Ganesh Mohan T · Shimla 12.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)
Shimla
A colonial hill station strung along a ridge, reached by the Kalka narrow-gauge railway.
Shimla
The summer capital of British India, built along one ridge at 2,200 m — and still a town that is walked rather than driven.
Explore Shimla on the map
City locations, drawn from our published destination data. Attractions, hotels and restaurants are not mapped yet.
Beyond the temples
A pedestrian ridge, a Raj-era skyline and a mountain railway that is the journey rather than the transport.
Along the ridge
- The Ridge is the open pedestrian space at the top of the town, with Christ Church — neo-Gothic, 1857, and the second-oldest church in north India — at its eastern end and the mock-Tudor State Library beside it.
- Mall Road runs off it and is where the town walks in the evening; the Gaiety Theatre, a restored Victorian playhouse, sits on it and is still in use.
- Lakkar Bazaar, below the Ridge, is the woodcraft market; the Scandal Point junction is where the Mall and the Ridge meet and where everybody arranges to meet.
Above and beyond the town
- Jakhu temple crowns the highest hill above the Ridge at about 2,450 m, reached on foot up a steep path or by ropeway, with a very large Hanuman statue visible from most of the town. The resident macaques are aggressive about food and sunglasses.
- The Viceregal Lodge at Observatory Hill, now the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, is the grandest surviving Raj building in the town and is open to visitors with its grounds.
- Kufri, 16 km out, is the standard snow-and-viewpoint excursion and is heavily commercial; Chail, further round, is quieter and has a palace and a very high cricket ground.
The railway
- The Kalka–Shimla railway is a 2 ft 6 in narrow-gauge line opened in 1903, climbing roughly 1,500 m through more than a hundred tunnels and hundreds of bridges, and it is inscribed by UNESCO as part of the Mountain Railways of India.
- It is slow and that is the point — the journey is the attraction rather than a way of saving time on the road from Kalka. Seats are limited and the popular services book out well ahead in season.
How long to give it
Up and along the ridge
Arrive from Chandigarh or Kalka, settle, and walk the Ridge, Christ Church and the Mall in the late afternoon when the town comes out.
Jakhu and the Lodge
Jakhu temple early on foot or by ropeway, the Viceregal Lodge and its grounds afterwards, and Lakkar Bazaar on the way back.
Kufri or Chail
Half a day out. Kufri is the commercial one and Chail the quiet one; neither is essential if the ridge is what you came for.
North to the Kullu valley
Manali is 6 – 8 hrs north, which is how both of the routes here continue. Chandigarh is 3 – 4 hrs back down.
Arriving & getting around
Up from Chandigarh by road or by the narrow-gauge line, and on foot once you arrive.
Getting there
- Chandigarh (IXC) is the practical airport, about 115 km and three to four hours by road. Shimla has a small airport at Jubbarhatti whose schedule is thin and weather-dependent.
- By rail, the broad gauge reaches Kalka and the narrow gauge climbs from there. Travellers usually take the train one way for the experience and drive the other.
- By road from Delhi is a long day. Both routes on this site that include Shimla come up from the plains and continue to Manali afterwards rather than doubling back.
In the town
- The core is pedestrian — vehicles stop below the Mall — so arrival means a lift, a stairway or a porter with your bag. That surprises people and is worth knowing when choosing a hotel.
- The public lift between the Cart Road level and the Mall is the standard way up and down, and is a small fare.
- Kufri, Chail and the Viceregal Lodge are a car with a driver, which is what the packages here include.
When to visit
The plains decide Shimla’s seasons: it fills whenever they are unbearable.
The classic season and the busiest, when the plains are at their hottest. Book accommodation early and expect the Mall to be full in the evenings.
Clear, dry, cool and much quieter. The best views of the year and the best time to walk the ridge.
Cold, and snow usually falls somewhere in this window though never on a date you can book. A second small peak around the new year.
Heavy rain, cloud on the ridge and landslides on the approach roads. Green and cheap, and the views are gone.
How to be a good guest
A Raj hill station that became a working Indian state capital.
What the summer capital left
- For eighty years the government of India moved to Shimla for the hot months, and the town was built to receive it — churches, a theatre, a library, a viceroy’s residence and a promenade, all at 2,200 m and all reached by mule and later by narrow-gauge railway.
- The 1972 Shimla Agreement between India and Pakistan was signed at Barnes Court here, which is the town’s other place in the record.
- It is now the capital of Himachal Pradesh and a university town, so it is a working place rather than a preserved one — the Raj buildings have offices in them.
Eating and buying
- The food on the Mall is mostly north Indian and Tibetan. Himachali cooking — siddu, babru, and the festival dham — is easier to find at a local event than on a restaurant menu.
- Lakkar Bazaar sells the local woodwork it is named for, and Himachali woollens — caps, pattu wraps and Kullu-pattern shawls — are the other thing worth buying here.
Insider tips
- Check how your hotel is reached before booking. The centre is pedestrian, and a room near the Mall may mean a stairway or the lift with luggage rather than a car to the door.
- Book the toy train ahead if you want it. Seats on the popular Kalka services are limited and go well in advance in season; it is the journey rather than a way of saving time.
- Take the Ridge and Jakhu early. Both are best before the Mall fills in the late afternoon, and Jakhu is a steep climb.
- Keep food and sunglasses out of sight on the Jakhu path — the macaques there are practised and persistent.
- One night is enough to see the town; two if you want Kufri or Chail as well, or simply an unhurried morning.
- Who should come: travellers who like a town they can walk, anyone with an interest in the Raj, and families breaking the drive to Manali. Who should skip it: anyone looking for mountains and quiet — Shimla is a busy town with a view, not a Himalayan retreat.
Nearby
Where Shimla leads next.
Related to Shimla
Journeys that include Shimla — each one visits the city as part of its itinerary.
Common questions
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