Shimla: is this place for real?

Shimla is probably one of the most filmed places in Bollywood. The plunging valleys, verdant landscape, and almost year-round beautiful weather make it perfect for those song and dance sequences between the hero and heroine when they first discover they are madly in love with each other. The shooting usually takes place in a clearing—the hero is surrounded on all sides by tall evergreens, a romantic mist hanging on the trees as he sings to his beloved. The heroine, dressed usually in a bright-colored sari to offset the deep green of the forest, is looking away shyly. The hero raises both his hands into the air in declaration of his love, walks over to the heroine. They go behind a tree for a silent second of assumed intimacy before the heroine bursts forth again in virgin shyness and runs away with a happy but guilty smile on her face. The man emerges a second later, a mischievous grin on his face as he runs after her.

[End sequence. Hero and Heroine magically change into new outfits and have flown to a new country, but the song picks up right where they left off in Shimla]

Many describe Shimla, a mountain town in the northern reaches of India, as an enchanting place. I didn’t know what to expect, but I certainly didn’t believe we would see the kind of story-book utopia we experienced. I kid you not, as we took the train out of the valley there were rainbows crossing the plush-green valleys, quiet mists rolling across the landscape, and I counted at least 3 groups of little children, adorably dressed in their woolen vests and hats, waving happily at the train as we passed by.

Now, our Lonely Planet states that the times to visit Shimla are “January to July and September to mid-December.” We discovered the reason for this when we arrived, after an overnight train from Delhi, to the base city of the mountains where a toy train left every morning to take travelers on a 5 hour journey to Shimla. The train ride is supposed to afford spectacular views as it winds it way up through the mountains, but all we saw was fog. And rain. And more fog. We arrived in Shimla at our hotel, where we were supposed to have spectacular views of the valley from our terrace. But all we saw was fog. And rain. And more fog.

Our spirits somewhat dampened, we decided hikes were probably out of order for the day since all the raingear we had in our name was a cheap 2 dollar umbrella that broke within 2 hours of its purchase. Instead, we spent the afternoon wandering the bazaars of Shimla. Shimla is built on the face of the mountain, and as a result is an elaborate zig zag maze in the vertical direction of buildings and streets. Peering down the edge of any building that faces out to the valley, you feel a bit of vertigo because the drop is straight down. With the following week of Raksha Bandhan, a Hindu holiday when sisters tie a rakhi on their brothers to offer their protection, the bazaars were filled with stalls overflowing with brightly colored rakhis.

The next day, we decided, rain, shine or fog we were going out. We drove out to a few villages farther north, stopping to make short hikes to the temples of the village, go to a particularly good vista point, or stop in the village with a 9 course gold course built on the mountain side to go on a short horse ride (slightly lame as the guides walked the horses for us—I felt like a toddler on a bad amusement park ride). On our last stop, I noticed a road that led to a series of trails which eventually made their way down to a beautiful stream at the floor of the valley, making ourselves fairly dirty from the wet earth and silt in the process.

With no prospect for a shower until we returned to Delhi the next day since we had checked out of our hotel, we headed back to Shimla to hope for rain to wash us off and get a bite to eat. That evening, on our beautiful train ride back through the mountains, the fog and mist were actually our friends as they produced breathtaking scenery through the mountains. When the sun set, and the moon came out, it cast a glow on the tiny villages that dotted the mountainside, visible from the small individual light for each house or building. It was the perfect end to my only trip through some of India’s most spectacular scenery.

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