Motoring to Kufri

Delhi to Club Mahindra’s Snowview Kufri Holiday Resort — 345km (9 hours)

The total toll you will have to pay till Kufri is Rs 91. Fifty rupees just before Karnal, Rs 11 just before Chandigarh and Rs 30 at the Himachal Pradesh border. Keep these denominations at hand in one of your car’s cubbyholes so that you don’t have to unbuckle your seatbelt and reach for your wallet at every toll booth.
It helps to leave early in the day — 6am would be a good time to start. At this time, even with a leisurely foot on the pedal, you’ll get to the Delhi-Haryana border on NH 1 within an hour.

DELHI BORDER TO KARNAL — 93KM
Driving on the four-laned NH 1 is a pleasure, but watch out for rash drivers. It is a good idea to stop for breakfast at the Sonepat junction 20km on — a row of dhabas of varying standards serve very tasty aloo parathas. The fourth dhaba from the junction serves very good masala chai.
Expect some traffic at Samalkha and Panipat, but if you’ve set out early this shouldn’t be much of a hindrance. There are a sizeable number of traffic signals with policemen in attendance — sometimes there isn’t any synchronicity between the two but remember the policeman is always right. If he indicates you to stop even if the signal is green, do so. Though Karnal city is off the highway, there is some congestion near the junction to the city.

KARNAL TO AMBALA — 86KM
This stretch of the drive is the least congested — you can easily cruise at three-digit speeds and there aren’t many junctions too. There are plenty of handcart
vendors selling sikanjee (masala soda) — very refreshing!
Just before Ambala, remember not to go over the flyover as that is the way to Ludhiana and Amritsar. Bear to the left of the flyover towards Chandigarh.
Just after the flyover the four-laning ends.

AMBALA TO KANDAGHAT — 107KM
Practise greater caution now as four-laning ends and motorists tend to overtake dangerously. Don’t get impatient if you’re stuck behind a slow-moving vehicle. Overtake when you find a comfortable gap.
The road bifurcates just before Chandigarh — bear right towards Kalka and Shimla. Kalka is very narrow and usually very crowded.
A fter Kalka and the Himachal Pradesh border, the hill roads start. Though NH 22 is nice and wide, be careful around the corners as sometimes there are cars overtaking around them. Also, there are places where rocks have rolled down the mountain and are lying on the road just around corners — oncoming traffic swerves to avoid them and move into the opposite lane. Exercise caution here.
Drive slowly through congested towns like Solan. Remember that fully-laden trucks chug up the hills at a snail’s pace. Sometimes the urge to zip past them around a corner is huge, but please do resist — it just takes one rash move to cause an accident.
At Kandaghat, a road to the right goes to Kufri via Chail. This scenic road helps avoid all the traffic in Shimla, but its surface is quite bad at places and it is very narrow too. On your return trip, if you start early then take the Chail road.
You can top up fuel at Saini Automobiles (BPCL), 2km from Kandaghat market towards Shimla. This fuel station has Speed and a shopping centre. They also accept all credit and debit cards.

KANDAGHAT TO CLUB MAHINDRA — 49KM
Once you approach the outskirts of Shimla, the traffic gets quite heavy. Don’t attempt overtaking as it won’t get you there any faster. The 10km through Shimla are quite slow, especially near the Secretariat and the bus stand, but after that the road clears up. The last stretch of the drive to Kufri is on a curvy road through
pine forests.

KUFRI

When you holiday in Kufri, you can either pack your days with adventure and excitement or just lie back, relax and soak in the ambience of your rustic cottage and get mesmerised by the splendid views. The choice is yours only.

Activities
There are plenty of things to do within and around the Club Mahindra Snowview Kufri Holiday Resort. If you’d rather relax and not venture too far from the resort, then you can spend time shooting pool, playing billiards or snooker. For the more energetic, there’s badminton. The well-equipped video game parlour will keep
children hooked with games and huge video display screens that provide an almost-real experience.
For those who seek adventure, the resort offers plenty of outdoor activities like golf, volleyball, pony rides, skiing and tobogganing (in winter only) and gentle day hikes for the entire family.

Places to visit in and around Kufri
Tara Devi Temple Dedicated to the goddess of the stars, this temple sits on a hilltop surrounded by a lush forest of oak and pine. It’s a 20-minute pleasant trek from the resort. We suggest that you start off at around 6.45am (an hour later if you’re visiting during the winter). The trail runs from behind the resort past a potato plantation and then ascends steeply for a bit before skirting by a microwave tower. You’ll probably see yaks grazing here. The road then descends gradually and brings you to the temple. A very pleasant and invigorating walk for the entire family.

Jakhoo Temple The Jakhoo Temple, at 2455 metres, is the highest point of Shimla. The path to it runs from Scandal Point and is a steep 45-minute walk up to the top. It is quite an interesting trek if you have the energy as it runs through wooded forests of deodar.
If it’s too strenous, you could take a pony to the top and walk down. The views from the temple are also fascinating.
The temple is dedicated to Lord Hanuman, the monkey god. Popular legend goes that he stopped by here when carrying the mountain with the Sanjivini Buti to the island of Lanka to revive the mortally-wounded Laxman,
Lord Rama’s younger brother. Coincidentally, there are many monkeys here but it can be guessed that they hang around more for the food that pilgrims offer than any real devotion for the monkey God.

Chail Shimla was the summer capital of the Raj and was the social capital during the British rule. It had its fare share of scandals and one included a fair maiden and the Maharaja of Patiala.
As a result, the latter was banned from Shimla — so he created his own private summer retreat at Chail, 40km from Shimla, and built a palace there. Chail is a pleasant place to visit with its apple gardens and the palace that stands amid huge lawns. It also has a cricket ground which, at 2144m, is the highest pitch in the world.

Chadwick Falls Beyond Summer Hill is the 67m waterfall that cascades down into a deep gorge.

Jubbal A beautiful palace resides here. It was designed by a French architect in the 1930s and is a remarkable mix of European and indigenous styles.
Sarahan Though this is a 90km journey from Kufri, Sarahan is so beautiful that it is well worth the drive. Located halfway up a high mountainside, the road to Sarahan winds past flowering jacaranda trees that give way to stately pines. Dozens of small streams rush past with waters of sparkling snow-melt. The fields and orchards that surround the small villages with their slate-roofed houses, compose pictures of pastoral perfection.
Above Sarahan, a mane of deodar trees rides the slopes. Higher still, encircling the Bashal Peak, are trees of smooth birch and a variety of wild flowers
and rare medicinal herbs. This sparsely populated tract is steeped in ancient legends — here lies the famous Bhimakali Temple, regarded as one of the
51 sacred ‘Shaktipeeths’. Built over 800 years ago and made of timber, this temple is a mix of Hindu and Buddhist type of architecture.
It is dedicated to Goddess Bhimakali, there are numerous other deities installed in the complex. Legends say Goddess Durga had promised the Devtas that she would save them from the atrocities of Asuras by re-incarnation. True to her word, she decimated the Asuras and became famous by the name of Bhima Devi.

The five-storey Bhimakali Temple is situated on a hillock amid beautiful scenery of gigantic deodar trees. The exquisitely carved wooden sloped roofs are slanting and slightly concave and reminiscent of Chinese architecture.
Rishad Saam Mehta

HOLIDAY PLANNER
The activity staff at Club Mahindra’s Snowview Resort have charted out a very interesting itinerary so that you can enjoy your holiday to the max. These include treks to the Mahasu peak, that is 4 kilometres from the resort, golf at the Naldera golf course, a visit to hot water springs at Tattapani on the banks of the Sutlej river and a visit to an apple orchard.
Besides all this, what’s also included in the holiday planner are visits to the beautiful Chail Palace and the cricket ground (the highest pitch in the world) and adventure activities like jumarning, rappelling, rock climbing, river crossing and bush crafting.
All in all, they ensure to make your visit one that you will cherish for years to come.