The sleepy, verdant town in the Shivaliks has an interesting history behind its birth. After a tiff with Lord Kitchener, Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala was denied entry into Shimla, the Summer capital of the British, he set up his very own Summer capital now known as Chail. After the royal palace was built, the village around it soon came into existence.
Chail happened to us impromptu. On our way back from Mashobra, we stopped at this quiet hill station dotted with deodar and pine trees. Blissfully deprived of any commercialism, the rustic beauty of Chail is a delight for the photographers.
We left Mashobra early morning and reached Chail around the afternoon. Chail doesn’t have very fancy hotels but we checked into a decent one. Though this was not as cozy as the Mashobra homestay, we decided to make do with it.
Abhishek immediately dozed off, but the traveler in me was insatiable. So I decided to do the trek rather than taking the usual route and reached the Chail Palace.
If the budget suits you, you can even decide to stay at Chail Palace. The Palace is constructed in the lap of nature. The cottages are fenced with beautiful flowers and hummingbirds are a treat to listen to early morning.
After indulging in self-facilitated photoshoots, I came back to the hotel to indulge in lip-smacking food in the balcony, surrounded by the lush.
Kali Ka Tibba or the temple of Goddess Kali is around 9-10 km away from Chail. The place boasts a memorable sunset experience. So start early to be there on time. Chail sanctuary and the cricket ground which is highest in the world, aren’t to be missed.
Built-in the year 1893, it is the highest cricket ground in the world located at an altitude of 2,444 meters above the sea level. Surrounded by thick forests of deodar, it is used as a playground by Chail Military School.
Chail Sanctuary is spread over 10,854.36 hectares and is adorned by rich flora and fauna. The wildlife species including ghoral, Kakkar, sambhar, red jungle fowl, khalij pheasant, cheer pheasant, wild boar, European red deer, spotted deer, common Langur, flying squirrel, Himalayan black bear, Golden Eagle grey-headed flycatcher find their homes in the sanctuary.
Similarly, Gurudwara Sahib is another tourist attraction, constructed by the Maharaja of Patiala. It was only after the completion of Gurudwara that Maharaja started building his own palace. It is built in Indo-Western style; with its 22 feet high wooden roof being its main attraction. It is located barely half a kilometer away from the main bazaar; and offers the facility of a free overnight stay at the dormitory and few small rooms. The Langar Hall, of course, arranges for food to be provided to people free of cost.
We left Chail after a day. For us, it was more of a stopover and not really a trip. But anyhow, the brief stay was nevertheless fun and memorable.
