Who can miss a journey to Switzerland, when it is pocket friendly! What if that Switzerland is in India? No one would miss such a journey for anything.
Khajjiar – a hill station in Champa district of Himachal Pradesh – also known as mini Switzerland of India, is like a dream place for every traveller who loves snow, trekking, lake, and forest. The main highlight of the place is that it is in the hilly slopes of the Great Himalayas that give a pleasant view to the traveller’s eyes and of course, the weather of the place remains cooler throughout the year, experience harsh winters due to its geographical location. The comparison is due to the striking typographical resemblance of the place with Switzerland.
A walk through the hills, sitting around and having a coffee, trek through the mountains, and spending your best weekends or long vacation will be the most memorable one in a traveller’s life. The most attractive spots include Khajjiar Lake, Golden Devi Temple, Khajji Nag Temple, and Lord Shiva Statue. Some interesting adventure sports available there are paragliding, zorbing and horse riding. Paragliding is the primary sport among others, while zorbing is a good option for travellers who aren’t too athletic or fit to go for paragliding. Horse riding is also a good option for everyone who wishes to explore the vicinity.
All these developments happened on one July in 1992, when the then Vice-chancellor and the Chancery of Switzerland, Willy Blazer, called Khajjiar a ‘mini- Switzerland’.
Winter is the best season to visit Khajjiar. Still, monsoon is not much advisable because landslides can occur in hilly areas during monsoon season, which will leave the tourist in trouble as there would not be any transportation or communication at times.
One may encounter snowfall in Khajjiar during the half of December and January. Sometimes snowfalls are just too heavy and may block the roadways. Winter starts from November to March and temperature usually varies from 5 °C to 25 °C. Traveling to Khajjiar isn’t that much difficult; one can take a cab or share a cab once you reach Dalhousie. One can also drive 26 km from Chamba to Khajjiar.
Budget hotels are available at Chamba road and the Himachal government-funded hotels are also available there including food and accommodation and almost all the hotels have a mountain view.
