Palanquins were a popular means of travel for royal and noble ladies up to the second quarter of the 20th Century before automobiles became relevant in India. The luxury transport for ancient Indians was also afforded to men on special occasions. The palanquins were used for traveling both short and long distances providing an efficient means of transportation especially over rough terrain. In today’s modern day of sedans and suv’s a unique tradition is followed by the people of kasauli. On their wedding day both bride and the groom are carried in a palanquin. Beautifully draped palanquin in a red silky cloth with embroidery covered from all sides is for the bride . The grooms palanquin is open from all four sides and the roof is covered .It is carried by the village men as a mark of respect and importance.
1: There is no better place than a home and a homestay leaves you a warm, unforgettable , everlasting experience and make new bonding with people that become like a family by the end of your trip.The family of the host who resides there runs it. This ensures that guests receive plenty of individual attention.
2 : Nobody knows a place better than someone who was born and raised there. The wealth of information that the hosts have about their local area makes it easier for you. Such local knowabouts is extremely helpful in getting the most from your visit. Your host will share his local insight and vast network with you in no time. Whether it be the contact number of a reliable Taxi driver, a happening eating joint a homestay host is the best person to rely on.
3: One feels safe as homestays are largely run by families who live in the place. Both safety and privacy are ensured here. According to a guest at lapinekonez RAGHVI from ITALY,”The stay was extremely comfortable. Aunty was such a sweet lady and her food is the best ghar ka khana i have ever had. Also its a great place for solo female travellers. Thank you aunty for making my trip a memorable one. I am definately coming back READ MORE
The best part about staying in a homestay is the delicious home-cooked food. It allows you to understand local cuisine and even learn what goes into the preparation as most hosts willing share secret recipes with you.
5 : “Extra care for your baby infants need wether it be food or medical care. By staying in a homestay with a host family around, you can be assured that you’re not alone in case of a medical emergency. A homestay wiould let you to use the kitchen.
6 : Home stays are comparatively cheaper .
7: Staying with a family gives you access to a lot of such stories during your many conversations with them.
8 : If you’re someone who is very particular when it comes to food, home stays give that option to you. We at La pinekonez cook and serve just that is in our home. Homestays will also prepare and set up your meals in a specific way and with special care for your needs.Homestays can be trusted on this as it provides authentic cuisine, prepared by themselves. Some homestays even welcome their guests into their kitchen, and let them participate in the cooking process.
The lush green hills, the misty lanes, the serenity kasauli, one would definitely fall in love with this hill station.Beautiful vintage buildings,cobbled pathways, blooms of spring, chirping birds, monkeys having fruits and lazy yet ever so cute dogs taking a stroll down the pine mall – it all feels picture perfect. Cosy cafes, alluring momo shops and some really inviting food joints, there is a lot to choose from if you are searching for the best restaurants in kasauli. Choose to treat yourself to some uber delicious Nutella Nut Crepes and Grilled sandwiches of Cafe Rudra , there are many eating options in kasauli. One can take a walk down the heritage market in kasauli and choose from them.
Cafe Rudra
The most iconic cafe in kasauli the cafe rudra that serves the best coffee in kasauli’s heritage market ,this cafe is becoming more and more popular among the younger generation for its food and music. The walls of this restaurant are very eye catchy.
This place is known for their Nutella Nut Crepes and Grilled sandwiches .Their main aim to provide Visitors and Residents of Kasuali with a quality food. Situated in the Heart of Kasauli Market Provides Healthy and Hygienic Food which was a definitive longing of people and visitors of Kasauli.Their Moto is Solitude with Senses
TANNU BUN SAMOSA
Tannu bun samosa shop is more of a landmark rather than just a bun samosa in the heritage market of kasauli. Aloo tikki and jalebis are to die for. This shop was frequently visited by many personalities as photos displayed on the shop walls. Rated among the top eating joints in kasauli can be proven by the ratings displayed on the walls by trip advisor members.
Late Khushwant singh was a regular customer and often mentioned about this shop in his articles.Film and TV celebrities can also be seen here. This place has also been covered by NDTV Good Times. The bun smosa is described here as the poor man’s burger and truely one bund samosa is adequately decent enough to fill your tummy. The bun is split and filled with samosa, choley and 2-3 different chutnis.
Sapnas Tibetian Kitchen
Situated in the pine mall is this small tibetian cafe serving you much loved momos and thukpas. The place offers delectable Tibetan food and Chinese food. This is often flocked with tourists so you may have to stand in a que to try your favourite delicacies.
This shop is home to almost everything that the tibetian cuisine of this area has to offer in its most rich, splendid, authentic form with a flattering variety of options. What is impossible to miss in this shop includes Momos, Thukpa, Wonton, Gyathuk,Thenthuk and more. Run by a tibetian couple Sapna and her husband has a lot to offer you.
Cafe Mantra
Mantra cafe serve yummy oriental dishes and parathas. This is the best place to grab a quick bite when in Kasauli. The atmosphere is chilled with a great soundtracks playing the background. The food is great quality price. On the top floor one finds a mirage of notes on the walk written from travellers and visitors from around the world just how great this cafe is.
Hang Out Roof Top Bar
You cant miss this place if you are kasauli .The food, the view, the charm and the bliss get the right blend at Hangout.
Gorgeous rooftap bar with amazing food followed by a great Headphone dance party makes it a truly enjoyable and a unique experience.
Ross Common
Ros Common is a heritage hotels of Kasauli to witness an elegance of a bygone era in Kasauli . Situated on the lower mall in a perfect scenic location it offers solitude to its guests and is run by the Himachal Tourism corporation. It can be a perfect eating option in kasauli with family and friends .
Ross common has an outdoor eating area in a very scenic location.One can enjoy their meals with a perfect backdrop of the Snow capped mountains. This colonial bungalow provides an old world charm to truly savour Kasauli.
La Pinekonez Kussowlie
In himachal people are most hospitable, and inviting a just met person home is a way of life here. The host offer’s whatever food there is available in their home, as its a belief here that a guest should not leave their home without eating. Cuisines of kasauli are spicy. The local food of kasauli mainly consist of vegetarian food, with a mix of cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and red chillies .La pinekonez is the best place to eat traditional himachali home cooked food in kasauli. Fresh homecooked food is offered to the guests on top of a machan in a candle light.
Siddu : Made from wheat flour, Sidu is a local dish of Kasauli Himachal Pradesh. The method of preparation of Sidu involves filling the dough with fat and put on the direct flame. This partly cooked dough is then steamed to keep the taste and nutrients of the ingredients intact.
Meetha : Meetha is the sweet dish prepared on special occasions. It has sweetened rice mixed with dry fruits and raisins.
Tadkiya Bhat: Tudkiya Bhat is the authentic pulao of kasauli that locals cook in their own way. This dish is cooked with Indian spices , potatoes and yoghurt along with onion, tomatoes, garlic, cinnamon, cardamom provides an extra flavour.
Dham : Dhaam is a complete package of himachali dishes. The dish includes dal, rajma, rice, curd, Kadi and is very well complemented with jaggery. This is served on the festivals and other occasions.Dham is a traditional festive meal that is prepared by Brahmin chefs known as Botis, a brahmin caste also who are hereditary chefs.
Kukdi ki roti and Saag : Kukdi ki roti is made out of maize flour on a chulla. It is similar to the makki ki roti. It can be consumed with sarson ka saag or dal.
Patande: A popular breakfast dish of Solan and Sirmour district, Patande which is a himachali pancake.Made from wheat flour, poured on a ghee laden hot tawa .
Askuli : This is made from rice powder mixed with flour into liquid form. Then the liquid is poured into a hot stone tawa with deep carved round holes on a chulla. Askuli is consumed hot with black dal and ghee.
Poode: This is made from a batter of wheat, jaggery syrup (gud) which is then shallow fried in ghee or oil.
Revitalise your mind and body with a Green Ginger Tea made of cinnamon, ginger, green tea bags, spices, sugar and milk. Guests are requested to book the table well in advance in order to avoid inconvenience
On the entry gate of the Kasauli club is a reminder of a gone era in this age of e- mails the blood-red coloured letter-boxes of the British era which still stand elegantly in some places around the town of kasauli. As compared to the modern era letter-boxes made of thin sheets of metal , these stand apart. Made out of wrought iron in cylindrical and pillar shapes with crowns on the top reminding of the coat of arms, these letter-boxes stand majestically. They have withstood the ups and downs of time. After India got Independence from the British , most remnants of the British were faded away , but some of the letter-boxes managed to with stand all this. Some are over 150 years old. Now they all bear the logo of the Indian Postal Services.letter-boxes were installed in the late 1830s. Painted in different colours , they were finally painted uniformly in red colour in 1876 in London. Since India was under the British rule, many such letter-boxes were put up in the important places where the Britisher’s resided. It is due to the efforts of Major R.E. Hotz, who didn’t return to England after Independence and settled down in Kasauli, that the beautiful letter-box survives till today and is functional. When the government was acquiring these letter-boxes, this one was spared on the request of Major Hotz.
Lately, the government again wanted to remove this letter-box and keep it in the museum. However, thanks to the indian Army authorities who rejected the proposal saying that the letter-box was the property of the Army since it is located within the Army cantonment area. The sleek letter-box continues to be functional and even receives a couple of letters every day.
Euphoria band of dhoom fame had shot the title song phir dhoom in kasauli. The video was produced by Watermark films. Director Amitabh Roy and his 60-odd crew comprising young boys and girls . The band members could be seen dancing out side the sharma studio, christ church , the pine mall.
The lead singer, Pallash, and the other group members, including Hitesh, DJ, Kenny, Chris and Gaurav all clad in white cotton kurtas and blue jeans enjoyed shooting in this quiet hill town.Pallash, a practising doctor of the University College of Medical Science in Delhi, is a staunch believer in destiny.
A toy train ride gives you the most scenic splendour in Kasauli. The toy train is one of the three such trains still functioning , the other two in ooty and darjeeling . It is said a local holy man guided the british surveyers where to lay the rail track.You can travel by taxi to Dharampur bus stand below which is the Dharampur railway station true for you through the dense pine forests and tunnels and the heritage Barog tunnel.
Plan your trip in such a way that you can catch the down train from Shimla at Barog station. The ride can be dream come true. You can board the local toy train up to barog station. Here you can deboard the the train. After taking a walk around the Heritage Barog station and the tunnel you can board the down train upto Dharampur station. If you wish to trek upto the Barog bus stand and catch a local bus to kasauli, this could be another option. This can be a nice way to enjoy your holiday in kasauli.
The Kalka–Shimla Railway is a narrow gauge railway mostly through mountainous route from Kalka to Shimla. It is known for dramatic views of the hills and surrounding villages. The Kalka–Shimla Railway was built in 1898. to connect Shimla, the summer capital of India during the British Raj, with the rest of the Indian rail system. At the time of construction 107 tunnels and 864 bridges, were built throughout the course of the track. The Chief Engineer of the project was H.S. Herlington.
The locomotives used during the earlier period were manufactured by Sharp, Stewart and Company, and larger locomotives were introduced which were manufactured by Hunslet Engine Company. The diesel and diesel-hydraulic locomotives were started operation in 1955 and 1970 respectively.
The railway was declared a heritage by the Himachal Pradesh government in 2007, and in 2008 it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site alongwith the other Mountain Railways of India. When you are in kasauli you must not miss the toy train ride. One can take a taxi from kasauli to dharampur .
Toy train
From dharampur one can board the toy train upto barog station. It is a one hour ride through the pine forest and long tunnels.It can be a lifetime experience. One can get down at barog station and trek to the main road which is 0.4 kms from the station. From the main road one can board a bus or taxi back to kasauli.
The 94.5 Kalka-Shimla rail track has 102 operational tunnels on the route. This track, was functional on November 9, 1903, and is a masterpiece of the engineers who dared to bore a number of 107 tunnels and also a lesson to learn for us that how a railway line could be laid through a mountainous terrain without harming the trees and beauty of the hills. The two of the longest tunnels on this track are at Barog and Tara Devi.
The tunnels once again were renumbered in 1930 and from 107, their number was reduced to 103, and this was further came down to 102 when tunnel no. 46 near the Solan Brewery had to be demolished. All the tunnels were built between 1900 and 1903. The longest tunnel on this track is the Barog tunnel (no 33). It is named after Barog, a British railway engineer.
112 YEAR OLD STEAM ENGINE RUNS ON THE KALKA SHIMLA RAIL TRACK
Today on Tuesdat 13 March 2018 at 9:33 AM IST Steam locomotive engine was witnessd running on the kalka shimla rail track. As a part of Glorious Trains of india tour , visitors from england took a ride in this steam engine train from shimla to kaithlighat. There were three crew members to run this engine. The driver started the engine, then the first fireman put the coal in the cabin and slowly the steam engine moved forward.
As a passenger of this ride Stephen Gad, Haslon John and Clair shappy are retired officers said that their ancesstors also had travelled by this steam engine.
They were here to cherish the old memories of their parents.
CLEANLINESS DRIVE ON THE KALKA SHIMLA RAIL TRACK ON 12 MAY 2018
