During my recent stay at Hail Himalayas in the Katnalu Creek valley I was told that the views of dawn and dusk are beautiful from a place called Madag and asked if I would like to go there and of course I said yes.
As the viewing point is located about 5 kms away we were ready by 5.45 AM to start despite the fact that there was still frost on my tent and on the car panes and stars in the sky as it takes 45 minutes by car. And you gain an altitude of nearly 2000 feet!
Initially I was skeptical whether all this exercise would be fruitful as the sky was overcast with grey clouds. When we reached Madag it was still dark but within a few minutes the eastern horizon's colour started changing from black to grey to various shades of orange and red. Now the advantage of Madag is that in this area this is at the highest point and therefore gives you a 360 degree view of the area.
On the northern side Shimla, capital of Himachal Pradesh, is also clearly visible though by road it is a good 30 kms away but it might have been only 7-8 kms as the crow flies. At the specific point there is only an ancient temple of Jwala Mata. But here look at the contrast of an ancient temple with the modern facility of solar lamps! I could not see inside the temple as that early in the morning it was closed. It was a good start of the day!
Madag can be reached by first taking the Chandigarh-Shimla road and then from Kandaghat take the Chail road. At Sadhupul one needs to take the unmetalled road for the last 5 kms to reach Madag.
Also read:
My Stay at Hail Himalayas
Birds at Katnalu Creek, Himachal
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| Dawn as viewed from Madag |
As the viewing point is located about 5 kms away we were ready by 5.45 AM to start despite the fact that there was still frost on my tent and on the car panes and stars in the sky as it takes 45 minutes by car. And you gain an altitude of nearly 2000 feet!
 |
| View of Sunrise at Madag |
Initially I was skeptical whether all this exercise would be fruitful as the sky was overcast with grey clouds. When we reached Madag it was still dark but within a few minutes the eastern horizon's colour started changing from black to grey to various shades of orange and red. Now the advantage of Madag is that in this area this is at the highest point and therefore gives you a 360 degree view of the area.
 |
| First rays of the Sun hit the mountains |
On the northern side Shimla, capital of Himachal Pradesh, is also clearly visible though by road it is a good 30 kms away but it might have been only 7-8 kms as the crow flies. At the specific point there is only an ancient temple of Jwala Mata. But here look at the contrast of an ancient temple with the modern facility of solar lamps! I could not see inside the temple as that early in the morning it was closed. It was a good start of the day!
 |
| Jwala Mata Temple, Madag |
Madag can be reached by first taking the Chandigarh-Shimla road and then from Kandaghat take the Chail road. At Sadhupul one needs to take the unmetalled road for the last 5 kms to reach Madag.
Also read:
My Stay at Hail Himalayas
Birds at Katnalu Creek, Himachal
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