Morni is a village and tourist attraction in the Morni Hills at the height of in the

Panchkula district Panchkula district was formed as the 17th district of Haryana state in India on 15August 1995. It comprises two sub divisions and two tehsils: Panchkula and Kalka. It has 264 villages out of which twelve are un-inhabited and ten wholly merged wi ...

of the Indian state of

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land a ...

. It is located around from

Chandigarh Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which a ...

, from

Panchkula Panchkula (PKL) is a planned city and district headquarter in the Panchkula district, part of the Ambala division in Haryana, India. The origin of the name Panchkula came from the place where five irrigation canals meet. Panchkula establis ...

city and is known for its Himalayan views, flora, and lakes. The name of Morni is believed to derive from a queen who once ruled the area two thousand years back. She was a just and noble ruler of her Queendom and after her the Morni was jagir of the

Raja ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...

of Morni, kotaha and

Pindrawal Pindrawal is a town in Bulandshahr district of Uttar Pradesh, India History Pindrawal was a zamindari during British India belonging to dynasty of Lalkhani Badgujar Muslim Rajput community. Raja’s of Pindrawal * Raja Mir Syed Muha ...

Mir ''Mir'' (russian: Мир, ; ) was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to&n ...

Syed

Muhammad Baquar Ali Khan Raja Mir Syed Muhammad Baquar Ali Khan Bahadur (1842–1902) C.I.E., The Mir of Kotaha and the Raja of Morni and Pindrawal,Asian Review 1902 -- Page 443 was a noted zamindar and philanthropist from Morni who lived in Pindrawal in United Provi ...

CIE.

Geography

Morni Hills and Tikkar Taal, Haryana, India - 7

The Morni Hills are offshoots of the

Shivalik range The Sivalik Hills, also known as the Shivalik Hills and Churia Hills, are a mountain range of the outer Himalayas that stretches over about from the Indus River eastwards close to the Brahmaputra River, spanning the northern parts of the Indian ...

of the Himalayas, which run in two parallel ranges. The village of Morni lies on the mountainside, at above mean sea level. Among the spurs of the hills lie two lakes, the larger of these being about long and broad, and the smaller around either way.

Tourism

Morni Hills and Tikkar Taal, Haryana, India - 1

The

Haryana Government The Government of Haryana, also known as the State Government of Haryana, or locally as the State Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Haryana and its 22 districts. It consists of an executive, ceremonially led ...

has constructed the Mountain Quail Resort for tourists,"Morni hills"
.

Haryana Tourism Haryana Tourism Corporation (HTC) was constituted as a Public Limited Company under the Companies Act, 1956 on 1 May 1974. As an agent of the Government of Haryana, ''Haryana Tourism Corporation'' runs and maintains 44 Tourist Complexes spre ...

. 2008. Retrieved 26 July 2013. along with a motorable road to connect the Morni Hills with the Haryana State Highway near Panchkula. Three further roads connect Morni to

and other nearby towns.

Forts

Morni Fort Museum

There is a two thousand year old fort in the Morni area, which was built by Queen Morni. Local folk songs mention how noble and just was queen Morni. The hills are covered by

pine trees A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garde ...

, and are popular

trekking Backpacking is the outdoor recreation of carrying gear on one's back, while hiking for more than a day. It is often an extended journey, and may involve camping outdoors. In North America tenting is common, where simple shelters and mountain h ...

locations. The fort also has a museum built in fy 2017-18.http://haryana.punjabkesari.in/hisar/news/cm-has-done-inspection-of-herbal-forests-734137 CM has done inspection of herbal forests, Punjab Kesari, 8 Jan 2018. Forests Department of Haryana has converted the fort into a museum and nature study centre which houses old photographs of the fort, endangered birds and animals, awareness of dangers of plastic, etc.Haryana Samvad
, Oct 2018, p38-40.

Garhi Kotaha Fort

Garhi Kotaha is a fort on NH1 which lies 27 km south of the Morni Fort and 3 km east of

Raipur Rani Raipur Rani is a census town in Panchkula district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is located on the Panchkula city- Chandigarh-Nahan-Paonta Sahib- Dehradun highway east from the Chandigarh- Mohali-Panchkula urban cities combine. It is abo ...

tehsil headquarter. It now lie in ruins since it was partially demolished by the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...

after the

Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

Muslims of Kotaha ruled from Garhi Kotaha Fort with smaller forts at Morni and Massompur.

Masoompur Fort

Masoompur Fort is a smaller outpost fort with thick stone-brick masonry walls on a mud hillock. It is northeast of Massompur village which is 5 km from the main Garhi Kotaha Fort via road passing through Rehana village. It was built to control the access route to Samlotha temple, which lies northeast of the fort, to collect the hefty jizya (religious ransom tax) from the Hindu's pilgrimage.Masoompur fort ruins

Morni Hill Waterfall

Waterfall, access via a track in the forest, is active in the rainy season.http://tourism.webindia123.com/tourism/hillstations/Morni/index.htm Morni HillsTikker lake
/ref>

Morni Pheasant Breeding Center

Morni Pheasant Breeding Center focuses on the breeding of

red junglefowl The red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus'') is a tropical bird in the family Phasianidae. It ranges across much of Southeast Asia and parts of South Asia. It was formerly known as the Bankiva or Bankiva Fowl. It is the species that gave rise to the ...

s and

kalij pheasant The kalij pheasant (''Lophura leucomelanos'') is a pheasant found in forests and thickets, especially in the Himalayan foothills, from Pakistan to western Thailand. Males are rather variable depending on the subspecies involved, but all have at ...

s, and regularly releases birds raised in captivity into the wild every year. Red junglefowl had become extinct from most of its range and there are concerns of loss of its genetic purity due to breeding with other related species of fowls. Consequently, in 1991-92 a pheasant breeding center at Morni Hills was established with 6 aviaries and a walk-in a aviary to preserve the wild breed.Red junglefowl

Morni Hill Archaeological Temple Site

Thakur Dwar temple, dedicated to lord

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

William Wilson Hunter Sir William Wilson Hunter (15 July 18406 February 1900) was a Scottish historian, statistician, a compiler and a member of the Indian Civil Service. He is most known for '' The Imperial Gazetteer of India'' on which he started working in 1869 ...

, 1885,

The Imperial Gazetteer of India ''The Imperial Gazetteer of India'' was a gazetteer of the British Indian Empire, and is now a historical reference work. It was first published in 1881. Sir William Wilson Hunter made the original plans of the book, starting in 1869.< ...

. at the banks of Tikkar Taal is built on the site of 10th Century temple. Excavations in 1970 found Hindu sculptures dating back to

Pratihara The Gurjara-Pratihara was a dynasty that ruled much of Northern India from the mid-8th to the 11th century. They ruled first at Ujjain and later at Kannauj. The Gurjara-Pratiharas were instrumental in containing Arab armies moving east of the ...

era (7th to 11th century CE), some of which are housed at

Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh, is a premier museum of North India having collections of Gandharan sculptures, sculptures from ancient and medieval India, Pahari and Rajasthani miniature paintings. It owes its existence to the ...

and some remain in-situ at the Thakur Dwara temple at Morni Hills.Morni Hills Thakur Dwara temple
Bhuri Singh Deota temple, dedicated to the folk deity Buri Singh, is the cliff-temple at Pejarli village at a height of 1870 metres with unbroken scenic view of

Ghaggar river The Ghaggar-Hakra River is an intermittent river in India and Pakistan that flows only during the monsoon season. The river is known as Ghaggar in India, before the Ottu barrage, and as the Hakra in Pakistan, downstream of the barrage, ending ...

(Sarasvati). H.A. Rose, 1911,

A Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North-West Frontier Province ''A Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North-West Frontier Province'' is an ethnological study of areas of present-day Pakistan and India. It was compiled by Indian Civil Service administrator H.A. Rose, based on the 1883 and 189 ...

.1934, Gazetteer of the Sirmur State.

Herbal forest

In 2018, Haryana government starting establishing a 50,000 hectare herbal forest with the help of community self-help groups and with the assistance of Baba Ramdev's

Patanjali Yogpeeth Patanjali Yogpeeth is a yoga institute located in Haridwar, Uttarakhand, India. Founded in 2006 and named after the Rishi Patanjali, the purpose of the institute is to practice, research, and develop yoga and ayurveda. The institute is the fla ...

References

External links

Chandigarh to Morni Hills
{{National Parks of India Tourist attractions in Panchkula district Villages in Panchkula district Hill stations in Haryana Sarasvati River Mountains of Haryana Himalayas Highest points of Indian states and union territories Hindu pilgrimage sites in India Archaeological sites in Haryana