If you are a Holiday Maker itching to get away from your daily cores, a Honey-moon couple wishing to enjoy secluded privacy of the Mountains to exchange sweet nothings, a Sports-lover desirous of taking part in trekking, mountaineering, skiing, paragliding, kayaking and mountain-biking, a pious devotee of Lord Shiva or Lord Vishnu – Kullu-Manali is definitely recommended for all of you.

Actually in Himachal Pradesh Kullu is a city in the Kullu volley – spread over both sides of River Beas, 2 Kilometers in breadth and 80 kilometers in length, wherefrom Manali, the temple city is situated at 40 KMs from Kullu city.   For the outside world, Kullu and Manali are inseparable owing to the Tourist attractions, temples, Parks and nature’s beauty in abundance, in both the places and the trip is not complete to one without the other.

Kullu-Manali is the pride of Himachal Pradesh, the Mountain State of India, where there is no pollution of air to fill your lungs with dirt, pollution of noise by blaring horns of the city traffic and other hullu-bullus, pollution of water by Industrial waste etc.  On the other hand there is pleasant atmosphere once you enter the Kullu volley, refreshing air to take deep breathe in, crystal clear water flowing amidst rocks in the river and its branches and streams, complete silence other than the creeking of trees or singing of birds and above all, breathtaking scenery of the Nature, surrounded by hills of snow everywhere.

Certainly this is a place out of the ordinary, pulling hundreds of thousands of tourists every year to enjoy the values of life, forgetting their individual identity and leaving everything the mind is boggled with at their place of starting. The one and only feeling remaining will be you are a human being, having come to enjoy Nature.

Kullu-Manali is well connected by plane, rail or road, with major cities of the Northern India – Delhi; Shimla; Dharmasala; Ambala; Dehradun; Chandigarh; and Pathankot.  Regular Bus service is available from these places to reach Kullu-Manali.

Here is an interesting narration of my personal experience – just to get away from the chaos of the Metro, Delhi the capital of India and take refuge in the laps of Kullu-Manali volley.

]]> http://www.thelatestone.com/kullu-manali-%e2%80%93-a-tourist-and-pilgrimage-spot-in-himachal-pradesh.html/feed 0 http://www.thelatestone.com/the-calm-of-kasauli.html http://www.thelatestone.com/the-calm-of-kasauli.html#comments Fri, 01 Aug 2008 10:08:04 +0000 Neha Aggarwal http://www.thelatestone.com/the-calm-of-kasauli.html A typical British hill station, dotted with bungalows and churches and quaint little shops on the mall, Kasauli offers a breath of fresh air for the urban traveler seeking solace among rhododendrons and pines

Kasauli has a bit of everything: A colonial feel, evident in its cobbled pathways, characteristic British Bungalows and charming cottages overwhelmed by the wild beauty of rhododendron bushes as well ornamental flowers, ‘haunted’ houses abounding with tales of horror… The quaint, small hill town has an abundance of hawthorn hedges, which grow nearly everywhere. Amidst all this, the call of a woodpecker or the magpie transports you to another world. Be ready with your binoculars to spot these chirpers. Churches with stained glass windows are another reminder of this town’s British past.

There’s no way you can miss the Upper and Lower Malls on one of the expeditions. The Upper Mall will lead you to the town’s famous land mark – Kasauli Club. Keep walking and you’ll reach the town’s highest point, Monkey Point, which offers a breathtaking view of the surrounding areas. Don’t worry there are no monkeys here for the name comes from mythology… They say when Lord Hanuman was flying about in search of the sanjeevani booti, he rested his feet here! And yes, there is a monkey temple too, The Baba Balak Temple, where you can offers prayers. In other parts of Kasauli, you will have monkeys for company but not here!

Blissfully Serene

Quient, clean and green could be one way of describing this can tonment town offering a magnificent view of the snow-clad Dhauladhar range. Charmed by its beauty, litterateur Khuswant Singh is believed to have called it “the place where kissing is always in season”!

Getting there: Buses and taxis are available from Delhi, Kalka, Chandigarh and Shimla. The nearest airports are Shimla and Chandigarh. The nearest railhead is Kalka.

Best Season: April to June and September to November

Staying there: Kasauli has many good hotels like Regency, Kasauli Castle Resort, Bliss Resort, Hotel Alasia, and Bird View Resort.

Places to See: Monkey Point (offers a grand view of Chandigarh on a clear day as also of the Sutlej, has a monkey temple), Dharampur (houses one of the best hospitals for TB treatment in India), Lawrence School in Sanawar, beautiful old Churches, cantonment town of Sabathu, the sleepy and picturesque hamlet called Dagshai at the foothills of the Shivaliks, Kasauli Club, Kasauli Brewery