Wrapped in the mist, the verdant mountains of Mashobra have a charm of their own. Mashobra is a quaint town a few kilometers away from Shimla, connected through the historian Tibet Road built-in 1850 by Lord Dalhousie.
Dotted with pine, oak and cedar trees, covered in green foliage and adorned with wildflowers, the Himalayan town is in stark contrast to the busy city of Shimla. Blissfully devoid of any hustle and bustle, the quietude and sereneness of the place cast a spell on you.
Ironically when we were deciding about a destination for the family sojourn, we were a bit skeptical about Mashobra. So we had put a few other places to vote. But it seemed Mashobra was calling us.
By the way, did we introduce you to the dapper-looking Shera? Always the third wheel (quite literally) but a hot one, is our buddy to rely on for any trip, long or short. And Mashobra without Shera was out of the question.
Mashobra is close to 8 hours apart from Delhi. But with Shera, we could rest assured. We started our journey at five in the morning. And by the time we reached Murthal, we were quite hungry and anyway when it is the Delhi- Chandigarh highway, stopping at Murthal for parathas is mandatory, because duh…..! This time we chose Garam Dharam instead of the usual Amrit Sukhdev. BTW, hunger pangs or not, Murthal in Haryana, offers a string of options becoming a must stopover. As many know Garam Dharam is a tribute to the legendary Indian actor -Dharmendra. Everything about the place would remind you of his famous movies. To be honest, while the ambiance was a delight, food was a little above average.
We crossed the crowded streets of Shimla to take the road to what is known as quieter Shimla. By the time we reached Mashobra, it was already afternoon. Mashobra has plenty of homestay options and one of the benefits of staying in a homestay is that you have the opportunity to hobnob with the local culture. Many homestays are nowadays approved by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. And one such homestay was ours – Ridge View. The cozy. the clean, place offered breathtaking views of the hills. Though the parking space was steep our Shera with its firm grip on the road managed like a true Tiger.
We were greeted with cups of tea. By the time we bathed and changed, the lunch was ready- it was simple, home-cooked and fresh. This made our meal super yummy. Close to 4 p.m. we began exploring the place.
The long circular roads were fringed with pine trees and flecked with local shops. We stopped for some snacks and chai. Complemented by the pleasant weather, the hot pakoras and jalebis, fresh out of the wok made our taste buds go Yaas!
Mashobra is part of the Shimla Water Catchment Wildlife Sanctuary. So catching glimpses of jackals, deer, many birds species is not uncommon. But you must be cautious of the monkey menace though.
The next day we decided to go to Tatta Pani- the hot water spring on the Satluj river. Taking the hairpin bends and stopping at places for selfies ( coz, pics or it didn’t happen in the millennial age), we reached Tatta Pani which is around one and a half hours away from Mashobara. BTW we did find many adventure sports destinations on the way. But we really weren’t in the mood. When we reached Tatta Pani our reaction was…
TBH, we found it a bit ratchet. Not only the place was dirty the puddles of sulfur water were ill-maintained. The only good thing was the lunch at a nearby restaurant.
We soon left the place post-lunch. The evening was spent chatting and gazing at the starlit sky. It was like being transported to someplace in fairly land. The night ushered in a lazy morning. With adulting pushing us back into the chaos, we broodingly packed your bags to come back the same old commotion.
