Shimla Sightseeing Highlights:
Shimla has spread along the seven hills around its original home on a ridge, with little regard for aesthetic or eco-friendly development. It no longer offers visitors the gentle flavours of the Raj era. But those who love Shimla, warts and all, can still find favoured haunts that are not touched with the noisy exploits of the Mall crowd which seems to descend on the hill town year round now.
The Mall - It's the heartbeat of the hill town, love it or hate it you will still end up strolling down this notified 'Heritage Zone' of Shimla. Many of its colonial buildings may be replaced with high rise residential blocks and hotels and numerous restaurants along the way, but you'll still discover some of the old favourites here-Baljees, Diwan Chand, the Chinese shoemakers. And there's the tiny Gaiety Theatre, still in use. Rudyard Kipling, Amrita Shergill, Prithivraj Kapoor are just a few of the luminaries associated with the theatrics enacted here over time.
Lakkar Bazaar, is a popular hangout for the holiday crowd, as there are pony rides on offer and woodcraft to take home as souvenirs. At the top end of the Mall is Scandal Point, where the Maharaja of Patiala is said to have run off with a memsahib, causing a great 'scandal' amongst the British community. It is a large open square, packed with visitors now enjoying the views. Above the Rivoli Bus Stand you'll find the open air ice skating rink, which is thronged with visitors braving the winter chill from November to January.
Viceregal Lodge represented the negotiating grounds for the end of British rule and the partition of India. Set upon the green environs of Observatory Hill, it was from this lavish setting that the Raj ruled India in summers. It is now the home of the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies. Visitors are permitted to see the first floor which has a small museum and a main hall.
Himachal State Museum
A short walk up Inevram Hill close to the Viceregal Lodge the museum has a fine collection Pahari miniatures, manuscripts, local handicrafts, textiles, stone sculpture, and embroidery.
Bazaar
The Chotta Shimla bazaar is awash with fruit sellers, small eateries and Tibetans's hawking sweaters shawls and sundry souvenir items.
Walks and More:
Annandale
Below the Shimla ridge falls the verdant trail to the expansive grounds of Annandale once the site of cricket matches, polo, gymkhana competitions and lavish picnics arranged by the British community summering in Shimla. A little further ahead is the wooded enclave of The Glen where the Raj would picnic by the cool stream through the summers.
Chadwick Falls
One of Shimla's most popular picnic spots it is located beyond Summer Hill. The monsoon rains make it a roaring torrent as its flows through a deep gorge. You can also walk across to Potters Hill (Van Vihar) where summer campsites come alive with kids on holiday.
Jakhoo Hill
It's a hard hike up to Shimla's highest point. Be wary of the hordes of monkeys that periodically waylay unsuspecting visitors wending their way to the Jakhoo Temple. It is dedicated, appropriately to Lord Hanuman. Enjoy some fine views from this lofty perch. Christ Church, Shimla's most famous landmark is located here. It has some beautiful stained glass windows. From Elysium Hill, located behind Jakhoo Hill, you get great views of the Shimla hills and the hilltown.
Shimla Toy Train
It's an engineering marvel. The winding route of the century-old train cutting through the hills offers visitors a charming and novel way of enjoying the hill vistas. Bookings are hard to come by in the high season so book a little in advance.
Shimla shopping:
Head for the popular Himachal Emporium for traditional handicrafts and souvenirs-shawls, kullu caps and sweaters. You might have to struggle getting through the doors of Diwanchand Atmaram, stuffed to the gills with the summer crowd shoppers. But their sweaters are lovely and quite reasonably priced.
Kids love Lakkar Bazaar, where they can choose from a wide range of carved wooden toys and the like. The traders also stock some fine walking sticks. The Chinese shoemakers on the Mall seem to have lost custom with the influx of the big brands, but old timers still pop in to get customized, hand made shoes for a fraction of what they'd pay abroad. Book lovers should keep this activity for the last as you can spend hours browsing at Maria Bros simply spilling with antique maps, prints and rare books
Adventure Activities:
Shimla is an excellent base for treks in the surrounding hills or beyond, rafting on the Sutlej, trout fishing at Tattapani 40 km from Shimla and golf at the 9-hole golf course at Naldehra. In winter there's skiing at Kufri and Narkanda from January to mid-March. The tourist office will assist in arranging itineraries and facilities.
Shimla Excursions
Mashobra (14 km)
Mashobra's serene environs is perfect for walks or a comfortable drive to the lovely green glen of Craignano. The Raj serial, Jewel In the Crown was filmed by the Merchant-Ivory film company at Sunderban owned by Sir Sobha Singh's son General Gurbax Singh. Naldehra, a short drive away has a lovely golf course and you can play a game if you get a free slot, for a nominal green fee. The walks around the golf course are not too steep and can be quite pleasant for all age groups
Kufri (14 km)
This tranquil retreat is perfect for walks and leisurely picnics in the summertime. In the winter the gentle hills are alive with the sound of families in snowball fights. Kufri is a popular venue for skiing and other snow activities. Mahasu Peak is a popular climb for hikers.
Shoghi (15 km)
Just a short hop from Shimla the quiet seclusion of Shoghi offers delightful camping options in its forested hills. Nearby is the famous Tara Devi Temple, accessed from a turn-off lane at the end of town. It offers gorgeous views of the Shimla hills.
Tourism info:
Himachal Tourism Information Centre
Near Victory Tunnel, Shimla
Tel: 0177-2654589
HPTDC, 36, Chandralok Building
Janpath, New Delhi
Tel: 011-23325320, 23325233
A magnificent hang-over of the British Raj, Shimla's cool environs still remain the biggest magnet for Indian tourists. And so we have taken the best of what the British created, and mixed it with the quintessentially Indian - and every summer thousands of people from the plains enjoy themselves to the hilt in this popular summer retreat.
Independent India has been generous and not pulled down the remnants of colonial architecture - instead we have punished it to the extreme by adding concrete high rises, swanky stores and fast food joints - elbowing out the colonial shops and tea houses. Life moves on regardless and so does Shimla. So in the dizzy 60s it flaunted the joyous cavorting of Bollywood stars - in the 90s it took a serious look at the ghastly impact of over-development - and in the 21st century it started setting in place protective measures for its heritage and environment. The good thing is that all is not spoilt. There's plenty of the old Shimla, away from the tangled pleasures of the Mall that you can enjoy.
Once upon a time, not too long ago, this tiny hamlet at a height of 6980 ft in the Shivalik mountains was a part of Nepal. Most people tend to get mired in its colonial history and forget that it had a life before that. The name itself is derived from the goddess Shyamala another avatar of the goddess Kali.
It was during the British rule that the little mountain village started its journey to fame and fortune. The English community, devastated by the heat, dust, and disease of Bengal, from where they ruled the country, were perennially on the lookout for cooler climes to beat the searing summers. The exodus to Shimla was started by Capt Charles Kennedy who set up the first house on the Shimla ridge in 1822. Less than half a century later the expanded hill town was declared the official summer capital of the Raj in 1864- and so it was till 1939. With the arrival of the memsahibs the hill resort came alive with balls and gymkhanas, picnics and plays, countering the more serious business of politics and administration of the Indian subcontinent.
There are books and movies galore today recounting the peccadilloes of the Raj in this summer retreat. So as you meander around the forested hills, trip along the crowded Mall and peek into the renovated Gaiety Theatre, you will encounter the ghosts of the Raj. But the legacy rests at ease with the summer exploits of modern India, for the past and the present have blended into an authentic "Shimla sojourn" that glances through the pages of history with rose-tinted glasses. |
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