Bhatkanda Meadows Raila – Trekking to Witness Sunset at the Hilltop

It was the second day of Raila’s stay when I planned to visit the Bhatkanda meadows of Raila village. I had no idea if there was a meadow in Raila. I have been to Shangarh several times, which is famous for its meadow, The Devta Ground. However, a meadow in Raila captured my attention when the homestay’s cook told me about this, and we planned to trek to the meadow. He also told me about the sunset point view of Raila from where the views of the mountains and the sun setting behind them were breathtaking.

Raila is a small village that is on the way to Shangarh. If you plan to visit Shangarh, you can club Raila in your itinerary. The village is known for its incredibly beautiful waterfall. Another attraction of Raila village is The Twin Towers. I visited both places during my visit to the village in Sept 2022. However, I was more interested in visiting Raila’s meadow and the sunset point view. If you haven’t been to Himachal Pradesh so far, let me tell you, the sunsets here are just amazing!
You can visit the waterfall and the twin towers but if you plan to visit Bhatkanda meadows, you should stay for a day. 

Trekking to Bhatkanda Meadows and Sunset Point View of Raila – Something I Regretted While I Was on My Way

So, we (I, along with the cook who was my guide also) started trekking to Bhatkanda meadows around the afternoon. We didn’t want to miss the sunset; that was the prime reason. The cook of the homestay, The Yellow Chalet, was a skilled trekker who continued trekking uphill without any significant rest (obviously the local guy). I gave up at several places and questioned why I started this trek.

It was just ten minutes that I started panting. The uphill climb really took a toll on me. I was sweating badly, which was one of the reasons for my exhaustion (yeah, I sweat like Niagra Falls). I took a break of five minutes, gathered myself, and started heading to Bhatkanda meadows. After trekking for a long time (it was long for me, though), we made it to the meadows. I just sat there and took a deep breath of relief. 

My guide was carrying a Bluetooth speaker, and we listened to music all the way. Though our music tastes didn’t match, but it was decent. So, Raila’s meadow is different from Shangarh’s. Bhatkanda meadows is based on a hillock and is largely a green pasture, while Shangarh’s meadow is comparatively maintained. Also, it’s not as large and clean as Shangarh’s meadow. So, it was sort of disappointing for me (I don’t mean to demean it). 

After spending some time in Raila’s meadow Bhatkanda, my guide pushed me to continue trekking to the sunset viewpoint. And I just wanted to sleep where I was sitting. But anyways, we started trekking again. And this time, the trek even got harder. At this time, we were literally climbing a steep mountain. At times, we were even walking just at the edge, which was scary and adventurous—the evening had started to paint the sky with its hues. The clouds had started romancing with the sky, and everything had started to turn soothing. After continuous trekking for thousands of hours (yeah, for me), we made it to the top of a hill which was the sunset viewpoint of Raila. 

After reaching the sunset viewpoint of Raila, I sat there and tried to capture every possible moment passing by, not in the phone’s camera but through my mind, heart, and soul. Sounds difficult! Yeah, I did that for a while. But then I put my phone on the tripod and started capturing time-lapse. The sky turned red, and the clouds started dancing around. The evening was among the best I had come across. The colors in the sky and everything about it made me forget the pains and sufferings I took to reach there. And I realized it was totally worth it. Sometimes, we crib about our situations without realizing the outcomes and the motives behind them.