Himachal Pradesh valley town known for the Shanan hydroelectric scheme and Kangra Valley Railway terminus.
Joginder Nagar is a small town in Mandi district, Himachal Pradesh, sitting in a side valley of the Uhl river at around 1,200 metres. The town was established in the 1920s when Raja Joginder Sen of Mandi commissioned a hydroelectric scheme using the waters of the Uhl — tunnelled and piped from the mountains to the Shanan Power House, an ambitious feat of early 20th-century engineering. The power house still operates.
The town is the eastern terminus of the Kangra Valley Railway, a narrow-gauge line running west through the Kangra valley to Pathankot — one of the more scenic railway journeys in the western Himalayas. The surrounding hills are forested and good for walking, and the Uhl valley offers fishing and drives into the mountains.
Nearby Bir Billing is a significant paragliding centre with consistent thermal conditions and long cross-country flights, increasingly popular with international paragliders.
Guide
Getting There
Joginder Nagar is on National Highway 154 between Mandi and Palampur, and Himachal Roadways and private buses run frequently from both. From Delhi it is an overnight bus ride; from Manali about five hours; from Dharamsala about three.
The most atmospheric arrival is on the Kangra Valley Railway from Pathankot — a slow narrow-gauge journey of around ten hours through the foothills, ending at the line's eastern terminus at Joginder Nagar station. The nearest airports are at Kangra (Gaggal), about 70 km west, and Bhuntar near Kullu.
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When to Go
Joginder Nagar sits at around 1,200 metres, so summers are mild rather than hot and the surrounding hills offer relief from the plains. The best months for clear weather and easy hill walking are March to early June and late September to November, when the air is dry and the Dhauladhar peaks are visible.
The monsoon between late June and early September brings heavy rain, occasional landslides on the mountain roads, and the lushest green of the year. Winters are cold but rarely snowy in the town itself — the higher passes into the Bhangaal close from December.
