Barot, a village originally developed in 1920s for Shanan Hydel Project, is now a tourist location in

Mandi district Mandi district is one of the central districts of Himachal Pradesh state in northern India. The town of Mandi is the headquarters of the district. The main native language is Mandeali. As of 2011 it is the second most populous district of H ...

in the Indian state of

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several pea ...

. Barot was difficult to access until 1975, when a road was opened. It is situated 40 km from Jogindernagar and 65 km from

Mandi Mandi may refer to: Places * Mandı, Azerbaijan India * Mandi, Jammu and Kashmir, a town on the Mandi River in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir * Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, a city in Himachal Pradesh ** Mandi State, former princely s ...

, the

District A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...

Headquarter. The road to Barot branches off at Jogindernagar-

Highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...

and from Jogindernagar the distance is 40 km. It is sometimes possible to use the funicular trolley from Jogindernagar which reduces the distance to 12 km. The road route includes terraced fields and thick cedar forests, rising to Jhatingri at the hilltop. The remains of the summer palace of the former rulers of Mandi are located here. Through the little village of Tikkan, the road carries on to Barot. The town has a range of outdoor activities, including a trout breeding centre, from where fish are released into the Uhl river. A 30 km section of the river is used for angling. Barot also forms the gateway to the Nargu Wildlife Sanctuary which lies across the Uhl. The sanctuary is home to the

monal A monal is a bird of genus ''Lophophorus'' of the pheasant family, Phasianidae. Description The males all have colorful, iridescent plumage. Their physique is rather plump. Their diet consists of plants such as roots and bulbs and insects. D ...

, black bear and ghoral. Within it are forest rest houses at Thaltuckhod and Silbandhwari. Through woods of cedar and pine a trek route cuts across the sanctuary to Kullu.

Shanan Hydel Project

Barot is the inlet point of the tunnel that diverts river water of Uhl river to Shanan Power House in Jogindernagar. The town has a diversion dam that was commissioned in 1932. The

funicular A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite ...

trolley system was built during construction to connect Barot with Jogindernagar. The project workers live in the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) colony in Barot.

Accessibility

By road

Barot is situated 25 km off

National Highway 20 Route 20, or Highway 20, may refer to: International * European route E20 Australia * Sturt Highway (NSW/VIC/SA) * Yarra Bank Highway Brazil * BR-020 Canada * Alberta Highway 20 * British Columbia Highway 20 * Manitoba Highway 20 *New Br ...

. The diversion to Barot is from a village, Ghatasani, on the Mandi-Jogidernagar road, 14 km from

Joginder Nagar Jogindernagar, or Jogindar Nagar (Hindi: जोगिंदर नगर) (), is a municipality, and a sub district in Mandi district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Named after Raja Joginder Sen, the hill station is the terminus of the ...

and 65 km from

. This Ghatasni-Barot road passes through Jhatingri and Tikkan. From Tikkan, the road runs along the Uhl river till Barot. A major portion of this road is single lane, though not one way. Barot is connected by public buses to

, Jogindernagar and Palampur. Buses plying to Kothikodh, Bada Gran and Luhardi also pass through Barot.

Railway

The closest railway station is at Jogindernagar, terminus of the

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

railway line connecting Jogindernagar to

Pathankot Pathankot is a city and the district headquarters of the Pathankot district in Punjab, India. Pathankot is the 6th most populous city of Punjab, after Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Patiala and Bathinda. Its local government is a municipal co ...

. The line is operated by

Northern Railways The Northern Railway (NR) is one of the 19 Railway zones of India and the northernmost zone of the Indian Railways. It is headquartered at Baroda House in New Delhi. History Officially notified as a new railway zone on 14 April 1952, i ...

, a division of

Indian Railways Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tota ...

By Air

By air from Delhi to Bhunter (Kullu) or Gaggal (Kangra) airport and then by road to Barot.

Other modes

The

trolley system connecting Barot with Jogindernagar built during the construction of the Shanan Hydel project and was the only access until the road was opened in 1975. This trolley link was set up to facilitate transport of construction material to Barot for a reservoir on Uhl river for Shanan Power House. However, once the road connection was established, the trolley fell into a state of disrepair. It is currently owned and maintained by the Punjab State Electricity Board. Currently, the trolley is not in use and is only operated for occasional inspections of the penstocks.

History

Historically, Barot formed part of the

riyasat before and during British times and was governed by the King of Mandi. Pre Independence, Barot was also on the mule trail connecting

Kullu valley Kullu Valley is a broad open valley in Himachal Pradesh, India, formed by the Beas River between Manali and Larji. This valley is famous for its temples, beauty and its majestic hills covered with pine and deodar forest and sprawling apple or ...

Kangra valley Kangra Valley is a river valley situated in the Western Himalayas.Kullu was connected to a road from

Geography

Barot is situated in a small

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...

formed by the Uhl river. Surrounded on both sides by parts of the

Dhauladhar Dhauladhar ( hi, धौलाधार) () is a mountain range which is part of a lesser Himalayan chain of mountains. It rises from the Shivalik hills, to the north of Kangra and Mandi. Dharamsala, the headquarters of Kangra district and t ...

range of the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...

, Barot is located at an elevation of 1819 metres (6001 ft) above the mean

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardis ...

. Most of the village is settled along the banks of Uhl river. The Uhl barrage and reservoir for the Shanan Power House are a major geographical feature of Barot. Most of the forest around Barot is deodar and Himalayan oak.

Tourism

Barot is a frequent backpacker and day tourist destination. Many trekking trails pass through Barot, including trails to

Bada Bhangal Bada (stylized as bada; Korean: ) is a discontinued mobile operating system developed by Samsung Electronics for devices such as mid- to high-end smartphones and tablet computers. The name is derived from " (bada)", meaning " ocean" or "sea" ...

, Manali and Kullu. Most tourists are attracted by the serene surroundings and availability of cheap accommodation. Of late, Barot is also developing into an

angling Angling is a fishing technique that uses a fish hook or "angle" (from Old English ''angol'') attached to a fishing line to tether individual fish in the mouth. The fishing line is usually manipulated via a fishing rod, although rodless techni ...

destination. The Uhl river supports

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', '' Salmo'' and '' Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salm ...

breeding and Barot has a few

fish farms upright=1.3, Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye">mariculture.html" ;"title="Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture">Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye, Scotland Fish farming or ...

. Across the river Uhl is the Nargu Wildlife Sanctuary, home to goral,

Himalayan black bear The Himalayan black bear (''Ursus thibetanus laniger'') is a subspecies of the Asian black bear found in the Himalayas of India, Bhutan, Nepal, China, and Pakistan. Description It is distinguished from '' U. t. thibetanus'' by its longer, thicke ...

and a variety of pheasants. Three artificial lakes including one reservoir on Uhl river enhance the beauty of this magnificent hidden treasure as one enters the Barot village near Dhrangan. An old fountain channelising the waters of Uhl erupting at regular intervals is another source of attraction. Just opposite the fountain, two centres of religious faith are situated. One is the temple of Dev Pashakot, the local deity of rain whereas the other is old temple which have been the witness to majority of couples of valley getting tied in marital bonds. The Thandi Golai ground on the way to old Mayot road is the camp site for various trekkers organised by the trekking organisers. Rulling, the highest village in Mandi district is just an hour's uphill trek falling in Lapas panchayat.

References

External links

* {{Mandi district Tourist attractions in Himachal Pradesh Villages in Mandi district