Kandaghat and Sadhupul

Kandaghat is a small place in the Solan Dist. of Himachal Pradesh which falls enroute to Simla,by either road(NH22) or railhead(toy train running from Solan to Simla).

Meanwhile,Sadhupul is a small village between Kandaghat and Chail.

This journey of about 265 kms started unexpectedly in 2006.The trip was planned in couple of hours over the evening tea, with one of my friend.Since the destination was unplanned as such,we our self didn’t know that such a place existed on earth.

Journey can be started off at Kashmiri Gate-ISBT,Delhi and it takes about 7hrs to reach Solan Dist.Solan is small and relatively crowded place,as it is an important Industrial town of HP.

The first toy train starts off from Solan at 6am.The early morning will give the peace and serenity required.Solan is prominent station between the Kalka-Shimla narrow gauge Train(included in the UNESCO World Heritage List and build by the British).

Kandaghat is about 40 minutes ride by the train.It is a tehsil and falls on the way to Simla.Taking right from Kandaghat on the NH22 (on the way to Simla) will lead you to Sadhupul and finally Chail.

This place offers few hotels and food joints.Thus the best place to stay would be to stay in the guest house provided by the railway authority at the platform.This guest house is actually for the railway officials,but can be offered to the tourists depending on the availability.I was lucky to stay there, as it is very decent accommodation and very unlike the normal railway guestrooms/wait-rooms.The railway staffs are very helpful and offer you the best local guidance.The wooden guesthouse has clean bed and blankets along with hot running water.Also it comes very cheap at 100Rs/night.

Staying at the railway station would induce you some skepticism about the noise of the trains—the last train to cross Kandaghat is at 8pm and the 1st train is at about 7am.So you can have a peaceful night’s sleep.

One of roadside Dhaba,just along the main road,offers you best of the paranthas!!The best aaloo paranthas,dipped in fresh butter along with curd,I ever had.

The best time to visit Kandaghat is in September-January.During the 1st week of Sep you can watch “Mela Gugga Navmi” there.The major attraction is the Dangal in which the wrestlers from Punjab,Haryana and HP take part in the original Wrestling Championship.

Sadupul

Sadhupul is about 40 mins from Kandaghat bus. The bus stand is just around the rail-head of Kandaghat.The frequency of the bus is about every half an hour.Any bus going towards Chail will drop you to Sadhupul. The fare is very minimal.

Sadhupul has a very uncanny restaurant. The restaurant is over the Aswani stream.You can relax with a coffee mug, with feet dipped in the stream.

Chail is about 1 hours drive from Sadhupul and the road leads to Chail Cricket Ground( highest cricket ground 2100m,built in 1893) and Wildlife Sanctuary.