EP - 4 Chandigarh to Morni Hills - Hill station| Morni Fort, Tikkar Lake | Shri Nada Sahib Gurudwara
Namaskar friends! Welcome to Visa2explore! This is your host, Harish Bali. Today, we are starting our day in Mohali. Right now, I am standing in Phase 10 of Sector 64.
Do you see this shop here, "Pandit Ji Kachori Wale." We are going to have breakfast here. This Chandigarh region is also known as the Tri-City. Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula! On our way from Ambala to Chandigarh, we passed through Zirakpur. Zirakpur isn't far from Chandigarh, just about 14-15 KM away.
Zirakpur was developed a little later. The layout of Chandigarh and the tri-city area is older than that. The famous Mohali Cricket Stadium is nearby. The stadium hosts a lot of international cricket matches. The 2011 World Cup match in which India defeated Pakistan took place in this stadium. Ever since I started travelling in this region, I've noticed that...
...there are huge parking spaces outside every market in the city. To be frank, I've not seen such huge parking spaces anywhere else in India. To an extent, I've seen such parking in Gurgaon (Gurugram) but... ...even there, you won't see such huge space in different sectors. There, you have small sectors and small parking space but here... ...you can see this is the market with a huge parking space next to it. There is a system in place with markings to park your vehicle in.
Ahh! Beautiful! Come, let's have breakfast. Looking at the texture of this poori here... ...I am assured of its taste! Good! They usually serve Aloo-curry with poori. Though this is an ideal combination, I've also asked for a helping of Chhole (chickpeas curry) with it. This poori is delicious in taste! Apart from that, this aloo-curry has a good dose of heeng (asafoetida) flavour in it.
Normally, you don't get such a strong taste of heeng in this curry. In Punjabi cuisine, raw onions are a must-have to be had with the poori-aloo curry breakfast. Along with green chili, of course! This is a kind of package. Poori-aloo, onions and green chilies! Overall good taste! Rest, if I talk of spices... ...the curry is very light on spices. However, it has a lot of jeera (cumin seeds) and Heeng. Still, the taste is good overall.
Let's taste the chhole too! Fabulous! Ultimate! After eating such tasty Chhole, I feel like... ...eating it with a bhatura (fried poori) because... ...bhatura-chhole is a fabulous combination but... ...I won't have bhatura now. Because I like poori more than bhatura. In any case, I've had poori already, so I won't have bhatura now. What I mean to say is that...
...I liked chhole even better than aloo. Light on spices! Very well-cooked! Full of flavours! I've had such tasty chhole after a very long time. Apart from bhatura, these chhole would go well with kachori too. From Mohali, we reached the Chandi Mata Temple in about 40 minutes. Here, I had the darshan of Chandi Mata Ji. Chandi Mata is a form of Ma Bhagwati.
While I was in the temple, I was informed that.... ...the Pandavas also visited here and worshipped Chandi Mata. Mata was pleased and gifted a divine sword to Arjuna. This place is a Siddhapeetha. Pilgrims come here from far and wide. You may not be aware that Chandigarh city is named after Chandi Mata.
Like there is a place nearby called 'Kalka', named after Kali Mata. Similarly, Chandigarh is named after Chandi Mata. It was good that we came here and had darshan of Mata. Now, we are going to travel 7 KM from here to visit the Pinjore Gardens.
Come, let's leave here now. After a journey of about 15 minutes, we've reached the Pinjore Gardens. It is also known as the Yadavindra Gardens. This place has a huge parking space as well. When we are on our way to Shimla...
...we go straight on the highway, but for Pinjore Gardens, we need to take a slight turn to the left. Talking of this highway, it takes you through Kalka, Parwanoo and Solan, before reaching Shimla. While travelling to Shimla, we tend to bypass these towns. The entry ticket to Pinjore Gardens is for Rs 25 per person. Let's purchase that and enter the garden.
Right after the entrance, you'll see two beautiful lawns on either side of the straight path. I am trying to imagine how beautiful this place would be if there were fountains too. That is the 'Sheesh Mahal'.
Beautiful! I was talking of fountains and here we have fountains in the centre of the path. However, these are not working. Lovely gardens on either side of us. There used to be a Mughal governor of this area called Fidai Khan. He got this garden built in 1760.
It is such a beautiful garden, such a lovely location! Its total design and architecture is A-class. It is clear that this garden has been designed and built in a tasteful manner. Feeling great! The Shivalik range is visible in front. Looking at such a beautiful garden from a height, it feels so good, isn't it? Let me tell you an interesting fact about the year 1760.
A few kilometers from here are the Shivalik foothills. These are also foothills, but from there, the Shivalik range actually begins. People living there starting suffering from goitre because of shortage of iodine in their diet. In this condition, a big lump forms below the neck. The local king realized that the Mughals had arrived here already.
He felt that if the Mughals stayed on, their land would be lost. The king did one smart thing. He started employing only those people who were suffering from goitre. He faced some problem, but he managed to bring them here, telling them that...
...they needed to do cleaning work, cook food or maintain garden. In this way, he gave all of them some or the other work to do. During this time, the Mughals reached here. In the ladies' chamber of the Mughal women, ladies with the goitre condition were sent to work. Those women employees served them tea or water. While they served food, the Mughals asked them what the condition was.
The employees used to tell them that the air and water of this place is really harmful. They led the Mughals to believe that whoever lived in this area faced the goitre. This led to the spreading of rumors... ...that whoever lives in this area eventually suffers from goitre. So, the Mughals decided that...
I am talking of the Mughal women, particularly. ...they won't live here. This created so much pressure on the Mughal governor that he decided to leave the area. In this way, the king used the disease in his favour. He did that in a smart way. This is the interesting history of this place that I learned after coming here. Going forward in history, this place came under the rule of Maharaja of Patiala.
Maharaja of Patiala ruled over this area. This Sheesh Mahal used to be his summer palace. He spent the summer season here. With passage of time, India got independence.
At that time, Maharaja of Patiala... ...Yadavindra Singh ji handed over this garden to the government. I am talking of this garden. Therefore, this garden, known as Pinjore Garden, after the village Pinjore,... ...is also called Yadavindra Garden. Isn't this story interesting? Let's walk further and see what is there at the end of this garden. Rest, it is feeling good to be here. I have walked up to the last section of the garden.
It is good that I included Pinjore Gardens into my itinerary. So, it was a nice visit overall. I liked this accommodation here operated by the Haryana government. The rooms here are available within the tariff range of Rs 2250 and Rs 2800. Though the number of rooms isn't much but if you can book accommodation here...
...you'll enjoy your stay here. These are the rooms with the tariff of Rs 5000-6000. But these rooms aren't generally available. The staff here told me that sometimes tourists end up knocking at the door of these rooms...
...which leads to unpleasant situations. Thus, they avoid booking these rooms. Visiting this garden and checking out this accommodation was an overall good experience. Now, we are going for lunch. First, I thought of travelling to Chandigarh for lunch.
But it will take a lot of time because of the traffic, so, now we are going to Zirakpur. I was going to Zirakpur for lunch. But the programme changed on the way.
We thought of this dhaba in Panchkula, Sector 10, named 'Apna Dhaba.' Right now, I am standing outside the dhaba. It would be better to have lunch here and then move ahead. So, now, we aren't going to Zirakpur. Where I am standing right now, I can see 5-6 eateries around me. Two on this side, third is here, the fourth one on that side.
There is the "Fat Dad." So, I have a feeling that this place must have at least 10-12 more eateries. Please come! I have ordered two dishes for myself.
One is Dal Makhani! The other is Paneer Lababdar! I had asked them not to add butter on top. Despite that, they have added lots of butter to Dal Makhani. Look at this.
It has butter as well as cream, but let it go. By the way, the texture of Dal Makhani is good to look at. See! Each grain of lentil is separate and let me also tell you... ...that I can smell from afar that its taste would be wonderful! I am a huge fan of Dal Makhani.
The best Dal Makhani that I've had... ...was either at the Kesar Dhaba in Amritsar. Or I've had it in Jammu. In fact, if I to vompare, I would give the Dal Makhani of Jammu one rank above the other. Usually, at home, if a guest drops in unannounced for lunch or dinner,... ...we need to think of what to cook. The first two options that come to mind are Dal Makhani and a Paneer dish. Like Paneer Makhanwala, Shahi Paneer, and now this Lababdar.
These are the two dishes that you would definitely find served at a Punjabi wedding. A Punjabi wedding menu would be incomplete without Paneer and Dal Makhani. Wow! It is amazing! Really genuine taste! Though there is an overload of butter.
But there is no dearth in taste. Dal Makhani is very well-cooked. This taste is definitely not the one you can get by cooking Dal for 8-10 hours. However, this Dal Makhani has the flavours... ...that an average Punjabi person would like. Good! Praiseworthy! I won't say I've had Paneer Lababdar many times. But I've had it 4-5 times in the past 3-4 years.
This is one of the best that I've had. I mean the person who has cooked this dish is an expert. That is what is evident from its taste! There is a full-on flavour of green chilies in this dish. The gravy has Kaju (cashew nuts) in it. And it also has small bits of green bell pepper.
Our overall lunch today... ...is going good! After lunch, I was on the way to the market in Sector-15. We thought let's visit the Japanese Garden on the way there. We wanted to get a glimpse of the garden. How does a Japanese Garden look? It feels good to read it written here, "Japanese Garden." It is also written in Japanese, that's right! There is a statue of Gautam Buddha in a meditation pose.
Right next to it is a Peepul tree. It is a nice garden! Nice! From a distance, this rock structure looked like the head of a zebra. But when I came near it, it looks like something else. This must be something connected to the Japanese culture, since it is a Japanese garden. Rest, I don't know anything else about it. In the next few years, I would try to visit Japan.
I would like to travel through Japan. I would really love to show you Japan through my eyes. One thing that I know of for sure is that Japan has bamboo trees in abundance. This could be the reason that for the last 100 meters, I am seeing bamboo everywhere. All this is bamboo. Look on this side, it is bamboo, as is there too.
Look at all this, it has been bamboo for the past some time. Overall, it is a nice, lovely garden! There you can see a Pagoda structure. It seems like this area must be filled with water. But it isn't filled right now.
Now, let's go and visit the Sector-15 market. Right? I will join you again in a short while. I had to visit the Sector-15 market. I just found out that we parked our car about a kilometre back. Then I thought why to go back all that way, let us proceed on foot. While I was on foot, I reached another garden.
I have realised that the story of gardens of Chandigarh is no less interesting. There are gardens everywhere. I noticed yesterday that each sector had its own garden. Plus there are many other gardens.
Right? So, now I feel that... ...if we had to prepare an overall ranking in India about... ...comparing cities on the basis of their population vis-a-vis gardens,... ...Chandigarh would definitely be among the top 5 cities on that list. That is my guess! Lots of greenery everywhere! I am at the 15-D market in Sector-15. Look at all these shops selling dress materials here.
Besides the shops inside the 3-4 lanes, there are 10-12 shops located along the main road too. According to a rough estimate, I think, there must be at least 70-80 garment shops here. There is a lot of variety here. There is a Chinese food market here as well.
So, I thought of having something for evening snack. I have ordered momo for me. The place where I am going to eat my snacks.... ...has 7-8 shops, all selling Chinese food. I found the taste of momo just average. They have also served us soup.
This soup is made with vegetables like radish, carrot, onions and cabbage. Talking of the overall taste, the combination of momo and soup is good! Looking at the crowd in this market,... ...it is clear that this market is famous for its Chinese food. After I leave this market, I will tell you what I've planned further. My earlier plan was to leave for Morni Hills at 2 PM. That would have allowed us to do some sightseeing there in the evening.
That was my planning. But we got late and now, we are leaving at 7 PM. From here, it would take us about 75 to 90 minutes to reach Morni Hills. Now, I'll join you again in a short while. There, we will be staying at a hotel operated by Haryana Tourism. You can see the time being flashed. It is 9.07 PM.
We've reached Morni Hills. We are booking accommodation at this hotel owned by Haryana Tourism. The tariff of Rs 3583 of the Executive Room includes tax? Yes, it is including tax. Deluxe Room is for Rs 2799.
Yes! So, we will take two Deluxe Rooms. Sure! The current temperature is 25 degrees? Yes! There must be a difference of at least 5 degrees in the temperatures between Chandigarh and here. It is a decent accommodation. I've already told you the tariff.
And, on this side,... ...I can see nothing but darkness. Can't see anything right now! Let me say good night to you now. Tomorrow morning, I will join you when we begin our Morni Hills tour. Rest, we'll see how our morning progresses. We are here till 11 AM tomorrow.
I mean in this area. It is good night for now. Good morning! Right now, I've come to visit a Fort, which is about half a KM from the Haryana Tourism property.
The Fort is this way and it has been converted into a museum nowadays. We'll know more about it once we reach there. Meanwhile, I am showing you the surroundings. On this side, you'll see lots of Pine trees.
There is some residential setup. If we go straight from here, till 9 KM,... ...we'll reach the Tikkar Taal. If you are coming from Ambala, you'll reach Tikkar Tall before reaching this place. Let's go! We will walk uphill from here. Do you see the dense forest on that mountain? That is part of Haryana State.
The mountain behind that is part of Himachal Pradesh. Talking in terms of the aerial distance... ....I don't think Himachal would be more than 6-7 KM from here. The State border is nearby. See, it isn't clear from outside, how big the Fort is. Now that we are inside, I can see these four walls make up the Fort area. As of now, it is the State Forest Department that looks after this Fort.
The town of Nahan in Sirmour district used to be a capital of a king once. It was that king who got this Fort built for his queen. That is why this place is called Morni. Morni Fort! Morni Hills! The queen's name was Morni.
The Gurkhas attacked Nahan in 1814. The king thought of coming here to hide from the attackers. This is some history associated with this Fort. Now, if I talk of the flora and fauna of this place,... ...leaving tiger, lion, elephant, and bear aside,... ....you'll get to see most of the wild animals in the jungle around this place. If you come as a tourist, hoping to see wild animals, that ain't gonna happen! Because this whole hill area is quite open.
The Shivalik Hills that we see in front of us... ...are not approachable by road. The wild animals roam these hillsides and are easily visible to the locals. Right! This Fort has two small museums.
They have information on the flora and fauna of this place. Peepul is the State Tree! I do not see any Peepul trees inside here but there must be some outside the boundary. I can see this Banyan tree here and there are many Pine trees too, as I've already mentioned. Nice! Good! There were total 6 pillars inside this Fort. Two of the pillars fell down with time, but you can still see the remaining four pillars. Overall, it is a well-maintained Fort.
We had planned to spend some time visiting this Fort and finding more about it. Let's go now. We've reached the Tikkar Lake. While on my way here, I read it written somewhere, "Lake 1." That is a different lake.
This is a different lake too, though, both are joined with each other. There is no boating at Lake No. 1 but here, you can go boating. They've built a nice gazebo here to look out at the lake. Standing here, we can enjoy a scenic view of this beautiful lake! Nice! It is still sunny. So, the sun is still hurting the eyes.
The view would be better during the evening time. Good! I just asked them about the charges for boating and they told me... ....the charges are Rs 300 for two persons for half an hour of boating. You can do boating in a paddle-boat. Nice scenic view! This lake is fed by two sources of water. One is the underground source.
That keeps feeding water into the lake. It is basically water accumulating after flowing down from the Shivalik Hills. The second source of water in this lake is the rainwater. It feels like boating would be more fun in the evening time. You can also choose to stay at this Haryana Tourism property near the lake. You see all these rooms? These are a property of Haryana Tourism.
There is a difference between the temperature of this place and that of Morni Hills. We had to travel downhill to reach this place. Thus, it is warmer here. It won't be as warm if we go back up the hill. It feels nice to see the lake view as well as the view of the surrounding hills here. After travelling for about an hour, we've now reached Gurudwara Nada Sahib in Panchkula.
There is a huge parking space here. Come, let's go inside for darshan. I had darshan inside the Gurudwara.
There, I met the Head Granthi Sahib (the head priest). I requested him to tell us about the history of this Gurudwara. Wahe Guru ji Ka khalsa! Wahe Guru Ji ki Fateh! In 1746, after winning the war fought at Paonta Sahib, Pangani Sahib, Guru Sahib Ji.... ...reached this place along with his family, soldiers and everyone. This place had the Ghaggar river on one side and the Shivalik Hills on the other. Guru Ji arrived at this place and chose a hill to settle down. Guru Ji arrived at this land, which belonged to Baba Laddo Shah.
He was a local shepherd. When he came to know of Guru Sahib Ji, he couldn't believe his good fortune! He went on to serve Guru Sahib Ji with his whole heart! He dedicated himself completely to the service of Guru Sahib Ji. Guru Sahib Ji was pleased with his dedicated service and blessed him that.... ...this place would become famous because of his name. From here, Guru Sahib Ji proceeded towards Shri Anandpur Sahib. So, that is the history of the Gurudwara Nada Sahib. Guru Sahib Ji is celebrated in this Gurudwara.
It is the Haryana State Prabandhak Committee that is running the daily affairs of this Gurudwara. I request the devotees to visit here to seek fulfillment of their wishes. Offer gratitude in the lotus feet of Guru Sahib ji, seek repentance for your mistakes.
Wahe Guru Ji Ka Khalsa! Wahe Guru Ji Ki Fateh! It is a historical Gurudwara. Yes, it is a historic Gurudwara. Historic! Thank You! It is dedicated to the Tenth Guru of Sikhism, Gur Gobind Singh. I have exited the Gurudwara complex. This was a mini-series of ours, in which you travelled through Kurukshetra, Ambala, Chandigarh.
It ends here. I am thinking of planning a Punjab tour in the coming months. When I visited Punjab about 7 years ago,.... ...I was able to shoot videos only in Amritsar. So, if not in December itself, I would plan a tour early next year. Alright! I hope you liked these episodes.
I will say bye to you now. Thanks for your time. This is no mean feat! We are having lunch with the head hunters! The amazing thing about this house is that right now, I am in India.
Right? As I move here, I am in Myanmar!
2024-10-15 11:21
