Just before Hatkoti, Khara Pathar towers at 8,770 ft. Apart from the apple orchards, deodars and pines crowd its slopes. A 7-km jeep track from here leads up to the Giri Ganga Temple, near the source of the Giri.

Rohru is Shimla district?s apple hub and the hills surrounding this town and Hatkoti are covered with orchards. Though the best time to see ripe fruit is between September and November, the trees begin flowering around April ? a breathtaking sight of pale white blooms. Just be careful not to trespass. A modest town 20 km beyond Jubbal, this is a major centre for the apple trade and has the only running HPTDC hotel in this belt. Rohru also has a temple dedicated to Shikhru Devta, a local deity, but it is here that you see the deep influence of Hatkeshwari Devi. Be it buses, cars, scooters or shops, nearly all of them have ?Jai Hatkeshwari Devi? painted on them.

At a height of 5,774 ft, this is the point of entry to the apple country stretching past Rohru. But the major attraction in Kotkhai is its beautiful palace with exquisite, heavily carved wooden pillars.

About 5 km beyond Rohru, this spot is considered an anglers? paradise. Raja Bajrang Bahadur Singh of Bhadri even had log huts built here on the Pabbar?s bank to promote fishing.

The motorable road ends here. Two small streams, Andhra and Gumma, join the Pabbar River. Adventure seekers can take off from here on a long trek to Dodra Kwar, the remotest village across the 13,845 ft Chanshal Pass, which remains open from May to October. Chirgaon also boasts a trout hatchery. n