Thanedar 🍎

Original HP apple orchards, history

Thanedar is where apple cultivation in Himachal Pradesh effectively began — American missionary Samuel Stokes planted the region's first commercial apple orchards here in the early 1900s, and that history still shapes the town today. At 2,350m, it's a working orchard town rather than a built-up hill station, with a best-time window of April–June or September–October. There's a quiet historical weight to walking through the original orchards, especially for travelers who've already seen HP's apple economy in Shimla or Kotgarh without knowing where it started. Thanedar rewards visitors who care about the "why" behind Himachal's apple culture, not just the scenery.