Discover Shimla: Summer Capital of British India
Shimla, perched on a ridge at 2,276 metres in the Shivalik range, served as the Summer Capital of British India from 1864 until independence in 1947. The British Raj's imprint is everywhere — in the Gothic Christ Church (1857), the Gaiety Theatre (1887), the Tudor-style Viceregal Lodge (now Indian Institute of Advanced Study), and the countless Victorian bungalows that cling to the steep hillsides. Today, Shimla is the capital of Himachal Pradesh and one of India's most visited hill stations.
The Mall Road is Shimla's social and commercial heart — a pedestrian promenade where the colonial buildings of Scandal Point, Rivoli Theatre, and Gaiety host the daily life of the city. The Ridge — a large open space above the Mall — commands spectacular views of the surrounding mountains and houses the historic Christ Church and the Library Building. The Ridge is the venue for Shimla's major cultural events and festivals.
The toy train — the Kalka-Shimla Railway — is one of India's most celebrated mountain railways and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Built between 1898 and 1903, the narrow-gauge line winds 96 km through 102 tunnels and over 900 bridges, climbing from 656 metres at Kalka to 2,076 metres at Shimla. The journey takes 5–6 hours and is an extraordinary engineering and scenic achievement.
Shimla's surrounding hills offer excellent trekking, with trails through deodar and oak forests to destinations like Chail (45 km), Kufri (16 km), Naldehra (23 km), and the Hatu Peak (50 km). Kufri is particularly popular for snow activities in winter — skiing, sledging, and yak rides are all available from December to February. The apple orchards of Kotgarh and Narkanda (65 km) are legendary — apple cultivation was introduced here by the British in 1870, and the orchards bloom in May and offer harvest experiences in September–October.