Koldam Dam is a 800 MW hydro project on the Satluj river upstream of Dehar power house in Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh. It lies at a distance of 18km from Bilaspur and 25 km from Sundernagar town. This place in recent years have become a kind of pit stop for tourists driving on Chandigarh – Manali highway. As a travel blogger and writer, I hardly go on a holiday. Every trip of mine completes in clicking pictures and collecting stories and so was this. Koldam is a place about which I was hearing from a long time and it is one of those destinations to which I feel so near and yet so far.
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| View point Koldam |
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| Boat point |
Trip to Koldam
Being a traveler, I believe that the best way to explore any destination is on foot but every time I fail to implement it and this time we traveled in a car . We started our journey from Sundernagar and drove through small country roads to our destination . The journey in a car is always relaxing and when someone else is driving then it becomes a perfect shot. I opened the window and was slowly lulled into a deep slumber by gentle breeze rustling around my hair. The panoramic view of the highway surrounded by endless greenery swaying in the dramatic shadow of tall mountains of Salapad was something really amazing. We stopped near the highway for some tea and snacks and then again continued our journey to Bilaspur district, it nearly took us around an hour to reach our destination.
The first sight of the place was amazing and can’t be delineated in words. Koldam is, by any account, spectacular. From an architectural standpoint, the curvilinear arch construction is opulent. The cars are not allowed over the dam without the identification which only local people possess. Yet you can witness the beauty of this dam by making your standpoint at the location called view point constructed specially for sight seeing of the Koldam. The dam’s generators provide power for state as well as center utilities in India. The foundation stone for the dam was laid by Atal Bihari Vajpayee on 5th June 2000. If you ask me this place is perfect for single day trip or I can say once a visit.
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| water reservoir |
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| Wildlife |
Shankar Sharma the local resident of the place told us about the villages that were drowned in the water after the construction of dam and also told us about the various changes which affected there life. He also recommended us to go and try the local boating but as it was getting darker so we planned to return back. This trip was not long but it was short and sweet leaving behind few more precious moments in life with my friends.
Best time to visit the place
There is no particular time period to visit this place but people should avoid visiting this place during the monsoons and tourist can also try out various location in Bilaspur district like Govind sagar lake etc
Some important distances
Delhi to Chandigarh 243km
Chandigarh to Bilaspur 118km
Bilaspur to Koldam 21km
Koldam to Sundernagar 25km
Sundernagar to Manali 130km
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| Way to village |
How to reach Koldam
- Reaching Koldam is not a big task If you are coming from Delhi-Chandigarh highway then you need to stop at Salapad bridge from where you have to take diversion to Dam.
- If you are heading from Delhi then your route is going to be Delhi-Chandigarh -Bilaspur -Barmana –Salapad -Koldam by NH 21
- If you are heading from Manali then your route is going to be Manali- Kullu -Aut -Mandi -Sundernagar -Salapad -Koldam by NH 21
Koldam is best destination and you capture images beautifull