A Hamlet of Himalaya : Chail

The word 'Himachal Pradesh' comes from the Sanskrit word "Hima" which means "Snow" . And also the literal meaning of the State's name is in the lap of Himalays. The former summer capital of the princely state of Patiala, Chail is a beautiful hill station located 63 km from Shimla in the Shivalik region of Himachal Pradesh. Chail is spread across three hillocks — Rajgarh, Pandewa and Sadh Tiba, covering an area of over 72 acres. Overlooking the valley of Sutlej, it enjoys pleasant climate throughout the year. 

History of Chail 

In 1891, Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala incurred the rage of Lord Kitchener. It led to the restriction of his entry in the Indian summer capital, Shimla. This incensed the Maharaja and he vowed to build a new summer retreat for himself. So he rebuilt the place (Chail) as per his requirements.

After accession to the Indian Union, Maharaja of Patiala donated most of his buildings to Chail Military School and Government of India.

Main Attraction of Chail :

Rastriya Military School, It is home of Rastriya Military School Chail who is one of the five Rastriya Military Schools of country . Where approx 300 cadets from all parts of country are groomed to be the future leaders of country .

Chail Sanctuary(3 km)- The sanctuary was notified on 21 March 1976 near the town in district Shimla and covers an area of about 10,854.36 hectares. The Chail sanctuary has 'ghoral', 'kakkar', 'sambhar', 'red jungle fowl' and 'khalij' and 'cheer' pheasants. Machan like sighting posts have been built at Khuruin.

Sadhupul- Sadhupul is a small town in Himachal Pradesh between Chail and Solan. It is a river restaurant, a small bridge spot constructed over the river "Ashwini". This bridge collapsed on 23 August 2014 by an overloaded truck, however tourists visit here and enjoy the place.

Cricket Ground- Surrounded by thick forests of deodar, a well maintained Chail Cricket ground is the highest cricket ground in the world. It was built in 1893. The ground is located at an altitude of 2,444 metres (8,018 ft). Chail served as the summer capital of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh (who was an avid cricket lover). It is used as the school playground by Chail Military School. During school vacations it is also used as a polo ground. There is a basketball court and the same cricket ground is used for playing football as well as basketball in the ground, which also has goal posts.In one corner of the ground there is a historic tree on which the Military School has constructed a tree house.

Chail Military School, situated in ancient buildings made by Maharaja of Patiala.

Chail Gurudwara is also one of the main attractions of this place, it was the first building to be constructed by the Maharaja and after that the palace was built. The Gurudwara was built in indo-western style in 1907, the 22 feet (6.7 m) high wooden roof is its main and highlighting feature.

Kali ka Tibba is situated at the top of a hill its also known as Kali Devi Temple. It attracts a lot of pilgrims and tourists from all across the world. From the top where the temple is situated the view of Choor Chandni and Shivalik Range is simply breath taking.

Some Random Picture :-

How to reach Chail from Delhi by road

Chail is approx. 7-8 hours journey from Delhi. Delhi - Ambala - Zirakpur - Panchkula - Solan - Kandaghat - Sadhupul - Chail. Distance approx 340 km. You can get an well maintained NH5 upto kandaghat. After Kandaghat took SH8 for 25 km which is narrow and some patchy road but easily manageable. Alternatively you can enter Chail from Shimla also.

Best time to visit Chail :-

The average minimum and maximum temperature of Chail is as given below. The best time to visit Chail is also specified.

MONTH	BEST TIME	MIN. TEMP (°C)	MAX. TEMP (°C)
January		7	19
February		9	23
March		13	28
April		18	36
May		24	39
June		26	38
July		27	35
August		26	33
September		24	33
October		17	32
November		11	28
December		8	22