SHIMLA (INDIA)

INTRODUCTION:

— Shimla is a very beautiful hill station in India called the capital of the state of Himachal Pradesh. This place is famous for its Victorian architecture. The name Shimla originate from the goddess name Shyamali Devi. Shimla town population is approx. 106 Lacks. It is renowned as summer capital of India. Shimla is famous for natural beauty, beautiful architecture and for wooden crafts. It is really beautiful place to visit, surrounded by pine and deodar trees. Weather is very friendly and pleasant of this place. It is the perfect place to enjoy summer and winter sports during vacation time. This town also called the queen of hills. It is 365 km from New Delhi.

ATTRACTIONS:

In Shimla there are countless attractions some are as under

THE MALL The Mall is located near the ridge and scandal point. In the mall there are so many shop, restaurants, bars, clubs and banks. There is one theater also called Gaiety theatre. It is built on the lives of old British theatre and is used as a center of cultural activities. This mall is having three cinema halls, a roller skating hall, Billiard rooms and video game centers. In this mall summer festival held. In June ice skating, in December- January and winters carnival of February . You can visit this place which organizes frequently. This place is very popular among tourist and always crowded with tourist.

JAKHOO HILL TEMPLE Jhakoo temple is situated at the heights of 8000 ft. 2KM from Shimla. Jhaku hill is the highest point in Shimla. This temple dedicated to Lord Hanumanji. It is peoples believe that Hanumanji rested here during his journey to Himalayan mountain. You will find so many cunning and naughty monkeys on the way that waits for feeders. Be extremely careful with your camera, glasses , beg and food. This temple opens every day.

SANKET MOCHAN TEMPLE As the name suggest this temple is dedicated to Lord Hanuman. It is 5 km down the Shimla- Kalka road. Every Sunday visitor or devotee can have open kitchen or langer here. Visitor can reach here by taxi/car. This temple offers beautiful view of Shimla and also has a campus worth visiting.

THE RIDGE This is a huge space spread in wide area situated in the heart of the town presents excellent view of the mountain ranges. This ridge is the center of Shimla’s culture and social life. An excellent place to view the surrounding mountains. It is situated near to Shimla landmarks such as the Christ church and The Tudoe libraray.

CHRIST CHURCH This church is the second oldest church of north India build in 1846. It is open every day for visitors. Timings are 8 AM to 11AM. In this church visitor entrée are free. The stainless glass windows representing charity, faith, patience, humility, hope and fortitude and 19th organ are particularly impressive. The Fresco which surrounds the chapel window was designed by Lockwood Kipling, Rudyard Kipling’s father. Other important churches of the town are St Michael Cathedral and Roman Catholic Cathedral. Christ Church is situated on the ridge has a very majestic appearance.

SUMMER HILLS Summer hill is 7 km away from the main city. It lies on the Kalka – Shimla railway line and it is on altitude of 1300 mtrs. It gives shady walks in quiet surroundings. Mahatma Gandhi lived in elegant Georgian house of Raj kumara Amrit Kaur during his visit to Shimla . Himachal Pradesh University is situated on this hill.

CHADWICK FALLS These falls are 7 km away from Shimla sitting in the lap of dance forested area can be regarded as the paradise for nature lovers. You can easily reach there by walk. 45 mins will take to reach this place from summer hill. Best time to visit this place is during August – September when there is lot of water in the fall.

SHIMLA STATE MUSEUM The museum was opened in 1974. It tried to project hill out and the culture wealth of state. Art objects in the museum collection are mostly related to art archeology and cultural anthropology of Himachal and other states of India. Shimla state museum is set on the top of the hill. One has to hike approx. 1500 mtr to reach the museum.

LOWER BAZAAR This mall road open Monday to Saturday. There are so many mid-range hotels, cheaper restaurants and stores. Wholesale vegetable market is also there. This place is good to strawl and do not forget to try Shimla special dish like Urad dal with rice or Shepard’s pie.

PROSPECT HILL This is an ideal picnic spot. It is 5 km west of Shimla offers an excellent view of the surrounding country. It is only 15 minutes climb from Boileauganj by a temple dedicated to Goddess Kamna devi.

HOW TO REACH:

Shimla is easily accessible by air, train or by bus/car. It enjoys good connectivity with all the major cities of the country.

Jubbarhatti Airport of Shimla, located at the distance of 23 kms from downtown, is the one that connects it with the rest of the country by air. Shimla has regular flights to all the key cities in and around Himachal, like Chandigarh, Kullu, and Delhi. In fact, it has daily flights to Delhi and Kullu. Jagson Airlines also operates a bi-weekly flight on Delhi-Shimla-Kullu-Gaggal route.

Kalka, at the distance of 96 km, forms the nearest railhead from Shimla. The duration of journey from Kalka to Shimla, in the toy train, is around six hrs. Frequency of trains between these two cities is regular. You can take Kalka Mail from Delhi that takes you to Kalka early in the morning and from there, one can catch connecting train, on the splendid narrow-gauge track, to Shimla.

Shimla is well connected by road to all the major towns of state and other major cities of country. Kalka (80 Kms), Chandigarh (119 Kms), Ambala (166 Kms), Delhi (370 kms), Agra (568 Kms), Amritsar (342 Kms) are the major cities tourists can board buses from. Deluxe as well as ordinary buses are also available from all these places. One can hire taxis too.

SEARCH FLIGHTS:

STAY:

There are lot of options from dormitory to luxury resorts. Online booking is the most convenient way to reserve a room. Alternatively the tourist office supply a list of hotels and visitors can phone or trek over on reserve a room in person. There are so many mid-range budget and spurge hotels in Shimla . Some are very good. Hotel Chaps lee palace and the Cecil Oberoi Resort are really nice hotels.

SEARCH HOTELS: