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TRAVEL
WEEKENDS
SURREAL
SHOGHI
AAMOD RESORTS AT SHOGHI ALLOWS
YOU TO DISCOVER THE LITTLE-VISITED
WEEKEND HILL STATION IN HIMACHAL
PRADESH IN ITS FULL GLORY.
TEXT AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY AARTI
KAPUR SINGH
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The slightest nip in
the air and north
India seems to start
teeming with
tourists. While
Shimla, Kasauli and
Manali are favoured tourist spots, it is
always a good idea to explore lesser
known destinations if one truly wishes to
go far from the city crowd. Not many have
heard of the quaint town of Shoghi, just
about half an hour (or 15 odd kilometres)
before Shimla, but definitely more
picturesque. Once you have been here, the
serenity of this place will make leaving it
hard.
The charm of a place is in discovering
its secrets. And Aamod Resorts at
Shoghi will allow you to truly explore and
find anchor in this less known hill station.
You can truly put your feet up and enjoy
that vacation without any other agenda,
except for connecting with yourself (or
your loved ones, if you are travelling with
them).
At Shoghi, there are innumerable
lovely moments to unwind, experience
nature, dine with the locals and
rediscover the thrills of listening to tales
of yore under starlit skies near a cozy
bonfire. We haven’t mentioned the spa
yet, because set atop a hill, it is an
experience in itself.
The whole idea of escaping to the hills
is to be able to enjoy their majesty in full
grandeur. The last thing you want to see is
a concrete jungle lording over the mighty
oaks. Shoghi is one place where the land
mafia is still not all pervasive and
therefore, the hills are still green. That is
how Aamod Resorts wants it to be. So cars
are parked a little distance downhill. Yes,
be prepared to walk and tone those calves
and glutes when you come here. Shoghi is
a tiny piece of undiscovered paradise
tucked away on NH 22. As the car stops,
you’ll find yourself on a gentle hill slope,
under a thick cover of oak and pine
trees. Aamod at Shoghi is an ecotourism
resort set in pristine virgin forest.
As you walk towards the cottage,
you’ll notice a certain design philosophy.
Anything man-made at Aamod perfectly
blends in with nature. There are in total
20 cottages in Aamod Resorts at Shoghi
and all are scattered in the beauty of the
lush green jungles, uphill and downhill.
The location somewhere in the outskirts
of the main town helps retain the
‘secluded’ feel of the property. So there is
no hustle and bustle — though the
strength of the silence means you can
hear the occasional truant truck honking
— even though the road may be around
400 m from your room.
Right from its location amidst the
deodar and oak forests to the hospitality
of its staff, the lovely in-house spa,
karaoke set-up, dinner under the sky,
bonfire nights and a rendezvous with the
sun in the hills, this one promises a
lovely getaway from the din of the city.
You will find yourself in nature’s trance,
enjoying birdsong, or the sunlight
filtering through the deep oak jungles
(not a single tree has been felled during
the construction of the property). So,
when you see a cottage, you know it’s on a
natural clearing.
Accommodation is in cute little
cottages, both single and double with
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NOVEMBER 2017