills, you will force to dismiss the common notion. Every place or spot worth seeing here is within a two to three km radius. But there the charm lies. Unlike in other hill stations, there are no hawkers and beggars to disturb your peace. There are no such bustling shops that distract your vision from the nature’s wonder. You can have virtually the whole hills to yourself.

The place was discovered by W.D Horsley, the then collector of Cuddapah district who came here to escape from the blistering heat. He was so enchanted by the dense forest and exotic birds that he made it his summer residence. Later, British officers followed suit and an elegant villa was built for the governor. The climate of the hills is absolutely perfect. It lies at an altitude of 4300ft and experience maximum of 32 degree in summer and minimum 20 degrees Celsius in winter.

Although a small place but it offers plenty of rewarding viewpoints. From the Valley View Point just behind the tourist bungalow, you get a breathtaking view of the lush valley below and the surrounding landscape of miles of paddy fields, rural settlements and small towns of Andhra Pradesh. It is such a small place that you can experience everything within a couple of days. If you like nothing more than days spent in quiet contemplation or some time to oneself for writing or reading, then Horsley Hills is the perfect destination for you.