Shimla
The once favorite Hill Queen amongst the British, which also served as the Summer Capital for the British Empire in India still has colonial written all over the City’s buildings , Architecture and of course its Railways with the “Toy Train(est. 1903)” still running on its tracks with its glorious innings of over 100 years and more.
Shimla, today is perhaps the best, holiday stop for that must weekend trip for a lot of Indian population living in the plains longing for a respite from the hot summer weather and of course during winters it rewards them of course with a little luck on their side, right timing with a fresh snowfall.
Built on top of Seven Hills, Shimla lies at an altitude of 2180m and has always attracted visitors and invaders alike now mostly it remains busy almost around the year with visitors from all over the country and of course from other parts of the world.
The Mall Road along with the Ridge are famous tourist spots still reminiscent of its Imperial Heritage , a pedestrian zone , very unusual amongst its contemporaries of that period is a must visit. A stroll on those streets lined with modern shops would give you an interesting insight of how it must have been in the period when the British enjoyed being in “Shimla”. In 1832, Governor General William Bentinck wrote in a letter to Winston Churchill:
“Shimla is only four days march from Loodianah (Ludhiana), is easy of access, and proves a very agreeable refuge from the burning plains of Hindoostaun (Hindustan, another name for India back in those days)”
A refuge is what it was and a beautiful refuge it is even today!!!