Churdhar lies in the princely distt of Sirmaur in Himachal Pradesh . The Churdhar peak is one of the most sacred places for the local resident of not only the Shilai and Rajgarh tehsils but of the neighbouring Chaupal (Shimal distt ) and the quite a lot of local village tribes of the Sirmour distt . The
Sirmour Distt : The district is most south-eastern district of the state with its southern boundry touching the State of Haryana and south-eastern borders with Uttranchal . There are six tehsils in this district, namely Nahan, Renuka, Shilai, Rajgharh, Pachhad and Paonta. The wiki link - Sirmour . The other significant places in the distt include Famous Renuka lake, Shivalik Fossil park Suketi , Nauradhaar, Habban Valley, Paonta Sahib, Maa Bhangayani temple (Haripurdhaar), the peach valley Rajgarh .
Ref : There is also a well renowned infantry regiment by the name Sirmour ---> The_Sirmoor_Rifles .
Rajgarh - Peach Valley: Rajgarh is a town about 40 kms from Solan situated at a height of 1555 m and is well renowned for the cultivation of peaches in India and hence termed as "The Peach valley" . Rajgarh is the last town enroute the Churdhar if one takes the Nauradhar route to trek the peak . Though Nauradhar is technically the last inhibited hill town but in terms of stocking the supplies Rajgarh may present more and viable option . Though one may not find as good as frozen tinned food here but most of the common packed eatables prevelent in Indian markets are available here . This town also serves as the central hub for the near-by villages of the region for education/health/ration/adminstrative needs of the people. The town has came up with numerous hotel , rest houses and some beautiful resorts in and arround the town .
There are couple of beautiful places to visit around Rajgarh .
Habban Valley - about 30 kms from Rajgarh this is a small village and the route further leads you to Rohru region of the Shimla district .
Haripurdhaar -- another small village situated on a high ridge over looking a deep valley . The village is at an altitude of about 2500m .
Nauradhaar -- This is another village about 28 km from Rajgarh and is the starting point for the most frequent trek route that leads to the Churdhaar peak . The village has few shops and basic amenities are available here . The road that leads to Nauradhar from Rajgarh is very picturesque and provides some good views of the Churdhaar sanctuary amidst the lust green temperate forests .
Churdhar Sanctuary : The whole forest cover arround the Churdhaar peak forms the part of the sanctuary and one can experience the western Himalayan broadleaf temperate forests . Fauna includes Himalayan black bear, barking deer, musk deer, langur and leopards , but the most famous being Monals. The place has a big religious significance due to the Lord Shirgul ( Lord Shiva's said incarnation ) temple located right below the peak summit . The locals does pay periodic visits to the place on various sacred days like the Navratras and Janamastami etc .
There are multiple trek route options available to reach the summit through the dense forest cover ---
Sailpaw-Dokhta-Churdhar (7 km),
Haripurdhar-Churdhar (17 km),
Nohradhar-Churdhar (14 km),
Sarahan-Churdhar (7 km),
Habban-Churdhar (15 km).
Amongst the above trek routes the most frequent ones are Nohradhar-Churdhar from the Sirmour district and Sarahan-Churdhar from the Chaupal , Shimla district side .
The best time to visit the peak is definitely summer and early winters but if the weather permitting one can also trek in deep winters .
The region has a very volatile weather and most of the times a small gathering of clouds may lead to heavy down pour and since the summit has a decent height of 3000 meters plus , it can be cold in summers and one might require to carry rain proof jackets while trekking to the place .
But other wise if you are planning to trek in summers you might not require to carry any food with you except some chocolates and water bottles as there are couple of food shops at the temple and an accomodation for some 100 plus people . One can borrow blankets from the temple administration for over night stays but accomodation is completely based on first come first serve basis .
