Naldehra is a serene town that is located at a distance of 22 km from Shimla. While the town is popular for its golf course which is located at an altitude of 2045 m / 6700 ft, it also offers some spectacular views of the neighboring mountains and peaks. Naldehra was discovered by the then British viceroy, Lord Curzon. He was very impressed with the natural beauty of this hill station. It was he who came up with an idea of setting up a golf course at such a high altitude, and was eventually built under his supervision. It is believed that the entire place was leveled up to suit the needs of a golf course. Lord Curzon was so mesmerized with the beauty of Naldehra that he named one of his daughters after the place!

View from Naldehra

Naldehra can be explored either by a trek/hike, or by a pony/horse ride. The trek starts from a small stall that sells light refreshments. These days you can also spot several horses at the trek starting point and horse guides asking you to take the ride. While the guides say that the trek is really a tough one and you need to take a pony/horse ride, it is not really true. Perhaps its their strategy to make you take the horse ride 🙂

The trek to explore Naldehra is a very mild one: it is more of a walk than a trek. However, you will take almost 1.5 hours to trek/walk, as it would mostly be a leisurely walk where you take multiple stops to click photos or just enjoy watching the natural beauty. The first phase of the trek involves going through tall Deodar or Cedar trees. It is at this location that the song ‘Gazab ka hai Din’ from ‘Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak’ was shot.

The later part of the trek goes through the fenced golf course and a small temple located in the heart of golf course. The Mahunag temple is dedicated to the King of Snakes. In fact, the name Naldehra is also has a relation to snakes! The name is derived from two words: Nag and Dehra which means the abode of the king of snakes!

Mahunag Temple

The trek route after the temple narrows down drastically. After walking through the narrow paths in the slopes of the hill, you will be welcomed by a large open space that offer magnificent view of the snow capped mountains at a distance.

The open space that offers the spectacular views is large enough to accommodate all the visitors. You can find several visitors spending enough time here, few of them making this a picnic spot, kids running around, and so on. The final part of the trek will lead you to many other spectacular landscapes before joining the Shimla – Naldehra main road.

Naldehra is a good alternative to crowded Shimla. While Shimla has a undeniable beauty of its own, Naldehra provides a serene and quaint alternative that is a lot less crowded but has equally magnificent natural surroundings.

Location

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Where to stay?

Shimla

Distance Chart