“We travel, some of us forever, to seek other states, other lives, other souls.”
Chail is quietly nestled in the mountains of Himachal Pradesh. You will come across this quaint hill-station as you travel by road from Kasauli to Shimla. The sights along this road are beautiful with lots of deonar trees, mountains and deep valleys.
While travelling to Chail, the route to take is the one starting from Kasauli, passing through the pretty town of Solan and then Kandaghat. Kandaghat is the place from where you cut off from the highway and hit a narrow road towards Chail. There is a board clearly indicating the direction to Chail and it should take about 29 kms to reach from there.
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| Deonar Trees in Chail |
The Summer Capital of the Maharaja
Chail once served as a summer capital of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala. History says, the Maharaja incurred the rage of Lord Kitchener which got him expelled from Shimla. He then decided to build his own summer capital which lead to the discovery of Chail. I also heard another different version about the Maharaja’s oust from Shimla, but thought it best to leave the real one to history.
We reached Chail by evening and headed straight to see “Kali Ka Tibba” or the Kali Devi Temple. Located on a high altitude, this temple stands on the tip of a hill giving a 360 degree view of the Shivlik range of mountains. The temple is beautifully built with marble and has a serene and spiritual surrounding. Winters has chilly winds making almost impossible to stand in the open temple courtyard for long.
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| Shivlik Mountains from Kali Ka Tibba |
The next stop was to visit the Chail Palace Hotel built by the Maharaja in 1891. This palace is now maintained by the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Department and is considered a Premium Heritage Hotel. The rooms in the palace are rented to visitors at a cost. The Palace hotel is also open to non-resident guests who want to just explore the place.
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| The Chail Palace Hotel |
A stay in the hotel gives you access to all luxuries which may have once been experienced by the royal. Large rooms, maze like corridors, antique furniture, well maintained lawns, billiards room and good Himachal food served straight from their royal kitchen. What was fascinating to see was, the door latches from the bygone era still used in the rooms.
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| Door Locks in the Chail Palace from 1891 |
That evening of landing at the hotel, the palace was empty with me and a friend being the only guests. We opted for an inexpensive room at the palace which took us down 2 storeys below the reception and the palace hall. Being the only residents of the palace that night, we felt isolated and a little bit scared I'd say. On sharing our concerns, the hotel promptly upgraded us to a room near the reception. The stay then on felt safe and comfortable but stirred my palace phobia!
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| Entering the Chail Palace Hotel |
I must praise the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Department hospitality though. They were helpful and co-operative and made sure we felt at home. They patiently showed us around the palace rooms including the lavishly done up rooms of the Maharaja and Maharani.
At the end of my trip, what really struck me about Chail was that it has managed to filter itself from the other touristy places in Himachal Pradesh! It’s quiet forests make for excellent treks providing a sense of peace. A visit to Chail is a must!
Some more interesting facts about Chail
Chail is spread over an area of 72 acres on 3 adjacent hills – the Rajgarh Hill where the Palace is built, the Pandava Hill where the British Resident once lived and the Siddh Tibba which has the temple of Baba Sidhnath.
Some of the other must visit places of Chail include the Chail Cricket Ground built in 1893. Although you are not allowed to move around the grounds, you can boast about standing on the highest cricket ground in the world (2,444m).
The Chail Military School is close to the Chail Cricket Ground and houses some really nice building with restricted entry.
Chail is also known to have some of the best treks in India. Give more time to this place and explore it completely!
Winter months November – February can be extremely cold with temperatures dropping to 1-2 deg C.
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| Sitting in the Chail Palace Hall |
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| At the Highest Cricket Ground in the World |
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| At the Highest Cricket Ground in the World |
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| Chail Market |
