SHIMLA CITY GUIDE

SHIMLA CITY GUIDE

Shimla was the summer capital of India during the British reign in India and presently is the capital of Himachal Pradesh. It is a blessing that Shimla has such spectacular beauty in terms of the mountains, the waterfalls and the scenic beauty with flowers and snow covered mountains. It is even better when one gets to see the Colonial influence over the town and district of Shimla, it has old buildings and heritage and the state Viceregal lodge is one of the famous in Shimla and the oldest place to put up while at Shimla. The Mall Road is the place destination for the shoppers and with its winter it makes the district come to its full bloom with the tourism at its peak and with the mountains covered in snow. Shimla is the place for many boarding schools and the best of the boarding education is give here with the Convent and also non-Christian forms of education. Shimla has an ideal location and although there is a presence of a narrow strip of air transport but it is ideally should be reached either by rail or by the road, the journey gives ample opportunity for the shutterbugs to click and make their heart go gaga over the pics, totally melts the heart of the person who clicks and also who would see the picture later. The Mall road is flooded with shops and joints where one can actually have a good scrumptious meal while having a good sight of the mountains and the trees and this place is the pivotal point of the attraction of the district of Shimla and the famous Scandal Point is where the Maharaja of Patiala fled through it one can see the peak of the snowy mountain.

The district of Shimla got its name from a small town name Shimla which was a village and it developed into a district in the year 1972 and became a part of district of states. The past of the town is as old as during the 19^th century the period of Anglo-Gurkha battle and the Gurkhas lost the battle against the Anglos in the year 1804 and were also defeated by the Sikhs in the battle of Kangra. The Gurkhas had constructed many forts in and around Shimla and one among them is the Jagtgarh fort ad later became the army cantonment of Shimla.

Today Shimla is made up of 19 states they are mainly Bolson, Bhaji, Koti, Bushehr, Darkoti, Tharoch, Dhadi, Kumharsain, Khaneti and Delath, Dhami, Jubal, Keothal, Ratesh, Sangri and Rawingarh. Bushehr is the oldest of all the states after Kashmir and was founded by Pradhuman the son of lord Krishna. Jubbal was a tribute to Sirmaur but after the Gurkhas lost their battle and it was declared independent the founder of Jubbal Raja Karam Chand merged the district into the union territory and on 1948 it was further merged by Dig Vijay Singh as the authority of the entire state. After 1972 Shimla was recognised as a  district and after this recognition the Mahasu district lost its identity and majorly was combined with the town of Shimla and is now the state capital of Himachal Pradesh. Today Shimla district is made up of seven sub-divisions, twelve tehsils and 6 sub-tehsils.

Jakhu, Prospect Hill, Elysium Hill, Observatory Hill and the Summer Hills are the most famous hills of Shimla. The road to Tibet commenced in the year 1850-51 from Kalka and Shimla is the first lap and 550 feet long tunnel was built which stretched beyond Sanjauli. After the Indian Independence Shimla became the capital of Punjab and later on the capital of Himachal Pradesh and in the year 1903 the road link from Kalka to Shimla was constructed.

Shimla is blessed with the choicest blessings with such panoramic location and view which is bounded by green meadows and mountains. The influence of the colonial era is very different from other hilly regions. Besides the Kalka-Shimla link road there is a very narrow scale rail line which actually made way for the development of the town in the town of Shimla. Following this the district got its formal designation as being the State capital in the year 1966.

Shimla has a pleasant summer with a maximum of 33 degrees Celsius and it can go down to -3 degrees below freezing point during the winters. It receives an annual rainfall of about 1211 millimetre in an average with a a humidity percentage being a maximum of 89% varying in between to 51% as the minimum. The nearest railway station is the Shimla railway station which is just one kilometre away from the Mall Road in Shimla which is a famous landmark in Shimla and Jubbarhattu Airport is 14 kilometres away from the bus terminal in Shimla. The roads give a resplendent view while travelling and definitely steals the heart by such view.

The total population in Shimla accounts to be 8,14010 which is like 159 people living per square kilometres. Hinduism is primarily the religion out here and the languages that is spoken is mostly Hindi and Pahari , culturally and traditionally people are Pahari and their economy is mostly agrarian and depends on agriculture besides tourism. There is a high rate of literacy amongst both the males and the females as per the 2011 Census. Sutlej, Pabbar and Giri are the main sources of water from these rives. The forest area is 119331 hectare area as per the village paper of 1999-2000.

Christ Church and St. Michael’s Cathedral are the most important religious places of Shimla, Jakhu temple; Sankat Mochan, Tara Devi and Kali Bari are the few other important places of religious interest in Shimla. Rampur, Mashobra, Kufri, Narkanda, Wild Flower Hall, Sarahan, Chail, Fagu, Naldehra, Tattapani, Hatkoti and Kotgarh are few places of interest for the tourists and those visiting Shimla. There are ample of routes for trekking for those who love to trek they find it the most amazing trek which will just be an unforgettable experience. Shimla has acclaimed fishing as the best sport in the world and fishes like the Brown and the Rainbow Trout’s are found in the upstream of the Pabbar River in Shimla.  Skiing is yet another adventure sports that can be done in Shimla during the winters besides ice skating and playing golf at the Naldehra Golf Club which is 23 kilometre away from Shimla and is believed to be the oldest golf course in the country.