All You Need To Know Before Visiting Chail, Himachal Pradesh

Tiny Chail does not rival the Colonial grandeur of Shimla, but it does give you a feel of how the summer capital of the Raj must have looked before its salubrious environs were chopped down to make way for smug imperial edifices. Chail, of course, boasts of another arrogance, born out of a snub. The town was built after Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of the princely state of Patiala, a handsome ladies' man, was banned from Shimla for life by the British, following charges of his making immoral overtures to an Englishwoman. According to historians, the lady in question was Commander-in-Chief Lord Kitchener's daughter, hence the collective moral affront.