Tucked on the gradient slopes of Dhauladhar range in Kangra Valley lies the secret Village for artists and artisans. Andretta seems like an idyllic Himalayan village, below the snow-capped mountains, running stream and surrounded by pine forests. But there is more to it than any Himachal hamlets.

Sometime in the 1920s, when the British Empire was counting its days in India, a young Irish woman named Norah Richards arrived in Andretta. She was married to Philip Richards, a professor in Lahore, in 1908. After her husband’s death, she returned to India to find solace in the mountains. She arrived in the village on a horseback, built herself a house in the typical Kangra style, and began what has become an artists’ colony now.

You can still visit her house in Andretta. Known as ‘Chameli Niwas’, it is built employing local style and material, using mud, slate and bamboo.

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Norah invited B.C. Sanyal, a well-known painter and sculptor, and Prof.Jaidayal, her late husband’s pupil to join her in Andretta. They came and built their own mud homes in the village. Later, the legendary actor Prithviraj Kapoor too began to frequent this village.

Many acclaimed artists like painter Sobha Singh, potter Gurcharan Singh, NavjotRandhwa and many others have found their way to Andretta.

Image Credit: Wikimedia

Aside from its obvious artistic charms, Andretta is submerged in the ethereal beauty of the Himalayan slopes – sandwiched as it is between the glistening Dhauladhar range and the dense foliage and bamboo groves of the Shivaliks. Rhododendron shrubs, banana trees, blackberry bushes, bamboo thickets lend an enchanting air to the landscape at Andretta.

Andretta is also a paradise for birders, with more than 550 species of birds. Resident and migrant species of thrush, barbet, woodpecker, robins, bulbuls, fantail, tits, sunbirds, kingfisher, owl, crake, warbler, finch, redstart, chat, and babbler have made it their home.

Tibetan monasteries in the vicinity, like Tashijong Monastery, Sherabling Monastery and the Norbulingka Institute add an old-world charm to the village.

There are pretty homestays in the village for travellers and artists. It is not easy to get to this secret village, but you can arrive by a local bus from Palambur. Palambur is enroute to Mandi from Pathankot, which is the nearest railway station.

Read Also: Did You Know Of This Mountain Secret In Himachal Pradesh

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