Kasauli

Kasauli is a cantonment & small town in Solan District of Himachal Pradesh about 15 km away from Kalka. It is picturesque town reminiscent of the erstwhile British Raj. It is much smaller & quieter than Shimla or Manali and also minus the traffic jams of popular hill stations. Kasauli has many resorts & hotels that overlook the mountains and we can spend time just chilling away.

One plus point in the popularity of Kasauli is the the ease of getting there. By road, the nearest major city is Kalka which is 15km(about 20mins) away. Chandigarh is 65km(about an hour & half) away and Delhi is 300km or about 6 hours away if you choose to go by road. Taxis are available easily from both Kalka & Chandigarh for 1000-1500INR. I used Gozocabs to book my taxi direct from Delhi for around 3k INR.

You can also board AC seating buses from Delhi ISBT Anand Vihar or Chandigarh easily. You can board HRTC buses from many major towns in Haryana also.

The nearest rail head is Solan Brewery Station but Kalka is a better option as from Kalka you would get connecting taxis easily.

The nearest airport is Chandigarh which is a good international airport and well connected. You can also land in Delhi and proceed by road.

The best Time to go to Kasauli is from Feb-June when the weather is very pleasant.

Kasauli Exotica

For your stay you can book one of the many Hotels & resorts around but not in Kasauli. Since Kasauli is in fact a large cantonment with some civilian areas rather than being a town, the real estate is mostly controlled by the Army. 

Thus, all the hotels and resorts are atleast 1km to 20km away from Kasauli all the up to Parwanoo city and they all claim to be for Kasauli even if they are 20km away.

I booked one of the closest to the Mall road which is Kasauli Exotica. It is nice property overlooking the mountains with a large sky deck for dining and breathtaking views.

Getting in and around Kasauli is a bit of a challenge. Since all properties are outside Kasauli and there are no cab aggregator services there, you have to rely on your pre booked cabs or the ones offered by the Hotel or Resort. I used a small taxi operator called Kasauli Taxis which took around 400INR for every trip to the town which was 1.7km from my hotel and and around 1300INR for a full day sight seeing tour of Kasauli.

Christ Church, Kasauli

For sight seeing, there is not much to do in Kasuali. It is a place to just chill away and enjoy the weather and views. But, if you do want to explore, the Heritage market on the mall road is worth a go. There is a also a British era church right on the Mall Road.

The Mall road & heritage market have some really good Cafes like the Rudra Cafe, Mantra cafe and many more. I personally recommend the Rudra & Mantar Cafes for their decor and awesome food. For some local & Tibetan food, you can head to shop No:9 on the Mall Road and enjoy hot bowls of Thukpa. 

At Rudra Cafe you can write your testimonials or draw something  on tissues, papers or what not and paste it on the cafe walls. I also did my bit to add to their feature wall. Also, I would highly recommend the Irish Coffee at Cafe Rudra. It was one of the best I have ever had.  Meanwhile cafe Mantra has some good views through large window, a swing to relax and an attic to chill out on. Here I would recommend the wood fired oven fresh pizzas.

After the church and mall road, there are only two more places to see in Kasauli. one them is Manki point which is a Hanuman Temple inside the Cant premises. You will have to go through airport like security and will have to leave all your electronics including cameras behind if you want to visit Manki point which is the highest point in Kasauli.  I personally did not like no cameras aspect so gave this place a skip. 

Sunset Point Kasauli

If you have a full day with you, then I suggest that you wake up late, have breakfast and then book a cab to the Mall road. From there you can walk 1.5km to the Sunset Point. From the sunset point, you can walk up to the start of the famous Gilbert walking Trail or Gilbert Nature Walk. 

The Trail starts at the Base of the BSNL microwave station a few hundred yards from the Sunset Point. The trail is just about 1km long and extends up to the Jatinder Maan point and the end of the trail From the Jatinder Maan Point you can see up to Chandigarh on a clear Day.

Gilbert Trail                                                                       View from Jatinder Maan Point

Gilbert Trail

  When we walked up the trail, it was very foggy and the visibility was just a few meters. But, as soon we reached the end of the trail, the fog cleared and we could have breath taking views from Jatinder Maan Point. There are small walking trails from the Jatinder Maan point up to the BSNL microwave station or nearby hills if you have strength left or if you have brought lunch along with you and want to spend time till evening.

At sunset you can walk back to sunset point, have coffee from the Tuck Shop (an Army controlled cafe) and enjoy the sunset from the viewing deck if you are lucky enough to have clear weather at the time of sunset which is said to be very rare. 

Now that you are done with all the sight seeing and a bit of trekking which I recommend spreading out through your available days, you can relax for the rest of your vacation in Kasauli and rejuvenate.