Shimla, Himachal Pradesh
*Shimla offers much more than charming colonial buildings against a backdrop of the magnificent snow-capped Himalayas. Much more than the dozens of Bollywood songs set on Mall Road or its oldest boarding schools. The upper reaches around the Shimla region offer skating on natural ice as well as hosts the MTB Himalaya (South East Asia’s biggest mountain biking race). *Shimla offers much more than charming colonial buildings against a backdrop of the magnificent snow-capped Himalayas. Much more than the dozens of Bollywood songs set on Mall Road or its oldest boarding schools. The upper reaches around the Shimla region offer skating on natural ice as well as hosts the MTB Himalaya (South East Asia’s biggest mountain biking race).
*Shimla also boasts ownership of the 16th century “Arya Astha Sahasrikas Prajna Paramita” Tibetan script (at the quaint Maria Brothers antique booksellers) and the Jakhu Temple Shrine with Lord Hanuman’s footprints.
Legendary ghost stories (Chudail Baudi, for single men whose cars slow down for the lady in the white sari) and fantastic cultural heritage make this visit all the more memorable. un[travel] your way up that UNESCO heritage railway route to Shimla for sights and sounds like never before.
Places to visit in Shimla
1. Heritage Walk through Shimla
*Shimla has a lot of stories to tell, some legends and more heritage, but all equally exciting. Begins at the appropriately named ‘Scandal Point’ where legend has it that the Maharajah of Patiala was exiled from Shimla after a fierce argument with the Viceroy (some stories say he eloped with the Viceroy’s daughter) and was eventually exiled from Shimla –giving this spot its name in 1892. Send yourself a postcard from the timber-structured ‘wild west Swiss’-styled 133-year-old Shimla General Post Office as a souvenir.
2. Kufri and Chail
*Lush green hills mark summer in Kufri– a stark contrast to the fantastic snow slopes that make tobogganing ‘the’ thing to do at the end of the year. If you’re visiting in January, try your hand at the ‘National Snow Statue Competition’ here in Kufri. A short walk around would take you past colonial-esque statues at Chini Bungalow to the Himalayan nature park.
3. Kipling’s home and Viceregal Lodge
*What makes Shimla more alluring is its glorious past, the days when it was summer capital during the British Raj. Beneath the Kali Bari temple, at the North Bank, lays an ordinary house where there once lived an extraordinary writer, Rudyard Kipling. This Nobel laureate spent most of his summer vacations here where memories of Jungle Book still linger on. Move on to the Viceregal Lodge. This was originally built as a home and summer residence of subsequent viceroys and governor-generals of India. Leave history behind, for a peaceful walk through dense forests for a quiet moment of solitude with a quaint picnic basket for the company.
5. Toy Train Ride
*103 tunnels, 864 bridges, 919 curves and a ride of a lifetime: Welcome aboard the Shimla-Kalka ‘toy train’. This UNESCO heritage train chugs slowly up the mountains, seemingly playing an interesting game of hide and seek with tunnels. Gradual ascents on winding tracks, flanked by age-old trees on either side, seem straight out of a storybook. Over a century old, the ‘toy train’ still chugs into the hearts of the hundreds who travel in it every day. Made more memorable with numerous Bollywood songs, there’s nothing like a ride up to Shimla with the tune of ‘gaadi bula rahi hai, seeti baja rahi hai’ probably playing on in your head.
*Its a nice walk if you wish to explore Shimla on foot and experience its heritage and history. Takes you through all the landmarks that have had their say in the making of Shimla that is today.
Bon Voyage 