Solan: The Town Everyone Drives Through and Nobody Stops In

Almost everyone driving from Chandigarh to Shimla passes through Solan, and almost nobody stops for longer than a plate of parathas. It is the district headquarters, it sits at around 1,500 m on NH-5, and it has the distinction of being called the Mushroom City of India - a nickname that sounds like a joke until you see how much of the surrounding hillside is under cultivation.

Solan is not a resort town and does not pretend to be one. It is a working Himachali town with a bazaar, a university, a brewery older than most countries’ constitutions, and several genuinely good things to see within twenty minutes of the highway. If you are on a Himachal road trip and want a night that does not cost Shimla money, this is where to take it.

Where it sits and how to get there

Solan is about 45 km from Chandigarh and 45 km short of Shimla - close enough to the midpoint that it is the natural break on the drive. Roughly ninety minutes up from Chandigarh on NH-5 through Kalka and Dharampur. The Kalka-Shimla narrow-gauge railway also stops here, which means you can arrive by toy train and be picked up, if you are travelling with people who have a vehicle.

The practical case for staying here rather than pushing on: rooms cost a fraction of Shimla’s, parking is not a competitive sport, and you are still within an hour of Kasauli, Chail, Barog and Shimla itself.

Shoolini Mata Temple

The town takes its name from Shoolini Devi, and her temple is the centre of local life rather than a tourist stop. The annual Shoolini fair in June is a three-day affair with a procession that carries the deity through the town, and it is one of the better small-town festivals in this part of Himachal - crowded in the way a real festival is crowded, not the way a hill station is.

If you are visiting outside the fair, go in the early morning. It is a short walk from the bazaar, and it will take twenty minutes.

Jatoli Shiv Temple

About 7 km from town, Jatoli is the thing in Solan most worth planning around. The temple is built in a South Indian Dravidian style that is entirely unexpected in a Himachali hill town, and its shikhar is often described as among the tallest in Asia. Construction ran for decades from the 1950s onward, funded largely by local donations.

You climb a long flight of steps to reach it, and the view back down the valley from the top is the reward. The stone of the temple is said to ring when struck - people do test this, and it does. Go late afternoon for the light.

Karol Tibba and the cave

Karol Tibba, at roughly 2,200 m, is the highest peak in the immediate area and the local trekking objective. The hike from the Solan side takes a few hours up and is a genuine walk rather than a stroll - proper shoes, water, and an early start.

Near the summit is Karol cave, which local tradition associates with the Pandavas of the Mahabharata. Whether or not you take the legend literally, the cave is real, deep, and cold, and the ridge-line views on a clear October morning take in a long stretch of the Himalaya.

Barog: the tunnel and the ghost story

Barog is 6 km from Solan and it is where the Kalka-Shimla railway’s longest tunnel - tunnel number 33, a little over 1.1 km - runs dead straight through the hill. The story attached to it is that Colonel Barog, the engineer, began digging from both ends and the bores failed to meet; he was fined, and took his own life. The tunnel was completed on a corrected alignment, and the town kept his name.

The station itself is small, quiet and one of the pleasantest places on the whole line to wait for a train. There is a well-known platform canteen. The surrounding forest walk is flat and easy, which makes Barog a good morning for a group with mixed fitness.

Mushrooms, breweries and Mohan Shakti

• The mushroom farms - Solan hosts the Directorate of Mushroom Research, and the region supplies a serious share of India’s button mushrooms. The nickname is not marketing.
• Solan Brewery - founded in the 1850s, one of the oldest in Asia, and still an operating industrial site rather than a visitor attraction. Look, do not expect a tour.
• Mohan Shakti Heritage Park - a large sculpted park on mythological themes about 10 km out. Divisive: some visitors find it striking, others find it kitsch. It is cheap and you will know within ten minutes which camp you are in.

When to go

Solan is lower and warmer than Shimla, which makes it comfortable for a longer season. March to June is pleasant and busy. The monsoon brings landslip risk on NH-5, as it does everywhere here. October and November are the clearest and the best for Karol Tibba. Winter is cold but rarely snowbound at this altitude, which is precisely why it makes a good winter base when Shimla is iced in.

Fitting it into a trip

Solan is rarely the whole plan and is often the best part of one. A common and sensible shape for a long weekend out of Chandigarh: night one in Solan, Jatoli and Barog the next morning, Kasauli or Chail in the afternoon, and Shimla on day three if you still want it.

For the full route picture see the Himachal road trip guide, and for the neighbouring towns, the Kasauli weekend guide and Shimla guide. If you would rather ride along with a group already running this circuit, browse upcoming trips or the travel clubs based around Chandigarh and Panchkula.