I have come across many reviews on Shimla and thought it’ll be a sin to venture into an already trodden and beaten path. Hence, the urge to write about the unusually great holiday experience that we had at a small place called Shoghi - a suburb 17 kms from Shimla.
When I say ’’Unusually great’’, I literally mean it. It isn’t the kind of experience that one would associate with a Hill station these days. Normally one envisions a Mall Road, people with small and friendly faces, lots and lots of people everywhere, souvenir shops, cable cars and what not. But as a pleasant surprise, Shoghi has none of these. It’s elder cousin Shimla almost always manages to steal the limelight on the above mentioned facets.
And here, there wasn’t a mall road, no shops, no cable cars, instead there is a downhill trek (about 50 mtrs) after parking the car, that marks the entrance to the only retreat available there ParkWoods, and don’t ask me yet how the car reaches till this point. You have only your God to trust. Trip is definitely not for the faint hearted. Not to say it’s unsafe, but drivers have to be experienced enough to drive on hilly terrain.
After parking the cars and starting to trek, there’s a high probability of feeling lost and having come to a naught. We experienced a panic down our throats when our cabs hit a cul-de-sac and still couldn’t glimpse the tents that we had booked for our corporate get-together. This, when we were constantly over the phone with the manager of retreat and he was very patiently answering all our queries and guiding us with elan over the phone itself. Cell phone networks kept working. So, that was a huge plus. Once we trekked about 50 mts leaving the cars behind on road, the sheer beauty of lush green forest amidst hills and breathtaking view of the whole expanse in front that greeted us, has left an indelible impression upon me.
Very well maintained and quite luxurious I must say, swiss tents (Not sure if they are imported from Switzerland :)) and cottages (These are not swiss, so probably made by locals) await you right in the middle of nowhere. Everywhere that you see, you can only see green (probably also due to the fact that we visited in July) pine forests, rhododendron trees and a natural calm, so rare for city dwellers. Nature has chosen this place to shower so much beauty that it’s hard to take it all in, in a few days and I never wanted to leave the place.
The retreat people are very hospitable and quite enthusiastic at their service. Food is good and the barbeque at night was lot of fun. There are hammocks and jhoolas to laze around in the misty morning with chirpings of birds. The mist almost brushes against your cheeks.
I am not a poet and have no artistic bent. I am a hardcode techie and so were the rest of guys from my team. But this was a place that made me really crave to have some sort of creative outpour. I cringed at my inability to pen a few words. But I made up for my lack of artistry with adventure treks. Those with a creative bend, will find Shoghi special. Afternoons can be little sunny, depending upon the weather you choose to visit, but almost never too hot to bear. Nights are really really dark with occasional cries of barking deer. Expect rains anytime.
There are lots of options for those interested in adventure. Trekking, rock climbing and Rappelling, burma bridge, Spider web to name a few. If you can win the guide’s trust and are looking for some serious adventure, he can take you to unexplored streams and falls, meandering through bushes and creepers.
If by now your curiousity is aroused enough and you are wondering how exactly to reach this place, and want a complete dossier on facilities and activities available, it would be a waste for me to repeat everything here, as Park Woods itself has a very user friendly web site that has all details on it. That’s how we booked our trip. Finding information is a breeze on it. https://travelthemes.com/parkwoods
Let me know through your comments or messages how you feel about this review.