Reaching Renuka Lake is not very straight forward task if you want to travel by state run buses but that is what we did. My starting point was New Delhi and from here we traveled to Kalka by rail and then took a bus to Nahan. From Nahan we took another bus that took us to Renuka Lake. The buses are very basic and leave a lot to be desired in comfort.
We stayed at a place called DevicosPlaza (a place two kilometers from the lake in the village Dadahu) and it is a new and decent hotel. In off-season room rates are up for bargain. The hotel had basic comforts like hot water, nice bed and a TV. Food was provided at the hotel and it had a table tennis table to knock against after the day’s sight seeing.
I climbed only up to 9 kilometers along a narrow cemented road and decided to wait for my husband there as the road was being constructed after that point. And anyway I was tired by then. That was a mistake. There was a gang of construction workers right ahead of me and as soon as my husband vanished out of site they started throwing verbal comments at me that were not very complimentary.
One sad experience and I breathed a sigh of relief when some 20 minutes later my husband walked back. He was unaware of all this but could see that I was upset. After we discussed it was decided that we would not do this again, me staying behind. Usually people are nice in hill states of India but I learned it through experience that not always and one should take caution. After spending a third quite day by the lake, we headed home for the crowds and the pollution!
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A very beautiful RENUKA Lake.
Thanks for your comment KumarnSoni.
Rajeev, thanks for sharing. I know HP is such a beauty. And Renuka Lake was recommended by someone who had been there before
You are right about the ‘vacationing’ time being so short. I was fortunate to have lived and seen most of HP with my father who was employed with HP govt and had a transferable job. My recent travels there have been kind of ‘show off’ to my wife – as you said soemwhere- HP is such a secret still- I just love the place and remember many magical turns in the roads
. I did wonder at you discovering Renuka – its such a little known and out of the way place. maybe you could have added a super – shot of some lions that they keep there 
. The zoo there, is also quite old, i remember seeing a huge bear there in early 1980′s. But, I am no writer – Difficult for me to share in a meaningful way, the splendid memories and images from my childhood. I did start a blog abt our recent vacation trips – more as a record for ourselves. I hope to add to it as we find time for more vacations. Till then will come back to yours, to expereince the thrill of travel even when its second hand !
Rajeev, I have not been to Kinnaur yet
There are so many places and so little of vacation!If you grew up in Nahan, you should be writing about Renuka Lake, right?
I recently came to your blog and loved the stories here. Then I saw one about Renuka- and i had a just one word for it – wow. part of my childhood was spent in Nahan and Renuka was our favourite holiday spot. Have you been to Kinnaur in HP? pls do keep writing abt your travles.ThxRajeev
Either way, have fun.
Thank you! I’m sure I’ll have lots of questions between now and December. We’re already looking at hotels in Goa thanks to your suggestion and it’s a good thing because prices triple between Dec 26 and Jan 6. We may have to adjust our travel dates to leave a little later. Darn.
It is a good idea to keep schedules flexible so that you can spend a lot of time in the places you like. So, have a nice trip and feel free to ask anything that occurs to your mind at a later date.
Americans ask similar questions when meeting people, although salary tends to be a closely guarded secret, especially from your co-workers.Our schedule will be pretty flexible, but we could pre-book one city ahead as we decide where we’re going. It would be nice to know where we’re going instead of wandering the streets looking for a decent hotel.
Goa and smaller cities you will definitely enjoy. Indians are a friendly lot but I guess the questions that are considered normal here may seem awakward to Westerners. People can casually ask marital status, number of siblings or offsprings, paypackage etc. They mean no harm by it though. You will also see a lot of touts if you have not pre-booked everything. taxi and auto fares are up for bargain in most of the places.
Thanks, I’m sure we will. We’re planning to fly in to Delhi, visit some smaller cities, maybe a wildlife park or two, work our way down to Goa and then fly out of Mumbai.Are people there typically pretty friendly to tourists? Visiting another country is always more fun when you get to know a few locals.
Sure, New delhi is chaotic even to us. Have a nice trip.
We’ll be there from December 7-January 11. We live in a small town so we’re used to no nightlife. I suspect that the quiet may be welcome after we’ve been there a few weeks.
its beautiful alright!
Normies, I enjoy lakes too but my husband has just one point agenda- mountains, so we them a lot more! Lily, let me add that the lake is situated near a really small town, so there is nothing to do at night, no nightlife at all. That is fine with us, but I wanted you to know. When are you planing to come to India?
Thanks for the website, Mridula. I hope we are able to go to the lake. It looks well worth it.
wow, those are georgeous. The plants next to the water are beautifull too, and that refelection in the water is stunning as well. I love lakes..
Patina, thanks a lot for your kind words. The images on your own blog are simply superb.
I am very fond of Kalka railway station. It is small and cozy. And I guess it must have not changed.Thanks for your suggestion for Shmila, we will try. My favorite saying is ‘so many places, so little time.’
india becomes more and more a blushing jewel to me. i have never been there. through blog photos like yours i am charmed by her. your images are magical.
I must say the Kalka station hasnt changed much…brings back quite a few memories…You should try visiting Shimla just when it begins to snow there…just at the beginning of the off-season; it’s really nice around that time…Your blog’s a very nice read Mridula.
Ganga, start travelling and thanks for the kind words regarding the pictures.Gulnaz, let me make a deal to you, we will admire each-other’s work and stop envying
What do you say? Yeah, I wish they would do something for tourism in this beautiful country of ours.
yeah i envy you too!
btw, our tourism minister is also called renuka
Mridula,Renuka lake is really fantastic!!I loved the pics..And I’m dying to visit those places…
Vandy, the travels are not so frequent, I am infact writing about a lot of places that I visited in past. The Ladakh trip is the most recent of my travels.Avik, I have learned the lesson, of not trekking alone.Lily, Renuka Lake is 315 kilometers from New Delhi. We travelled through a place called Kalka but it seems better to travel through Chandigrah. Have a look athttp://www.himachalpradesh.us/webs/tourism/sirmaur/renuka/renuka.htmTerri, thanks a lot for reading my tales and commenting on it this time. I too visit your space often.
That is a very beautiful lake! I’m sorry you had to endure some unpleasant comments, I love to read about your travels, although I don’t often leave comments.
What a beautiful place! How many hours of travel does it take to get to the lake from New Delhi?
don’t ever trek alone………Anyways Renuka Lake is really beautiful……awaiting another nice spot…..take care and have fun….
I simply envy you Mridula….:-)You’ve visited so many wonderful places and so frequently. Nice blog.