Barog

Barog is a small hill station in Solan district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The station lies on UNESCO World Heritage Site Kalka–Shimla Railway. Set in the mountains Barog is just 60 km from Chandigarh on the Kalka-Shimla highway.HistoryBarog was settled in the early 20th century during the building of the narrow gauge Kalka-Shimla Railway. Currently many residents have their long stays in their houses and flats in Barog. Mostly they are Sikhs from Punjab. It used to be an important stop in the early decades of the century when the Kalka-Shimla toy train stopped here for an hour while the sahibs and memsahibs enjoyed a lavish lunch.GeographyBarog is located at at a distance of 60 km from Chandigarh. Shimla, the capital city of Himachal Pradesh is another 65 km from Barog.Until 2003, National Highway 22 connecting Chandigarh with Shimla passed through Barog. On 6 December 2003, the new section of the highway was inaugurated that would connect the village of Kumarhatti directly to Solan, thus bypassing Barog. This was done to avoid the steep incline to Barog from Kumarhatti.Barog is located at a height of 1560 metres above the mean sea level. Due to its height, temperatures here range between 23 and 10 °C during summers and between 15 and 5 °C during winters. The summers last from April to July. Winters set in during December and typically last up to February.EconomyThe economy of Barog is primarily dependent upon tourists, who come here because of its cool climate and proximity to Chandigarh. Many hotels including Hotel KorInns and a Himachal tourism resort called Pinewood operate in Barog. Barog is also influenced economically by the nearby Lawrence School, Sanawar.