Shimla

From 1864 the government of British India moved to Shimla each summer, so for several months a year an administration governing a subcontinent worked from a ridge town at 2,200 metres reached by mule track. What it built survives: the Viceregal Lodge, a heavy grey stone mansion now an institute of advanced study, Christ Church on the Ridge, the mock-Tudor Gaiety Theatre, and the Mall, still closed to vehicles and walked end to end each evening. Behind the tourist frontage the older Indian town falls away in steep lanes below the Ridge, and Jakhoo temple on the summit is full of monkeys.

History

In the 18th century most of the area was dense forest, with the Jakhu Temple, a few scattered houses and nearby villages. It was taken by Bhimsen Thapa of Nepal in 1806 and passed to the British East India Company under the Sugauli Treaty after the Anglo-Nepalese War of 1814-16; in 1819 Lieutenant Ross, the Assistant Political Agent in the Hill States, set up a wooden cottage here, his successor Charles Pratt Kennedy built the first pucca house, Kennedy Cottage, in 1822, and in 1864 Shimla was declared the summer capital of British India (Wikipedia, Shimla).

What to look for

• The Viceregal Lodge - the grey stone seat of the summer government.
• The Ridge and Mall - the pedestrian promenade with Christ Church.
• Jakhoo temple - the hilltop Hanuman shrine, with aggressive monkeys.
• The lower bazaar - the older Indian town in steep lanes below.

When to go

March to June and September to November; May and June are peak season and very crowded. The monsoon brings landslides on the roads. Winter occasionally brings snow, which draws its own crowds.

What to expect

Traffic and parking in season are severe, and the roads up are slow. Monkeys at Jakhoo snatch glasses and bags routinely. The Mall is commercialised and the town has expanded far beyond its old core.

Nearby

The Kalka-Shimla railway runs down; Kufri lies east.