Shimla, Simla Tourism

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 21^st 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