Chamba

By: Des Raj Kashyap

Chamba valley lies enclosed between two principal spur ranges of the Great Himalaya, the Dhauladhar and the Pangi-Pir Panjal. The sedimentary deposits of the Shivaliks give way to the first granite range in the system, the Dhauladhar. The Pir Panjal runs roughly parallel, to the north but on a converging line, and in between lies the drainage basin of the Ravi, one of the principal ivers of the Punjab

The Ravi arises in two streams, the Kalihain from the glaciers in the Bara-Banghal basin, and the Buddhal from the snowfields of Kugti and Manimahesh. Dividing the two is the outthrust spur of the small Manimahesh range, named after the mountain revered locally as an abode of Lord Shiva. The Buddhal , so named because it resembles an old man’s flowing white beard, has after Brahmour, carved out one of the most stupendous gorges anywhere in the Himalaya, which, in it’s last portion, degenerates to a fearsome overhang carved out of granite.

Dalhousie is a beautiful hill station in Himachal Pradesh. Established in 1854 by the British Empire in India as a summer retreat for its troops and bureaucrats, the town was named after Lord Dalhousie who was the British Viceroy in India at that time. A small picturesque saucer-shaped plateau surrounded by dense pine and deodar forests, is one of the 160 places throughout the world to have been designated “Mini Switzerland ?. Yes, this is Khajjiar, a tiny tourist resort in Chamba about 24 kms from Dalhousie; at an altitude of 6,500 ft. above sea level. The moment one enters the picturesque Khajjiar, one is welcomed by a yellow Swiss sign for ‘hiking path’ which reads “Mini Switzerland ?.

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