Sunday, August 23, 2009

A Trip to Morni Hills, Chandigarh

August 15, Independence Day-An ideal day to check out the hill station near to Chandigarh since we were already in Chandigarh on a visit.

The weather was good. It had rained for two days so the drive up was picturesque. We stopped the car many times just to take in the scenery. On the way we passed many other cars doing the same. Ha! this is like heaven after the hustle bustle of daily life.

View of Chandigarh from half way up Morni Hills, on the Shivalik range



Lush green creeper, the leaves of which are used for making leaf plates(patthal)




" Nature Camp, Forest Department" My husband noticed the board. Shall we check this out? But then we cannot make it to the top which is still 12 km away. Remember we need to go back by evening." A quick decision was made -nature camp it is. After all Forest Dept would have selected the most scenic spot on the hill, I reasoned.

It was a scenic spot. On top of a small hill surrounded by nurseries for trees and freshly planted variety of trees. The thatched roof dining hall looked inviting. The stilted huts reminded us of the tourist huts we had seen in the islands of South Korea.

The carefully tended nursery at nature camp



Scenic view from nature camp. Double click on the photo and notice the blue water tank on the left.



Thatched roof dining hall



Stilted huts for tourists to stay




But the place seemed strangely quiet. No tourists were visible. A few workers appeared. " Madam, we have not started operations. After the place was built we found there is no water here. The water table is so low and the khads (rivulets fed by rain water) below are always bare because of mining." Mining? "Yes, the auction for this year is about to begin."

We decided to take a different route back to Chandigarh. A short cut from the other side of Morni Hills. A road not well developed and full of potholes. Each pothole reminded us of the reality of our country's serious efforts to preserve the pristine. The roadside was dotted with trucks and stone crushers for miles on end. The houses and slum dwellings seemed to have just one focus-cutting the mountain, mining the stones and crushing them.

Down the hill from the other side- (Double click on the photo, a truck is there near the dwelling )



The Shivalik Hills sliced and cut for mining



The alternate route is certainly not inviting!



Stone crushers and trucks dot the landscape on all sides



Close up view of crushed Shivalik



Slums of stone workers -a few yards from Chandigarh city



We entered Chandigarh city, into the up market residential colony, Panchkula. The beauty of Morni Hills seemed a distant dream, even though we had experienced it just an hour ago.

30 comments:

  1. Very true this is the story of almost all hills -be it shivalik, deccan or the himalayas...but i found something very interesting - the couple entered the Up Market Residential Colony and it somehow didn't strike the Author that her UpMarket Residential Home was constructed by the Concrete from the Shivalik or some other hill.

    And all those cars on Morni Hills are a result of Bauxite Mining / coal mining (for power) and thermal power plants (for power used in manufacture), the petrol from the Offshore Fields that destroy coastal systems and throw fisher folk out of their livelihoods...

    for sure the beauty / destruction of Morni Hills is not felt inside the air-conditioned homes of Up Market City dwellers.

    saraswati

    ReplyDelete
  2. Balance, sensitivity and sustainable use of natural resources can co-exist, if we do not become unidimensional.
    Problem with bleeding heart urbanites is, when in Morni, they see the crushers but forget to see the shanties of 100's of labourer-families who would probably be unemployed/starve but for the crushers..I know employing them at the crushers is not the optimal solution but can we have a dialogue - fact is the world has moved on and 'nothing or everything' choice does'nt seem viable either for Morni Hills or for the others. What is apparent is that inaction is not a choice either

    ReplyDelete
  3. The website http://www.mustvisitindia.com/is one of the best travel and tourism related site; check out the travel directory section of the site that contains comprehensive travel resources to guide you in your search for the ultimate travel destination

    ReplyDelete
  4. I like your writing style. Nice blog.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The beauty of Morni hills seemed a distant dream, but I was in there for a few hours

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hello I want to congratulate to them by its site of the Web of the excellent looks like entertained and very good very to me it elaborated. I invite them to that they explore a little on my Web site

    ReplyDelete
  7. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  8. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  9. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks for your info, This really have been very useful...

    ReplyDelete
  11. There should be more initiatives like this one. Nice post... Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Wow! You are the best. Thank you so much for sharing this invaluable info!
    Smiles to you,
    Chiara

    ReplyDelete
  13. Cool project. I just cant stop reading this. Its so cool, so full of information that I just didn't know. I'm glad to see that people are actually writing about this issue in such a smart way, showing us all different sides to it. Thank You guys for your good job.

    ReplyDelete
  14. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Thanks for providing information about Morni Hill, i will definitely visit Morni Hills in my next visit and i recently been to tripe in Chandigarh and stayed in five star hotel in Chandigarh called KC Royal Park Hotel.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I am happy to find such an amazing post. Reading the content of your website is really increasing my knowledge. The author really deserves to be appreciated, hats off for you for sharing the post with us.
    subaru forester 2006|toyota pickup for sale

    ReplyDelete
  17. AnonymousMay 02, 2013

    Really this is a very nice post and i love to read such type of posting...

    Gurgaon to Chandigarh Taxi

    ReplyDelete
  18. Awesome Post done by the blogger, i am waiting for a long time that post..

    Taxi Gurgaon to Chandigarh | Gurgaon to Manali Taxi

    ReplyDelete
  19. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  20. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Chandigarh is very beautiful city, photos is very nice.

    ReplyDelete
  22. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Nice trip and pictures also. Gateway to Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh is known for its proximity to major tourist hillstations like Shimla, Manali, Dharamsala. Check out best 5 star hotels in Chandigarh also.

    ReplyDelete
  24. This is a great Article about Chandigarh , very informative and enlightening. Wow! This looks like a wonderful place to visit. Thanks for sharing this Amazing picture and your trip experience. We provides cab booking services .

    ReplyDelete
  25. Special Holiday is Wholesale Tour Operator in India, recipient of National Tourism Award presented by H.E The President of India, International Quality Award from Europe & also World Travel Brand Award, to name few. We have our own transport fleet and offer most attractive deals for tour packages, hotels and car rentals.

    Get best deals on India tour packages at SpecialHolidays.com. Book India holiday packages or customize your itinerary to plan your trip. Enquire us for more offers. For Holiday Booking Call us on +91 - 9810356126 / info@specialholidays.net

    ReplyDelete
  26. Sami World Travel is a traveler who likes to share his experiences. You can also be customized by adding on nights in the tour or do it by road from Delhi. This particular tour is called Golden Triangle tour with Udaipur. We have more popular tour packages like Golden Triangle Tour 3 Nights 4 Days, Taj Mahal Tour, and Overnight Jaipur Tour, Same Day Agra Tour by Car or Train, Golden Triangle Tour India, India Trip etc… know more visits: www.samiworldtravel.com

    Golden Triangle with Udaipur Tour
    Golden Triangle Tour with Varanasi
    Delhi Agra Jaipur Ranthambore Tour

    Sami World Travel
    +91-9358499757, 9837303930
    samiworldtravel@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  27. Such a great blog it is! You have written well informative with various beautiful lines. Very interesting. Thanks.
    We are offering -
    Bharat Taxi
    Car Rental
    Cab Service
    Taxi Service
    Cab Booking
    Taxi Booking

    ReplyDelete
  28. Thank you for putting up such an informative and useful blog, Blog like yours always help in planning tours or getting details about any place, Traveller have very good picture about any place and make them mentally prepare by reading your blogs. Being a traveller enthusiast come blogger i can definitely say that you are blessed with very good writing skill and your blog is not less than famous lonely planet books which most have traveller keep when go any destination, your blog have in-fact more minute details about any destination than any book. Keep on rocking with your informative blogs and let this world more knowledgeable with your perfectly researched and well written blogs. I recently returned from an awesome Indian trip which was plan and executed by Golden Triangle Package which was arranged by Ghum India Ghum, travel agent in Delhi, you can tie up with them if you want. tour operator in Delhi
    travel Agents in Delhi

    ReplyDelete