Shimla

Shimla is a beautiful hill town in the lap of nature, surrounded by pine and deodar forests. Temperature is ideal in summers and tourists flock it in great numbers and it is highly advisable to get hotel reservations done well in advance despite the fact that there are over 1000 hotels in Shimla. Shimla is well connected by road to the plains. Facilities and amenities are good. People are friendly. Shimla is also comparatively safer than other tourist destinations. All this makes it the favorite travel destination of tourists from India and across the world. A amazingly high percentage of tourists come back here again.

Heart of the city: The ridge and the adjacent Mall form the heart of the city. Vehicular traffic is not allowed on the Mall, making it a favorite place for walking. This is also the main shopping area with most of the shops still housed in old time buildings. One tier below this shopping area is the Middle Bazar with smaller and less costly shops interspiced with peoples homes. A tier below Middle Bazar is the Lower Bazar which houses small shops catering to everyday needs and the vegetable market called the Sabji-Mandi. This market is the most crowded of the three though the going can get tough on the Mall Road during peak tourist season. Most of the locals shop from the Lower Bazar using the Mall road to shop for pricy durables. Mostly the Mall Road provides a pleasant walk in the evenings and a favourite meeting place.

Gaiety Theatre: Gaiety Theatre, located on the Mall road, is one of the oldest theatres in the world. It was opened on the 30th of May, 1887,Queen Victoria's Jubilee Year. Notable film personalities like K.L. Saigal, Prithvi Raj Kapoor, Shashi Kapoor, Jennifer Kendall, Raj Babbar, Anupam Kher, Manohar Singh, Nasseerudin Shah, frequently performed on the stage of the Gaiety theatre.

Viceregal Lodge: On the Observatory Hills is located the Viceregal Lodge. Also known as Rashtrapati Niwas, it was formerly the residence of the British Viceroy Lord Dufferin. This is the most beautiful building in Shimla. It houses some of the most ancient articles going back to the times of the British rule.

Kufri: Kufri is located at a higher altitude than the Shimla town and is 19 km from Shimla. The local zoo and the ski slopes are major tourist attractions.

Naldehra: Naldehra boasts of a 9 hole golf course and is another tourist attraction of Shimla. Many movies have also been shot here.

Places of worship: Kali Bari (a temple of the Hindu goddess Kali) is five minutes walk from Mall Road, Jakhoo Temple (a temple of the Hindu god Hanuman) is located at the highest point in Shimla (2600 m above mean sea level, about a 30 minute to one hour walk from the mall). Sankat Mochan (a temple of the Hindu god Hanuman) is located on Shimla-Kalka Highway. Tara Devi Temple is about 10 km from Shimla, directly visible from the city.

Jakhu Temple: Dedicated to the monkey god, Hanu-man, the temple is at an altitude of 2455 metres near the highest point of the Shimla ridge. It offers a fine view over the surrounding valleys, out to the snow capped peaks and over Shimla itself. The temple is a 45 minute walk from the Mall and appropriately there are many monkeys around the temple.

Tara Devi: At 1851 metres and seven km from Shimla you can reach this hilltop temple by rail and car. There's a PWD Rest House here. Wildflower Hall On the road to Kufri, 13 km from Shimla and at 2593 metres, this was the former residence of Indian commander-in-chief, Lord Kitchener. The present huge mansion, surrounded by pine trees, is not the actual one built for Kitchener though. From here you have a fine view back to Shimla and out to Pir Panjal and Badrinath mountain peaks.