Our curiosity about Barog was piqued when we saw some pictures of the place posted by a friend on a social networking site. A little research here and there and it became travel time once more.
Barog is a small place nestled on the Kalka Shimla route - 43 kms from Kalka towards Shimla.
Road access is better as one can drive up from Delhi via Chandigarh- Kalka and upto Barog(285 Km). There are VOLVO services also from Solan (7Kms from Barog) or Dharampur, Himachal (10 Kms before Barog). Officially Volvos do not stop at Barog from Solan, but most of the times one can flag it down if one has a ticket from Solan. Pashatuks however does not recommend it, unless one is ready to be stranded,should the bus not stop.
The fare from Solan is around INR 700 and time taken is around 6 hours.Road conditions are fairly good.
The nearest airport is Chandigarh and then one has to take alternate modes of travel.
But team Pashatuks decided to take the train route this time and travel on the world heritage famed toy train in that belt.
We decided to take the night train to Kalka and reach in time to catch either of the two trains leaving for Barog around that time. the Rail Motor Car- absolutely plush in the colonial style of years gone by.That leaves at 5.30 am and waits for the Kalka Mail should it get delayed. Theres another train around the same time at 6 am, which is rather Indian but whose first class coaches offer absolute privacy.
For people who like to travel during the day - its possible to do the toy train if one takes the Kalka Shatabdi and then boards the toy train leaving around 12 noon.
A sense of travelling back in time takes place as the shrill whistle from the guard makes us realise that its time for the train to start.its upward journey.
We settle in our seats and start gobbling down piping hot railway veg cutlets and bread. Breakfast at 6 am in the morning? Ah well Pashatuks is known to start the day with rum and coke at that time when theres no tea to wake us up.
The train chugs its way up at a speed of around 12 Kms per hour tooting intermittently - slowing down a the multiple bends and tunnels. Tokens are still exchanged at different stations - those big rings that we have grown up seeing in the coal engine days. Mountains in the monsoon are the most beautiful but also the most dangerous.
The lush green of the Himalayan flora with the mist floating all around the mountains,rising from the valley floating over towards the mountain top.
The first stop is Dharampur- a quaint and beautiful station- with wooden station buildings under conical slopes and climbers in full bloom. One is confident about getting down because of two things- the train staff know all passengers and will not leave you behind . Secondly even if you do get left behind, you can run alongside and board the train- though a certain level of fitness is required for this activity.
At this point , we realized that there is no motor-able road to the railway station at Barog. One has to either walk up for 15 minutes to the main road for further transport or go down another 15 minutes for the same.So we took an instant decision to travel upto Solan where we got a Cab and came back to Barog.
Barog station is one of the prettiest railway stations on this route The station comes just at the end of the longest tunnel on the journey.
Its the prettiest station on this journey with golden shower flowers strewn all around. The station also has the beautiful railway holiday home built there.
One can book for accommodation at very reasonable rates , provided one has a confirmed booking on any train in that route.
Jaywalking on the railway tracks is considered to be a dangerous activity but once in a while, it adds to the spice of life as one becomes a child once more.The train stopped for a good 15 minutes at this lovely quaint station and we had our fill of hot snacks, tea and walking into the tunnel and imagining the ghost of Col. Barog walking up to us and shaking our hands in welcome.
We did suffer a pang or two of regret as we realized that we could have stayed in the railway holiday home.. The train started and we clambered aboard illegally.Our tickets were booked upto Barog- whereas we decided to travel to Solan. Indian Railways have abolished the system of ticket extension on the train and charge full fare for a new ticket. Paying hundreds of rupees for a 4 kilometer ride didnt appeal to team Pashatuks and we just bribed the train ticket checker a princely sum of INR 100 and we carried on to Solan.
Only to realize that no one checks tickets on these journeys.
We had hired a car at Solan to pick us up and take us to Pinewood Hotel the state tourism run hotel.
There are 2 hotels worth mentioning about apart from the hotel we stayed in.
Barog Heights and Pinewood grove.
Pinewood Hotel run by the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Department is the oldest property of that area and the most lavish one.
Accommodation is in either wooden finish or carpet finish rooms. Each room has a balcony offering a spectacular view of the himalayas beyond.
Theres not much to do in Barog except taking leisurely walks on different mountain trails. Or hire a cab and go upto the Buddhist Monastery, check out the heritage temple(Pashatuks avoids temple visits),
One could spend hours sitting in the lawns of the hotel we stayed in,sitting on the wrought iron chairs and having beer, wine, tea or coffee with a wide assortment of snacks.
We went for a walk on the main road expecting it to be isolated, as in all small hill station, but we were in for a rude shock. High speed vehicles from the plains zip past with absolute disregard for hill driving rules. The locals complain of the brashness of the plains people but since they add to the economy, not much is done about it. And Barog is on the main road to Shimla, the summer capital of the British Raj.
.
Barog is a small place nestled on the Kalka Shimla route - 43 kms from Kalka towards Shimla.
Road access is better as one can drive up from Delhi via Chandigarh- Kalka and upto Barog(285 Km). There are VOLVO services also from Solan (7Kms from Barog) or Dharampur, Himachal (10 Kms before Barog). Officially Volvos do not stop at Barog from Solan, but most of the times one can flag it down if one has a ticket from Solan. Pashatuks however does not recommend it, unless one is ready to be stranded,should the bus not stop.
The fare from Solan is around INR 700 and time taken is around 6 hours.Road conditions are fairly good.
The nearest airport is Chandigarh and then one has to take alternate modes of travel.
But team Pashatuks decided to take the train route this time and travel on the world heritage famed toy train in that belt.
For people who like to travel during the day - its possible to do the toy train if one takes the Kalka Shatabdi and then boards the toy train leaving around 12 noon.
A sense of travelling back in time takes place as the shrill whistle from the guard makes us realise that its time for the train to start.its upward journey.
We settle in our seats and start gobbling down piping hot railway veg cutlets and bread. Breakfast at 6 am in the morning? Ah well Pashatuks is known to start the day with rum and coke at that time when theres no tea to wake us up.
The lush green of the Himalayan flora with the mist floating all around the mountains,rising from the valley floating over towards the mountain top.
At this point , we realized that there is no motor-able road to the railway station at Barog. One has to either walk up for 15 minutes to the main road for further transport or go down another 15 minutes for the same.So we took an instant decision to travel upto Solan where we got a Cab and came back to Barog.
Barog station is one of the prettiest railway stations on this route The station comes just at the end of the longest tunnel on the journey.
Its the prettiest station on this journey with golden shower flowers strewn all around. The station also has the beautiful railway holiday home built there.
One can book for accommodation at very reasonable rates , provided one has a confirmed booking on any train in that route.
Jaywalking on the railway tracks is considered to be a dangerous activity but once in a while, it adds to the spice of life as one becomes a child once more.The train stopped for a good 15 minutes at this lovely quaint station and we had our fill of hot snacks, tea and walking into the tunnel and imagining the ghost of Col. Barog walking up to us and shaking our hands in welcome.
We did suffer a pang or two of regret as we realized that we could have stayed in the railway holiday home.. The train started and we clambered aboard illegally.Our tickets were booked upto Barog- whereas we decided to travel to Solan. Indian Railways have abolished the system of ticket extension on the train and charge full fare for a new ticket. Paying hundreds of rupees for a 4 kilometer ride didnt appeal to team Pashatuks and we just bribed the train ticket checker a princely sum of INR 100 and we carried on to Solan.
Only to realize that no one checks tickets on these journeys.
We had hired a car at Solan to pick us up and take us to Pinewood Hotel the state tourism run hotel.
There are 2 hotels worth mentioning about apart from the hotel we stayed in.
Barog Heights and Pinewood grove.
Pinewood Hotel run by the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Department is the oldest property of that area and the most lavish one.
Accommodation is in either wooden finish or carpet finish rooms. Each room has a balcony offering a spectacular view of the himalayas beyond.
Theres not much to do in Barog except taking leisurely walks on different mountain trails. Or hire a cab and go upto the Buddhist Monastery, check out the heritage temple(Pashatuks avoids temple visits),
One could spend hours sitting in the lawns of the hotel we stayed in,sitting on the wrought iron chairs and having beer, wine, tea or coffee with a wide assortment of snacks.
We went for a walk on the main road expecting it to be isolated, as in all small hill station, but we were in for a rude shock. High speed vehicles from the plains zip past with absolute disregard for hill driving rules. The locals complain of the brashness of the plains people but since they add to the economy, not much is done about it. And Barog is on the main road to Shimla, the summer capital of the British Raj.
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