My First Travelogue: An Early Morning Sprint to Hills...

It's been a little over 8 months in Chandigarh, a beautiful place in itself. This sunday was the first time when I went for a getaway-an early morning sprint into the mountains. Back when I was in Chennai, witnessing sunrise on Elliot's beach (popularly called as Beasent Nagar Beach) was my favourite thing to do apart from the sunday G2Gs or rides of which I hardly used to be a part (in short, I have been lazy all round :-P ).


This sunday, however, was different. There was the same craving to witness sunrise away from hustle and bustle of city, to ride on the twisties, into some place just away from my usual city trips. The best option that I could find here was right in front of me (literally). The Kasauli hills are visible from my hostel and it is a daily routine to at least once have a glance on it. This Sunday I decided to pay a visit... Finally...

The trip was a short one. I didnot stop for any special "sight-seeing" other than to admire the beauty of nature.

Trip Details:
Total distance covered = 151.2 km
Time = approx 5 hrs
Route = Chandigarh-Dharampur-Kasauli-Parwanoo-Chandigarh

The NH22 (Chandigarh-Shimla Highway) from Zirakpur to Dharampur is simply superb consisting of The Himalayan Expressway as a part of it. The roads upto Dharampur are wide, and with barriers on side almost throughout. But the catch of the day is MDR 10. It is mostly single road, with just sufficient amount of space on the sides for a two lane traffic. But the beauty is awesome. As you travel towards Kasauli, you gain height and the morning seems even more beautiful than ever. Once you cross Kasauli, it's almost downhill to Parwanoo. The road, again, is single and quite narrow at some places. Considerable part of the road is full of potholes.

I travelled these areas when the public was hardly awake, so no idea about the peak traffic conditions. But as an early morning ride, it is a worthwhile experience.