Journeys in Himachal Pradesh - Part 1: To Shimla

---

When travelling as we are it often the journey to a place or through an area that makes the experience and not the destination. Our experiences in the Northern State of Himachal Pradesh have emphasised this.



We entered the state from Kulka in the Punjab on the famous narrow gauge train opened in 1909 to supply the summer Raj capital of Shimla. To get to Kulka from Chandigarh we had taken two local buses which were as bumpy and noisy and less crowded that the ones we remembered 30 years ago.



The 'toy train' to Shimla must be one of the great train rides in the world. It takes 5 hours to crawl through over 100 tunnels and many switch back bends to climb from the plains to Shimla station at over 2000m. For most of the time it is clinging to the hillside in a cutting with the woodland disappearing below it. We expected some parts to be isolated and this was never the case. We were never out of sight of human habitation with hills peppered with houses many high up and a regular scattering of villages.



The train stopped at stations occasionally, which gave us a supply of hot sweet chai. All the tourists and Delhi based honeymoon couples were heading for Shimla. We sat next to a Scouse and a Brummie, now both based in Colwyn Bay who had come to the Punjab to find the birth place of the latter's Dad before he has emigrated. They had also stocked up in the bazaars with stuff to sell on eBay when they got home to help pay for the trip.



As the train steadily climbed into the foothills of the Himalayas the monkeys appeared at the stations to Jane's delight. In Shimla they are everywhere side by side with the dogs and cats. Unusual for India, Shimla has a ban on cows in the city centre.



In Shimla we headed for the YMCA. They had basic clean rooms although probably slightly over priced. The balcony had a great view. In hindsight it sounds like 'couch-surfing' might be a good option as Deepak who we have met since says there are many families sign up.



The city itself is pretty unique spreading out from a steep ridge over numerous nearby hill tops. There are lots of relics from the old Raj era. These buildings are now either government offices or expensive hotels.



After sorting out next steps we walked to the old Vice Regal Lodge now the Institute of Advanced Studies and a couple of hills from the many ridge. They do an excellent tour and have a great exhibit of photos which help you understand what it was like under the British when in summer it was the centre of power over one fifth of the world's population. The photos also show some of the key political moments. It is a fantastic building built in 1888 which originally housed 40 Brits and 800 Indians. It became the Indian President's summer residence at independence and he used it so little he turned over to a national think tank made up of 50 post PhD scholars.



There is more to see in Shimla for sure. Instead of spending more days there exploring we opted to take a tour visiting the Pabbar Valley in Eastern Himachal Pradesh which was the next of our journeys through the region.

---

Photos

The narrow gauge train to Shimla
Surely one of the world's great train rides

A station stop
For some it was a good smoke stop

Scandal Point in the centre of Shimla
Note the library next to the church. Both would not be out of place in an English market town.

The Vice Regal Lodge
Now the Institute of Advanced Studies. The interiors were beautiful teak panelling.

Comments

[jack james]

Thankful to you
I heard much about Shimla through my uncle and friends who visited this place more than one time. I am also interested to go there after my corning glass tour and your shared blog help me a lot to know about this beautiful region of India. I love hill station and I think I should visit it during my summer vacation to enjoy the lovely weather of this region.