Yes it is in Himachal state of India



The smell of blue pine and conifer trees that carpet the hills lingers in the air long after you have taken the last turn into Thanedar. Also lingering in this fruit bowl of India is reverence for an American missionary who headed to these hills in 1904, married a Himachali girl and transformed the village. The apple trees he planted in Kotgarh next door continue to reap a rich harvest even 100 years later. In fact, Samuel aka Satyanand Stokes is a family name in the entire Shimla region. The belt is replete with apple boughs.

The orchards are bare and grey in winter and you have to strain hard to catch a glimpse of colour. But head here mid-April onwards and watch the trees come alive with white-green flowers that burst forth into blood-red fruit by mid-may.

THINGS TO SEE AND DO

In apple country, there's nothing more exhilarating than picking your apple and eating it too. The apple blooms play hide and seek with the less exotic plums, the white almond trees and other stone fruit that are sure to rouse your passions, if fruit is your aphrodisiac.

Dabbling in Appling

Sling a basket on your shoulders and head down the apple orchards. The apples are used to prepare jam, pickles or wine. Himcu (a state government-owned company) bottles some of the best wine-apple, peach, plum of rhododendron.

Best from February to June. Thanedar is also very pleasant post-monsoon from September to November.

As you push through branches and bramble, the road clears and the ground beneath your feet becomes flat.

Like a pearl in an oyster waiting to be discovered in the midst of nowhere, with the snow-peaked mountains in the background and a weeping willow sighing in its periphery, lies the placid lake. There is a local temple on the one side of the lake that is not open to outsiders. In June, a fair is held at the lake, where local artisans and craftsmen display their wares.

GETTING THERE

Air Nearest airport: Jubbarhatti, Shimla (105 km/ 2 ? hrs).

Rail Nearest railhead: Kalka (174km /5 ? hrs).

Road Thanedar is just 2km off the Hindustan ? Tibet Road (NH22), a beautiful 80-km drive from Shimla, which itself is a comfortable drive from Delhi.

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