Shimla – Queen of Hills

Presently Shimla is the capital of Himachal Pradesh but before independence it was the summer capital of British India. Shimla is also known as the Queen of Hill Station. It is located in the north west of Himalayas. It is spread around the 18sq. km. and located 7,238 ft above the sea level. It is well connected with air, road and rail. Shimla is the largest hill station in all over the world. Its name is drive from “Shyamala” which is the name of goddess Kali and whose temple situated in the dense forest that is covered by Jakhu Hill. Shimla is the top ten preferred capitalist places in India. It is surrounded by oak, pine, rhododendron, and deodar forest that increase the freshness of Shimla.

The well developed facilities of Shimla and the various attractions make it most famous and largest hill station of India. The Mall Road, Christ Church, Shimla State Museum, Summer Hill, Viceregal Lodge, and Shimla Ridge are the popular tourist places in Shimla. Jakhu temple, kali bari temple, kamna devi temple, sankat mochan temple, and tara devi temple are the most famous temple in Shimla. These temples offer a different experience to tourist.

The toy train and its 105 tunnels which is link to Kalka with Shimla will add the wonderful moment in your experiences. Every month of year in Shimla is the best season to enjoy your holidays. Due to near of the Himalayas, in the summers the temperature reach maximum at 15 to 27^o C and in winters it falls 0 to 17^o C in Shimla. In winters, after snow fall it looks like a paradise and attract tourists. Snow fall offers you to see wonderful sights and ice skating in open air. In summers if you want to relief from heat of plains then you can enjoy the cool and fresh air in Shimla. In the summer time Shimla become the attraction of tourist, craft fair and various exhibitions.

Shimla is also famous for their numerous fairs and festivals. Bhoj fair, mahasu fair, bhahara fair, lavi fair, sipi fair, ruhru festival, winter sports festival, and summer festival is most famous in Shimla. Summer festival is celebrated with happiness and passion in Shimla and all artists from all over India come to Shimla to perform in this festival.

Shimla has also some beautiful lakes i.e. chander naun lake, karali lake, and tanu jubbal lake. These beautiful lakes add more attraction and beauty of Shimla. The wildlife and wildlife sanctuaries of Shimla i.e. daranghati sanctuary, majathal sanctuary, chail sanctuary, and shimla water catchment sanctuary, also attract to the wildlife lovers.

The Mall, Tibetan Bazaar, Lower Bazaar and Lakkar bazaar are best shopping area and famous for handcrafts, woolen clothes and wooden crafts in Shimla. Shimla is also famous for apples. Sidu or sidku, patandey, and luchi-poti are the famous dishes of Shimla.

Shimla is full of restaurant and hotels including five stars and three starts. There are many private and govt. guest houses, so accommodation is not very much concern. But in summers and in winter time advance booking of accommodation will be best to stay in Shimla. These are the peak seasons of tourism in Shimla.