Wildlife in Rajgarh

Rajgarh is a small town located in the Sirmour district of Himachal Pradesh in India. I spotted some wild life there and some of the pictures I am sharing here.

Vultures in their majestic flight

A Scorpion

A Snake

A beetle on a wild flower

Around Rajgarh in Himachal Pradesh

I had gone to Rajgarh in Himachal on a vacation in October 2009 and here are some interesting photos of that trip.

Photo: River Giri, a tributary of Yamuna

The point in the photo above and below this text is about 20 kms before Rajgarh on the Solan-Rajgarh road. There is a small temple also near the bridge here.

The water of river Giri was quite clear in October

A traditional House in a village the Rajgarh area

One can see corn (and sometimes chillies) being dried on the roofs of several houses which give them a colourful look to the houses.

Pine Trees with creepers

Forests above the Rajgarh Town

Overloaded Bus

I saw that majority of the buses on the Rajgarh route were overloaded and people were commuting on top of the buses.

Wild Flowers of Rajgarh

had gone to Rajgarh in Himachal in October of 2009 and came across several wild flowers when I went around Rajgarh for day treks. I don't know most of the names of these wild flowers. They looked lovely in the wild.

Flower 1

Flower 2

Flower 3

Flower 4

Flower 5

Flower 6

Flower 7

Flower 8

Wild Fruit

Flower 9

Rajgarh: Pretty as a Peach?

In October this year I decided to spend Diwali time away from the noise and pollution that accompanies this Indian festival in Delhi. So I decided to head to Rajgarh, an unknown town as far as the tourists circuits go.

Rajgarh Town from Higher Up

Rajgarh is a small town in Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh at an average elevation of 1555 meters (5102 feet ). Rajgarh is about 350 kms from Delhi, 100 kms from Chandigarh and 39 kms from Solan. One has to leave the Chandigarh - Shimla national highway 22 at Solan and take a State Highway road for Rajgarh via Ochhghat and Giripul.

A really old house (abandoned) in Rajgarh

Peach Cultivation

The main income sources for the people here are the sale of peaches, other stone fruits and vegetables and wood and wood byproduct like turpentine oil etc.

Resin being extracted from Pine

Dish Dish Everywhere

Himachal, including Sirmour, is comparatively a more affluent state and one can find homes even away from the towns having access to modern means of communication and entertainment

Trekkers Hotel, Rajgarh

The board in the above photo though says Rest House (pointing to the right) as the PWD rest house is next to the Trekkers Hostel.

Initially when I went to Rajgarh I had pre-booked to stay in the Himachal Tourism's accommodation called the Trekkers Hostel. The accommodation is fine but I was in a for a shock as when I reached there they told me that they have no cooks (and therefore no meals) as this is Diwali time and the cook has gone on leave. Rajgarh does not have much to boast of as far as eating joints are concerned. How can you do this to a customer who has paid in advance for your services. Nowhere on the site of Himachal Tourism is it mentioned that this facility is not available. So after two days of staying there I checked out and stayed in a local hotel which had a good cook who served excellent food.

Sky Ablaze at Sunset

These are the photos that I took at Sunset at a place near Sohna on the 11th November 2009 and the sky was absolutely stunning -

Sunset Photo 1

Sunset Photo 2

Sunset Photo 3

The third photo above is also of the same place but taken approximately couple of weeks prior to the first two photos.

Rewalsar- An Important Buddhist Centre

A Monastry at Rewalsar

Rewalsar is a very small town near Mandi is Himachal Pradesh but still has three Buddhist Monasteries. One can see lot of very young Buddhist students/scholars who stay in the hostels run by these monasteries here in Rewalsar. After Mcleodganj this probably is the second most important Buddhist centre in Himachal.

View of Rewalsar Lake

When I had gone there I could see very few 'Indian' tourist. Most of the tourist were either Tibetan Buddhist or foreigners from America and Europe.

Another Monastery at Rewalsar

The colours used for painting the monasteries are always bright and cheerful as is evident from the two monasteries above.

Rewalsar Lake, Himachal Pradesh, India

I had gone to two lake sites in winters, Prashar and Rewalsar, both in the Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh in India. Prashar was snow bound as it is located at a higher altitude but Rewalsar is comparatively only at 1360 m above the sea level. Rewalsar is a very small town located about 24 km from the Mandi town.

View of Rewalsar Lake from High Up

The town is considered sacred by Buddhists, Sikhs and Hindus alike.

The Statue of Bodhisatva at Rewalsar

The first view of the town is the huge statue of Bodhisatva (it was still partly under construction when I had gone there). Rewalsar has three Buddhist monasteries and has several Buddhist scholars and students studying here. Besides these there is one Sikh Gurudwara as well as three Hindu temples as well.

One of the three Buddhist Monasteries at Rewalsar

If one is fond of Tibetan food then there is no dearth of restaurants offering the same at Rewalsar at very reasonable prices.

Another View of the Rewalsar Lake

The Rewalsar Lake amidst flowers & flags

I had stayed in the Himachal Tourism Rest House though there are other options also available for staying here.

Fish in the Rewalsar Lake

Since the Buddhist consider the place and the lake sacred they take the circle of the lake chanting slogans and also feed the fish in the lake.