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Rajgarh
Popularly known as the Peach valley, Rajgarh is a lush green valley in Sirmaur district. Rajgarh has two sub-divisions namely, Rajgarh and Sarahan, which is also a beautiful valley of Sirmaur. Rajgarh is a place of great natural beauty and is about 40 km from Solan. One can camp and trek in the valley. At Rajgarh, rest house of PWD and Forest Department are available for staying, besides private hotels and guest houses.

The people of this valley are dynamic and hardworking. They are religious and worshippers of Lord Shiva and Goddess Durga. The local Shaya temple of Lord Shirgul has a mammoth following. According to a legend, Lord Shirgul had first come to Shaya village and later settled in Churdhar Mountain at height of 12,000 feet.

The famous Baru Sahib Gurdwara also lies in this valley and is worth a visit. It is 29 km from Rajgarh and is situated beyond Kheri, a picturesque spot on the banks of a tributary of the Giri River.

Habban Valley: It is an enchanting destination and the area has thick pine fir, kail, baan and deodar forests besides orchards of apples and peaches. The climate is pleasant round the year and in winter, Habban occasionally has snow. Habban is about 70 km from Solan via Yashwant Nagar and Rajgarh.

Haripurdhar: Haripurdhar is about two hour journey from Rajgarh and is famous for the temple of Bhangyani Devi, a god sister of Lord Shirgul, the principal deity whose seat is at Churdhar. For staying PWD rest house (3 sets) and newly constructed trekkers hut is available, besides the Sarai in the temple.

Nohradhar: On way to Haripurdhar from Rajgarh, Nohradhar is one hour journey and is a base for trekking to Churdhar. There are many trek routes in the valley to Churdhar, like-Sailpaw-Dokhta-Churdhar (7 km), Haripurdhar-Churdhar (17 km), Nohradhar-Churdhar (14 km), Sarahan-Churdhar (7 km), Habban-Churdhar (15 km). For staying rest house of PWD (3 sets), IPH (2 sets) and some Guest houses are available.



Pragpur
Located at an elevation of 2000 feet above sea level, heritage village Pragpur is ideally suited to explore the Kangra valley. The area has several streams that drain into the river Beas. Many places of historic, religious and cultural importance are with in easy reach. With its equitable climate, easy access, safe passage and rich flora and fauna, Pragpur and its surroundings offers an ideal location for village tourism. The ambience of the heritage zone of Garli-Pragpur is zealously protected by the local residents. In their endeavour that Garli-Pragpur retains its unique character, panchayats preserve their heritage buildings. Several heritage structures are now being restored using original techniques but with modern facilities to facilitate tourist.

The Taal:  Dating before 1868, the Taal or pond forms the core of Pragpur village and serves as a recreational space for young and aged alike. It was constructed by the village brotherhood known as the Nehar Committee. The Taal is surrounded by many heritage structures-the Nehar Bhawan (Approx 250 years old); Naun (around 1864), a drinking water facility by Nehar Committee;  Dhuni Chand Bhardial Serai (village inn) and Radha Krishna Mandir.

Butail Niwas: This is a unique building. Over a hundred years old, it was built by Lala Buta Mal, a scion of the Chaujjar Sood clan. It includes six identical apartments built for his six sons. These lie around a sunken courtyard. In warmer weather, this courtyard is flooded with water to provide cooling. The water for this has been brought by the Butails from the nearby Nalsuyah Khad.

Nakki: This is one of the entrance to heritage village Pragpur. Since ancient times, the Reru Mal family provided a water point for common use, the overflow of which falls into small tanks where the village people bathed and washed.

The Judge's Court: Completed in 1918, this is a splended country manor designed in Indo-European tradition. The visionary behind this bold structure was Justice Sir Jai Lal. It stands in 12 acres of greens, and is just a short walk from the village core and the Taal. It is now run by the owning family as a heritage hotel. Other places of interest with in heritage village Pragpur are Lala Reru Mal Haveli built in 1931 by Rais of Pragpur which has a Mughal style garden, pleasure terrace and a large water reservoir; Butail Mandir; Chaujjar Mansion; Courtyards of the Sood clans, an ancient Shakti Mandir bearing inscriptions in the largely obsolete Tankry script and Atiyalas or public platforms. The area is inhabited by many crafts people-weavers, basket makers, silversmiths, painters, musicians and tailors etc. The residents of Garli-Pragpur are hospitable. There is always a warm welcome for tourists and the area provides a safe passage. The area is round the year visitable, especially January and September when the Lohri and wrestling festivals are celebrated.

Sixty km from Dharmshala, this small village seems to hold the kernel of much of Kangra’s rural beauty. Pragpur has been notified as a Heritage Village by Himachal Pradesh Govt. in December 1997. The  twin village Garli-Pragpur has been declared as heritage zone in 2002. Pragpur is 175 km from Chandigarh & 25 km from Jwalaji.  



Remanants of Sujanpur Fort
24 km from Hamirpur town and close to the district border of Kangra is the fort of Sujanpur. This place was the capital of Katoch Dynasty and the old fort is worth visiting. Popularly known alongwith its twin title 'Tira', this fort was built by Raja Abhaya Chand of Kangra in 1758. In the early 19th century this was the home of the famous Raja Sansar Chand - renownded patron of the Kangra school of miniature paintings. The fort has a Barahdari Hall', where Sansar Chand used to hold court, some shrines and excellent wall paintings.

Sujanpur Ground
There is a huge ground, where the annual Holi fair is held for 3-4 days, besides being used for sport activities. A Sainik school is also located here. It is also a religious centre. Narbadeshwar, Gauri Shankar and Murli Manohar are the three well known temples in the town. By the waters of the river Beas, the town has a charming setting and the river stretch offers good angling opportunities. This place is suitable for other adventure sports as well, such as angling, rafting and trekking.


Chail
Chail was the summer capital of the former princely state of Patiala. It came into being in the late nineteenth century when it’s handsome and dashing Maharaja Bhupender Singh was banished from Shimla, the summer capital of British India for a dalliance with the British Commander –in-Chief’s daughter. Smarting at this insult, Bhupender Singh began exploring the neighbouring hills with a single guiding force – to find a hill that was within sight of Shimla but higher. The little village of Chail seemed perfect. Shimla lay within direct vision, and most important, Chail was higher than the British controlled Shimla town. Large tracts of the land here already belonged to him. This had been given to his ancestors for services rendered during the Gurkha wars which had come to an end in 1815-16. A site was selected and the Maharaja began building his summer palace. But an ill omen seemed to hang over the construction area. Local legend has it that the moment anything was built, it would collapse over night. Dozens of snakes would appear from nowhere and attack the labourers. Then Bhupinder Singh had a dream. A sage appeared before him and declared that the site the Maharaja had chosen was where he had meditated till he was taken by the earth, and his peace should not be disturbed. The Maharaja had the sage’s blessing to build on any other spot. Bhupinder Singh moved to another site and at the original spot – which is about a kilometre from the Palace Hotel – he had a temple built to the sage. Here the stone embodiment of the sage may still be seen along with the iron tongs and trident. The shrine is known as the Sidh Baba Ka Mandir and is revered by many who claim that the sage has the power to grant boons. Meanwhile Bhupinder Singh had another site levelled out and a splended mansion was built and sumptuously furnished. And at 2226 m, a good hundered meters above Shimla’s average height, Bhupinder Singh’s summer capital was prepared to taken on the British one at equal terms.

In 1972 the property set in about 75 acres of land – including peripheral cottages, woods, sport and recreation facilities and even an orchard – passed into the hands of Himachal Tourism. This is now the Palace Hotel – a full- fledged destination resort. This retains the grandeur of its princely past and a large elegant lawn, complete with pavilion and fountain, adjoins the Hotel. Chail’s famous cricket ground was built in 1893 after leveling out the top of a hill. This stands at 2444.4 m and is perhaps the highest cricket pitch and the polo ground in the world. Maharaja Bhupinder Singh was an avid cricketer and the teams that have played here include the MCC. Bhupinder Singh was not averse to a spot of fun in cricket too. This once included a match with all the players dressed as women; the Maharaja took the crease in a nun’s black habit sporting and equally black beard. Several easy walks can be done in and around Chail. The small wild life sanctuary has a variety of wild life that includes the ghoral, kakkar, sambhar, red jungle fowl, and the khalij and cheer pheasents. There are Machan-like sighting posts near ‘Blossom’ at Khariun and on the blade pate of the prosaically named Roda Tibba. Fishing is possible on the Gaura river 29 km from Chail and there are several trek routes that lead out of the resort, including the one to the Choor Chandni mountain which is visible from Chail and poetically translates as “The Mountain Of The Silver Bangles”. Chail is 86 km from Kalka via Kandaghat and 45 km from Shimla via Kufri.


Maharana Pratap Sagar
Named in the honour of the great patriot Maharana Pratap (1572-97 AD) the Maharana Pratap Sagar (Pong Lake) is situated at an altitude of 450 metres above sea level, 32 degree north and 76 degrees east, in district Kangra. It is 170 km from Chandigarh, 110 km from Amritsar and 55 km from Dharamshala. The closest railway stations are at Mukerian 30 km, and Pathankot at 32 km. The settlements of Nagrota Surian and Jawali-which are located on the sagar's periphery-are connected by the charming narrow gauge Kangra railway line that connects Pathankot to Jogindernagar. The closest airport is Gaggal 40 km. The lake is well served by a network of roads.

Maharana Pratap  struggled valiantly for freedom of Mewar-as for the principle of independence. In words of chroniclers James Tod and william Crook, "He spurned every overture that had submission for its basis". Over the river Beas, the Pong dam was completed in 1976. Its reservoir covers an area of about 45000 hectares at maximum possible flooding.The level varies every season and averages around 30000 hectares. Over 200 villages with a population of over 85000 people lie along the wetland.

This lake sanctuary is a big attraction for migratory ducks from Siberian region during winter. One can see thousands of ducks in the swamp area between Shahnahar barrage and Pongdam and the surrounding shallow waters of the lake. Clean blue water all around with the panoramic view of Dhauladhar Ranges and Kangra Valley make the visit to Ransar Island an unforgettable experience. Black buck and Cheetal on the island along with Surkhab, Cranes, Pintails and variety of water birds welcome the visitors on the Island. The best season to visit the Pong Lake is between September to March. The nearest other visitable places are Masroor rock-cut temple 10 km from Nagrota Surian railway station, Haripur fort, near to Guler railway station.


Kangra Fort

The torrential Banganga river deep in the valley forming a formidable sheer and the Kangra Fort lurking atop the flat mountain range is a scene that one encounters on nearing Kangra town when you drive from Shimla-Mataur national highway. A feeling of awe mixed with joy pervades you as you look back in time. The Kangra Fort is approximately 3 kilometer from the town and is also known as Nagarkot. The fort is historically significant; its massive size, and the beauty of its structure lend it an added charm. In Shash Fat’h-I-Kangra, it is mentioned as a lofty fort, strong, invincible and with beautiful buildings. At the entrance is a museum containing some valuable old photographs of the fort prior to the devastating earthquake of 1905 and some exquisite stone sculptures, carvings, idols and other artifacts.

The climb leads through seven gates; en route there are some idols embossed in the walls of the fort; the ramparts open out to the fascinating valleys below and one can recreate the past and glide the corridors of history as one climbs up slowly through cobbled path. There are three richly carved temples in the vicinity-- Lakshmi Narayan temple, the Ambika temple and a Jain temple of Adi Narayan. These have delicately carved patterns and in their decorative and elaborate art they are reminiscent of Meenakshi Madurai complex (Tamil Nadu) or the temples of Orissa.

The view of gushing streams of Banganga and Manjhi rivers from the Fort is charming. The Kangra Fort was the seat of power of the Katoch Raja's and is believed to have been founded by Shusharma Chand Katoch, an ally of Kauravas in the Mahabharata war. It was the ancient capital of the Katoch Kingdom and symbol of power in the Punjab hill states. The Fort of Nagarkot (Kangra) stands as a mute witness to the ravages of conquerors from Mahmud of Ghazni (1009 AD) to the emperor Jehangir (1619 AD) and the disastrous earthquake of April, 1905. Emperor Akbar made many attempts to capture this fort but could not succeed. This place is now called as " Purana Kangra". One can enter the fort by a narrow path. It was protected by a number of gates named after its winners like Jehangir, Ranjit Singh and the British.

At the top of the fort, there was  the palace of the Katoch kings. In the courtyard there are two temples of Lakshmi Narayan and Ambika Devi, family goddess of Katoch. The fort remained neglected during the British period but now the Archaeological department maintains it. The Fort is still an attraction to the tourists and the pilgrims visiting Kangra.

The historical Kangra Fort is 3 km from the Kangra town. One can reach Kangra town by road, rail & air. Kangra is 17 km from Dharamshala, 220 km from Shimla and 235 km from Chandigarh.




Great Himalayan National Park
The National Park with an area of 754 sq. km. is located in Kullu District and has the representative area of temperate and alpine forests of Himachal. It has some the virgin coniferous forests of the State. Vast areas of alpine pastures and glaciers cap this park. This area has many important wildlife species of Western Himalayas, like Musk deer, Brown bear, Goral, Thar, Leopard, Snow leopard, Bharal, Serow, Monal, Kalij, Koklas, Cheer, Tragopan, Snow cock etc. Trekking of Rakti-Sar, origin of Sainj river and camping in alpine pastures is unforgettable. Similar is the trekking route to Tirath the origin of Tirthan river. Visitors can contact Director, Great Himalayan National Park at Shamshi or Range Officer wildlife at Sainj or Range Officer Wild Life at Sai Ropa (Banjar) for assistance and guidance. Camping equipment and guides are provided by the Forests Department.

 

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