Chail

Chail is a small but beautiful hill-station located at a distance of 45 km from Shimla. The discovery of Chail has an interesting history behind it. Chail was founded in 1893 by the then Maharaja of Patiala, Bhupinder Singh. The Maharaja was banned from entering Shimla for eloping with the daughter of then Commander-in-Chief of the British Indian Army. This is when Maharaja thought of building a new summer capital better than Shimla. He found that the beauty of Chail was in no way inferior to Shimla as Chail too was surrounded by majestic snow-capped mountains, beautiful pine valleys, picturesque orchards, lush green outfields and so on. Also, Chail had an higher altitude than Shimla and hence this was “better” place to build the capital.

Chail Palace

Palace garden

Much of the beauty of Chail revolves around the palace that was built by the Maharaja. The palace was built in 1871 and has beautiful artwork and amazing architecture. Today, the palace is converted into a luxurious hotel, thereby giving visitors a chance to experience the royal  and luxurious lifestyle. Chail Palace became more popular visiting point after the palace was featured in a popular Hindi movie ‘3 Idiots’. In the movie, the palace was the ‘Chanchad House’, house of the character ‘Ranchordas Chanchad’.

Chail Palace

Chail Palace

Maharaja Bhupender Singh was a cricket enthusiast. To support his interest, he decided to build a cricket ground on the top of a hill. The result is the ground now is accredited with the highest cricket ground in the world as it is situated at an altitude of 2144 meters above sea level. In addition to playing cricket, today, the ground is also used as a polo ground.

Highest Cricket ground, Chail, near Shimla

Chail Cricket Ground

Highest Cricket ground, Chail, near Shimla

 

Highest Cricket ground, Chail, near Shimla

 

Other Places of Interest

  • Kali Ka Tibba – Temple on a hilltop
  • Chail Sanctuary
  • Sadhupul

Location

Locate the Palace on Maps

Highest Cricket Ground

Where to stay?

Shimla

Distance Chart

From Distance (in km)
Shimla 55
Chandigarh 105
Dehradun 220
Dharamshala 285
Manali 295

 

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