Sadhupul, on the road to Chail
Sadhupul, or Sadhu Pul, is a village on the Ashwani Khad stream on the road to Chail, 37 minutes from the hill station, with riverside stops and forest walks.
Himachal Pradesh2 itineraries
Chail
Chail, the Patiala summer capital: the palace of 1891–92, the cricket ground at 2,444 m, the sanctuary and Sadhupul, with measured drive times.
Itineraries you can copy
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Day plan · First visitTemples & heritage
One day in Chail — the palace, the cricket ground and the forest
A one-day Chail plan: the Patiala summer palace, the cricket ground at 2,444 m and a walk in the sanctuary forest. Free, copyable itinerary.
Best Mar–Jun · Sep–Oct
See the plan →
1 night · 2 days · First visitClassic
Two days in Chail — the palace and the stream at Sadhupul
A two-day Chail plan: the Patiala summer palace and the sanctuary forest on day one, then a drive down to the Ashwani Khad stream at Sadhupul. Free, copyable.
Best Mar–May · Sep–Oct
See the plan →Chail is a hill station in thick cedar forest in Solan district, about 40 km from Shimla by road. Until the early 19th century it belonged to the Keonthal state. After the Anglo-Gurkha wars it passed to the Patiala state, and under Maharaja Rajinder Singh it became the Patiala summer capital, with a palace built in 1891–92 on Rajgarh hill.
The Chail Palace, 4 minutes from the centre, was rebuilt in 1951 and has been a hotel since the state government acquired it in 1972. The cricket ground the Maharajas laid out sits at about 2,444 m, 9 minutes away. The Chail Wildlife Sanctuary surrounds the town, and Sadhupul, a village on the Ashwani Khad stream, is 37 minutes down the road.
A day covers the palace, the ground and the forest; two days add Sadhupul. See the one-day plan and the two-day plan, things to do in Chail, when to visit and how to reach Chail.
Photos: Harvinder Chandigarh (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Harvinder Chandigarh (CC BY-SA 4.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
Places worth the drive
On the map
Open the Chail map →The places a Chail day reaches, with the road time from town. Each opens on the map with its plans and pages beside it.
Before you go
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Things to do in Chail — 4 stops, and which need a car
Four things to do in Chail: the Patiala summer palace, the cricket ground at 2,444 m, the sanctuary forest and Sadhupul, with measured drive times and seasons.
How to reach Chail — distances and drive times
How to reach Chail by road from Shimla, Solan, Kasauli, Narkanda and Chandigarh, with measured distances and drive times and the nearest airport.
Best time to visit Chail — the sanctuary months and the rest
When to visit Chail: March to October is named as the best time for the sanctuary, and no monthly weather table is published for the hill station itself.
Questions people ask
What is Chail known for?
The Chail Palace, built in 1891–92 as the summer retreat of the Maharaja of Patiala, and a cricket ground that is often described as the highest in the world at about 2,444 m. The town sits in thick cedar forest, and the Chail Wildlife Sanctuary, about 110 km², surrounds it.
How many days do you need in Chail?
One day covers the palace, the cricket ground and a walk in the forest. A second day adds Sadhupul, 37 minutes down the road. Many visitors treat Chail as a night away from Shimla, 40 km and about 89 minutes by road, and that is enough for a slow day.
When is the best time to visit?
March to October is named as the best time to visit the Chail Sanctuary, and the town is known for good weather and cedar forest. No monthly temperature table is published for Chail, so this guide gives none. Check road conditions in the monsoon and winter.
Photographs by Wikimedia Commons contributors (CC0, CC BY, CC BY-SA), resized; each picture is credited on its own page.