honey travels

Parwanoo !

Along the National Highway No.22, as one cross the state border of Haryana into Himachal, there comes the town of Parwanoo. A couple of decades ago, this was a sleepy little village but today, it is a pulsating industrial town.

Fruit based products, plastics, motor parts and watch components roll out of Parwanoo's factories. For a tourist, Parwanoo is a convenient base station to see and visit a number of nearby areas.

Subathu

Still a cantonment, it has also got the remains of a Gurkha Fort.

Dagshai

A one time British cantonment, this small town is surrounded by pine trees and also has an old church.

Kasauli

A charming hill station with lots of 'old world' charm.

Renuka

With a circumference of roughly 2.5-kms, this is the largest lake in Himachal. Fed by underground springs, it is shaped like the profile of a reclining woman and is regarded to be the embodiment of the Goddess Renuka.

Pinjore

Parwanoo is an excellent base to visit the famed Mughal style gardens at Pinjore.

A mixed forest of pine, oak and huge horse-chestnut encircles the town. Its colonial ambience is reinforced by a stretch of cobbled road, quaint shops, gabled houses with charming facades and scores of neat little gardens and orchards.

This small hill-station seems to live in a time warp that belongs to the l9th century. The narrow roads of Kasauli ( 1927 m) slithser up and down the hillside and offer some magnificent vistas. Directly below is the spread of the vast plain of Punjab and Haryana which as darkness falls, unroll a gorgeous carpet of twinkling lights. At 3647 m, the peak of Choor Chandni (also called the Choordhar) powerfully dominates the lower hills and across the undulating ranges, Shimla is visible. The Upper and Lower Malls run through Kasauli's length.

Manki Point

4 km from the bus stand is a vantage position for the views. Kasauli has an old church. At Subathu (28 km) there are the remains of an old Gurkha fort.

On the Kalka-Shimla highway, Barog ( 1680 m) has grown from a mere stopover to a full-fledged destination. Surrounded by pine and oak forests, Barog has a commanding setting. The Choor Chandni - which poetically translates as the "mountain of the silver bangle" is clearly visible from Barog - and when moonlight washes down its snow covered slopes, it seems as though thousands of icy, silver bangles are sliding down in the night.