Everytime I visit this little town, I wonder if promoting it is the right thing to do? This little collection of villages 25 Kms North of Ghatasni (14 Kms towards Mandi from Jogindernagar) is a fold in the mountains that is blessed in beauty, resources and weather.
The river Uhl and the Khad meet in Barot making the place ideal for spending days watching the water go by. The Government has a Trout Farm and they release fish into the rivers to make this place a paradise for anglers. There is a Hydel project here as well and hence this little village gets it tourists, courtesy the road made by the Project. The scenic beauty of these fishing spots are breath taking and even I, not a fan of fish, want to pick up a rod and fish.
Barot is easy to get to. Palampur and Mandi are both nearby large cities. From Dharamsala, it is a 105 Km drive to Barot. The National Highway connects 80 Kms of this distance from Dharamsala to Ghatasni. From Ghatasni, a small road, made by the Hydel Project company, goes to Barot.
The tour books, internet accounts tell of a Summer Palace of the Mandi Kings in a place called Jhatingri. This spot is 5 Kms from Ghatasni and when we visited this spot
We were told by the locals that the Palace had been totally taken apart and all the goodies shifted to private homes since the year 2000!!! So much for promoting Himachal Pradesh responsibly. I have yet to see good accounts of travels that are accurate or informative. The Palace at Jhatingri is a prime example
Anyway, back to Barot...
Barot has small home stays which are not expensive, one really good restaurant and two Forest Rest Houses that make it good for family stays. There is also a good camping site where you can set up tents and be adventurous.
I am going to get together a large group of my friends and their families and go there in May. I want to assist in promoting this sleepy little place and making it a destination for responsible tourism.
5 Kms North of Barot is Loharadi, end of the road and the start of trekking trails going into Kullu, BAra Bhangal and Manali. Loharadi has a cute little women's shawl making centre, where you can still get organic cloth made straight from sheep wool. The stretch of road from Loharadi to Barot is where the fishing is good and the sites are accessible.
We did get caught in a hail storm on the way back from Loharadi and got soaked to the bone. Prateek and I went shopping for clothes and pieced together some clothes to keep us warm for the night. With a little assistance from 500ml of rum, we were very comfortable :)
Looking forward to May and all the people it will bring to us
Love and Good wishes to all
The river Uhl and the Khad meet in Barot making the place ideal for spending days watching the water go by. The Government has a Trout Farm and they release fish into the rivers to make this place a paradise for anglers. There is a Hydel project here as well and hence this little village gets it tourists, courtesy the road made by the Project. The scenic beauty of these fishing spots are breath taking and even I, not a fan of fish, want to pick up a rod and fish.
Barot is easy to get to. Palampur and Mandi are both nearby large cities. From Dharamsala, it is a 105 Km drive to Barot. The National Highway connects 80 Kms of this distance from Dharamsala to Ghatasni. From Ghatasni, a small road, made by the Hydel Project company, goes to Barot.
The tour books, internet accounts tell of a Summer Palace of the Mandi Kings in a place called Jhatingri. This spot is 5 Kms from Ghatasni and when we visited this spot
We were told by the locals that the Palace had been totally taken apart and all the goodies shifted to private homes since the year 2000!!! So much for promoting Himachal Pradesh responsibly. I have yet to see good accounts of travels that are accurate or informative. The Palace at Jhatingri is a prime example
Anyway, back to Barot...
Barot has small home stays which are not expensive, one really good restaurant and two Forest Rest Houses that make it good for family stays. There is also a good camping site where you can set up tents and be adventurous.
I am going to get together a large group of my friends and their families and go there in May. I want to assist in promoting this sleepy little place and making it a destination for responsible tourism.
5 Kms North of Barot is Loharadi, end of the road and the start of trekking trails going into Kullu, BAra Bhangal and Manali. Loharadi has a cute little women's shawl making centre, where you can still get organic cloth made straight from sheep wool. The stretch of road from Loharadi to Barot is where the fishing is good and the sites are accessible.
We did get caught in a hail storm on the way back from Loharadi and got soaked to the bone. Prateek and I went shopping for clothes and pieced together some clothes to keep us warm for the night. With a little assistance from 500ml of rum, we were very comfortable :)
Looking forward to May and all the people it will bring to us
Love and Good wishes to all
8 comments:
Great post Raja! Agree with every single point on Barot, even the dilemma of promoting it or not.
good [post.. cheers
Awesome post Raja! your posts really make me want to leave the desk and hit the road ;) cheers. c u soon!
see beauty of Barot at http://facebook.com/BarotValley and blog at http://barotvalley.blogspot.com/
When it comes to Himachal Pradesh, there are plenty of hidden gems in the area. One such beautiful hill station is Palampur. Palampur is a small and scenic hill station in Kangra Valley that is just ideal for that cool summer breaks or cozy winter retreat. Check out these hotels in Palampur for travellers accommodation.
Nice post! There is no mention of Lohardi Shawl making centre elsewhere on other blogs! Good to know! :)
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