Solan tourist places, Kasauli, Chail and Dagshai travel guide

Top Places to Visit (10)

2,455 m

Established in 1842 as a British military sanitarium, Kasauli is among the best-preserved hill cantonments in India — a living museum of colonial Himachal where the architecture, the tree-lined lanes and even the pace of life seem largely unchanged from the late Victorian era.
The Kasauli Cantonment Board maintains strict rules: no vehicles are permitted in the inner Mall area, no new construction can exceed the old style, and the original colonial bungalows must be maintained.
Monkey Point at the cantonment's southern tip (2,455 m), accessible on foot or in a cantonment vehicle, offers the finest long-range view of the Shivalik foothills and the Punjab plains extending to the horizon.
The Pasteur Institute, established in 1900 and still producing anti-rabies vaccine, is one of the cantonment's most historically significant institutions.

The Kasauli Brewery, established by Edward Abraham Dyer in 1820, is the oldest continuously operating brewery in Asia — predating Dyer's better-known Murree Brewery by 35 years.
Dyer came to Kasauli specifically because the Himalayan spring water and the cool climate were ideal for lager production, and the springs he identified still supply the brewery today.
The site, now owned by Mohan Meakin, produces the Solan No.1 lager brand in the original 1820 stone buildings.
Guided tours (bookable in advance) take visitors through the Victorian-era fermenting rooms, conditioning cellars and bottling hall — among the most atmospheric industrial heritage experiences in northern India.
The brewery is technically within the cantonment and operating day permits are required.

2,250 m

The Chail hill station, split between Solan and Shimla districts, was created in 1891 by Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala after the British banned him from Shimla following a dispute.
Determined to create a retreat superior to the summer capital, he acquired 5,500 acres of forest on the Shivalik ridge and built the Chail Palace at 2,250 m — now a heritage hotel managed by the Himachal Tourism Corporation.
The palace grounds contain the Chail Cricket Ground, built in 1893 at 2,444 m and Guinness-certified as the world's highest playing cricket ground, which still hosts matches.
The extensive forest sanctuary surrounding the palace complex contains pheasants, barking deer and leopard.

1,830 m

The Dagshai Cantonment, established in 1847 in the Shivalik foothills at 1,830 m, holds a darker chapter of colonial history: the Dagshai prison held British soldiers convicted of mutiny and Irish political prisoners in the late 19th century.
The cantonment jail, now converted to a military heritage museum (accessible with permission), documents this little-known history.
The stone church, cemetery and garrison buildings are scenicly maintained.
The surrounding deodar forest contains several Himalayan bird species, and the ridge trail offers views toward both the Kasauli ridge and the Shimla hills.
Dagshai sees very few visitors beyond cantonment residents and military historians.

1,200 m45 km from Shimla on the old hill road and sees almost no tourism

At 1,200 m in the Shivalik foothills, Subathu holds the distinction of being one of the oldest British military cantonments in northern India, established in 1815 immediately after the Anglo-Gurkha War.
The Gurkha Regimental Centre has been headquartered here since that date, making Subathu an important institution in the history of the Indian Army.
The cantonment church (St.
Andrew's, 1835), the officers' mess and the regimental museum are architectural and historical landmarks.
The surrounding secondary forest has good birdwatching.
Subathu is 45 km from Shimla on the old hill road and sees almost no tourism.

1,467 m1 km path

At 1,467 m on the Kalka-Shimla road and railway, Solan is the district headquarters and the largest market town in the region.
The Shoolini Mata temple on the ridge above town, accessible by a 1 km path, is the presiding deity of the town and the site of the annual Shoolini Mela (June).
Solan's claim to the title 'Mushroom City of India' is well-founded: the Solan Mushroom Research Centre (established 1961) pioneered commercial mushroom cultivation in India, and button mushroom farms dot the hillsides around the town.
The town also sits within the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh pharmaceutical and industrial belt, Himachal's largest industrial zone.

1,400 m

On the old Hindustan-Tibet Road between Solan and Shimla, Kumarhatti at 1,400 m is a pleasant wayside settlement with government-run horticultural nurseries and experimental orchards that supply grafted apple, peach and apricot stock to farmers across Himachal.
The gardens are open to visitors and display an impressive range of temperate fruit varieties and ornamental species.
The Kandaghat valley below Kumarhatti, with the Ashwini Khud stream flowing through terraced farmland, is a quiet pastoral landscape suitable for half-day walks.
The Kalka-Shimla toy train stops at Kumarhatti station, making it a good base for a day trip on the railway.

1,400 m3 km

The Kandaghat station on the UNESCO-listed Kalka-Shimla narrow-gauge railway ranks among the most scenically situated stops on the line — a forest clearing at 1,400 m where the train slows to allow passengers a view of a small waterfall and the oak and rhododendron forest.
The nearby area is increasingly known for weekend farmstays and orchards.
The Ashwini Khud nature trail beginning near the station follows a seasonal stream through mixed forest for 3 km, making it a good short walk for day visitors arriving by toy train.
The Kandaghat–Solan road offers a pleasant cycling route through settled Himachali villages.

1 km path (or new ropeway) from the main bazaar

The principal deity of Solan town, Goddess Shoolini is worshipped on a hilltop temple accessible via a 1 km path (or new ropeway) from the main bazaar.
The annual Shoolini Mela in June is the district's major cultural event, a three-day celebration that includes folk performances, crafts markets and religious processions drawing tens of thousands of participants.
The temple hilltop offers a panoramic view of the Solan valley, the Kasauli ridge, and on clear winter days the plains of Haryana.
A smaller shrine to Durga Mata adjacent to the main temple is considered particularly efficacious by local devotees.

1,560 m

Barog Station at 1,560 m on the Kalka-Shimla Railway is associated with one of India's most unusual engineering ghost stories: the British engineer Colonel Barog miscalculated the alignment for the tunnel being named after him, resulting in the two ends failing to meet.
Disgraced, he died by suicide at the site, and the railway was rerouted through a corrected tunnel design.
The station that bears his name is now a popular halt for toy train passengers — the forest rest house adjacent to the platform ranks among the most atmospheric heritage accommodation options on the line.
The surrounding Silver Fir Forest (Chil Van) is excellent for birdwatching, with Himalayan woodpeckers, nuthatches and minivets resident throughout the year.