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Shimla is like no other cities in India with its location in the Himalayas and a special ambiance of the beautiful mix of British colonial times and modern Indian daily life. Shimla was established as the summer capital of the British, with the Viceroy and the entire administration moving to here when temperatures became too high in Delhi. It made Shimla one of the most important cities in British Raj.
Countless beautiful British-style buildings are everywhere in Shimla’s streets. Timber framing, tudor style and other European inspired architecture were built in the latter half of the 19th century to the first decades of the 20th century. On the main streets of The Mall and The Ridge, there are many stylish examples with Town Hall and Christ Church being some of the most famous.
Several of Shimla’s residences are also worth a visit. The highlight is the Viceroy’s summer castle, Viceregal Lodge, from which the colony of India was ruled during many summers. Viceregal Lodge is a distinguished building that impresses with both interior and exterior. A visit here is like coming back to the colonial era.
At a stroll along The Mall and The Ridge, you will see many of the city’s architectural gems, but this also goes for the rest of the old parts of Shimla. The city’s location is on a ridge, which rewards you with fine views of the area from many streets and squares. And with a view to the high Himalayan peaks to the north.
Also known as the Viceregal Lodge, this building is one of Shimla’s most famous structures. The large Viceregal Lodge was designed by the British architect Henry Irwin and built in a distinguished so-called Jacobean style, which over a number of decades in the mid-1800s found its inspiration in British architecture.
Construction of the Viceregal Lodge began in 1880, and the Viceroy Lord Dufferin was able to move into the address on 23 July 1888. As such, it was the summer residence of the British Viceroys, with the capital devoting itself to Shimla and the pleasant climate of the mountains.
With Indian independence in 1947, British viceroyalty came to an end, and as the Indian presidents did not visit Shimla much, it was proposed to set up an educational institution in the fine building. It was realized and the result can still be seen in the form of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study.
On a tour of the Viceregal Lodge, you get an impression of the building’s elegant decoration, and there are also a number of pictures and interiors from the now defunct British era in India. The Burmese teak hall is the first thing that impresses and the idea that India was ruled from this mansion is exciting. In the building you can also see the former Ballroom of the Viceregal Lodge, where several large parties have been held over the years.
The Mall is Shimla’s main street and business district with shops, restaurants and many other activities. A tour of the street is in a way like coming to a mixture of England and the British era in India.
There are many half-timbered houses inspired by the English Tudor style, and at the same time the scene is unmistakably colonial. The Mall stretches from east to west in central Shimla and is a must on a tour of the city. There are several interesting buildings to see along The Mall, also called Mall Road. Many of the buildings will also be recognizable in several of the many Bollywood films that have been and continue to be filmed here in the unique environment.
Jakhoo Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Hanuman, who is one of the popular in Hinduism’s diverse universe of gods. Hanuman is also known as the monkey god and is characterized by, among other things, his courage and his strength. Precisely as a monkey god, it is therefore very natural that the temple today is inhabited by a large number of monkeys.
The temple is beautifully situated on the Jakhoo Hill at a height of 2,455 meters above sea level, which is elevated above Shimla itself, of which there is a fine view from the top. The reason for this particular location is said to be that Hanuman stopped right here when in the epic Ramayana he was looking for Sanjivni Booti to recall Lakshmana.
The Ramayana is the epic that as a work consists of seven books, in which the main character is Prince Rama of Ayodhya in northern India. Due to conflicts in the family, he loses the right to the throne for 14 years and has to live in the forest under simple conditions. After this, he must fight a great battle against the most evil of the demons, Ravana, to win back his stolen wife Sita. Two of his best helpers during the battle are the monkey general Hanuman and Rama’s brother, Prince Lakhsmana. The battle ends with Rama winning back the kingdom and he rules as a good king.
Christ Church is one of North India’s oldest church buildings. It is art. John’s Church in the city of Meerut, which is older. The church was built in the 1850s in neo-Gothic architecture inspired by English church buildings, and it was also supposed to serve the mainly British-Anglican community that was in Shimla at the time.
J. T. Boileau designed Christ Church in 1844, and since its inauguration in 1857, the church has stood as one of the best-known monuments of the British era in the area. The church clock was installed in 1860 following a donation by Colonel Dumbleton. In the church, you can see several stained glass windows that, among other things, show Christian values such as faith, hope and mercy. You can also see the largest church organ on the Indian subcontinent.
Gaiety Theater opened as Shimla’s theater in 1887 and over the years many great actors have performed here. The theater building was built in neo-Gothic style, a style that had spread from England to the colonies at the time. Today, the theater’s exciting space is used for many forms of culture.
The State Library Building is a library that was built in 1860 in a distinguished style where Tudor architecture meets neo-Gothic trends. The building has since its opening housed the city’s public library, and it was and is one of Shimla’s leading cultural institutions.
The Ridge along with the Mall Road form the main streets of Shimla. Along The Ridge are several famous buildings that formed some of the most important institutions during the British period. These include Christ Church, the State Library and the Town Hall. Today, The Ridge is an exciting street and square to walk on during a visit to Shimla, and it is connected at both ends to the parallel Mall Road.
The present Town Hall was built as Shimla’s Town Hall in 1910-1911 by the British rule. As early as 1851, the Shimla Municipal Board had been established as the city’s governing administrative institution, and public works such as road construction, sewerage, water supply and tax collection were carried out from here. Today, the Shimla City Council continues to function in the house. This concerns, among other things, the library that has been here since the British era.
The Town Hall was designed by Henry Irwin, who also designed many other buildings in British India. The building from 1910-1911 is an extension of the original Town Hall on the site, which, in addition to the town’s public functions, also served as a social gathering place; here was the first Gaiety Theatre, library, billiard room, game room and other entertainment.
Central Telegraph Building was built in 1885 in an almost impressive mix of Swiss-South German construction and New York’s industrialized skyscrapers. In 1913-1914, the British Government’s telegraph moved into the house, and it continued to have the same function in independent India.
The Post Office in Shimla stands as one of the beautiful buildings in the British-inspired style in the center of the city. The relatively large building must be seen in the light of the importance of postal services at the time, and moreover, this was one of the most important post offices in the whole of British India.
The General Post Office was built in 1882. The style is an eclectic mix of different architectural styles; however with clear British inspiration with the house’s half-timbering from the Tudor style.
This temple was established in 1845. It is dedicated to the goddess Kali, who is also known in a fearless incarnation by the name of Shyamala, who has given her name to the city in the form of the word Shimla. The temple is a Hindu temple and is centrally located in the center of Shimla.
The Cecil was built as a large and distinguished hotel in 1884, and after a large-scale renovation in the years up to 1997, it stands as beautiful and breathtaking as the luxury of the late 1800s and thus as part of Shimla’s cultural heritage from the time as the British summer capital .
The renovation was undertaken by the Oberoi hotel chain, and founder Mohan Singh Oberoi was employed at The Cecil in 1922. The employment ended with Oberoi purchasing The Cecil in 1944. During those years, he also bought other hotels and formed the chain of Oberoi hotels, such as The Cecil continues to be a part of.
On this site stood the one-storey building Tendril Cottage in 1883. The building was known among other things as one of the places where Rudyard Kipling stayed in Shimla, where he got inspiration and wrote some of his famous works.
Himachal State Museum serves as the national museum of the state of Himachal Pradesh. It was founded in 1974 and housed in a characteristic mansion building from the Victorian British colonial era. Former residents include Lord William Beresford, who was the viceroy’s minister for military affairs.
At the museum you can experience a number of collections that span many topics in the state’s history and culture. These include archaeological finds, paintings, sculptures, coins, photographs and manuscripts.
This is a narrow gauge railway that runs from the town of Kalka through the mountains to Shimla along a total length of 96.54 kilometers. The railway had reached Kalka from Delhi in 1891, and in 1898 the construction of the mountain railway started, which was to connect the British summer capital Shimla with the rest of the railway network.
On 9 November 1903, Kalka-Shimla was opened for traffic, and it was inaugurated by Lord Curzon, who was the British Viceroy in India. Originally, the gauge was 610 millimeters, but already in 1905 it was adjusted to 762 millimeters, which was the standard for narrow-gauge railways. With that standard, the uniformity that the military wanted for reasons of flexible transport was achieved. In 2008, Kalka-Shimla was included on UNESCO’s list of world cultural heritage as part of the Indian mountain railways, which also include, for example, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.
The track starts from Kalka, which is at an altitude of 656 meters above sea level, while Shimla is at an altitude of 2,076 meters. Between the end stations there are 20 major or minor stations, of which Solan is the best known. Solan is a small version of Shimla and is named after the goddess Shoolini Devi, who is celebrated in the city with a festival every June. Of the 20 stations, there are a few that are closed down today. The stations were all built next to a major bridge construction site as places where the construction workers could stay.
Along the way, 107 tunnels were built, of which 102 remain today. The longest tunnel is found at the Barog station, which is approximately 43 kilometers from Kalka. Colonel Barog was responsible for the construction of the tunnel and, according to the story, committed suicide by shooting himself in it. It was said to be because the two tunnel tubes did not meet, after which Barog was fined. He couldn’t get over that. A local monk pointed out the way and the tunnel was completed; the incomplete tunnel is still here, however.
In addition to the many tunnels, there are 864 bridges on the route, or one for every 112 metres. A single one of them has an iron span of 18.29 metres, while the others were built as viaducts with arches à la Roman aqueducts. Bridge number 226 and bridge number 493 are among the largest and they are located between Sonwara and Dharampur and Kandaghat and Kanoh respectively. There are a total of 919 curves over and through the many bridges and tunnels.
The first locomotives on the Kalka-Shimla Railway came here from the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, but they proved not strong enough and had to be replaced after a few years. Several different locomotives were added over the years, and the last steam-drawn standard trains left the timetables in 1971. The first diesel locomotives were added in 1955. They were built by Arnold Jung Lokomotivfabrik; however, today’s traction is more recent.
Several different trains run on the line today. There are regular trains and special trains such as the Himalayan Queen and the so-called Rail Motor, which is a rail bus with a glass roof, which was originally used for upper-class visitors to Shimla.
Chandigarh is a federal territory and capital of the Indian states of Punjab and Haryana. At the same time, it is widely renowned for being a completely designed city by the ideas of architect Le Corbusier, and it provides a number of sights that are unique to both India and the rest of the world.
Chandigarh originated from Jawaharlal Nehru’s vision of independent India’s capabilities following the independence from Britain in 1947. Chandigarh was founded and built from the 1950s, and it continues to evolve today based on the ideas from Swiss-French Le Corbusier design.
Delhi is capital of India and full of sights, activities and history with the many cities within the city. British New Delhi is just one of the many capitals that have been established as Indian residential cities over time. Ancient Delhi is one of the other examples and is in itself a magnificent city, which Shah Jahan founded as Shahjahanabad during the emperor’s reign. Several other cities can be seen as forts from the many eras that passed Delhi through times.
The life and mood of Delhi is at one and the same time both positively hectic and charmingly relaxed. In Chandni Chowk’s bazaar streets, you get a glimpse of colorful India through impressions for all senses, and in contrast there are parks, boulevards and major centuries-old buildings forming quaint oases in the big city.
The Mall, The Ridge, Lower Bazar
Baba Bhalku Railway Museum
Cart Road
Kalka Shimla Railway
Cart Road
Jakhoo Temple
Jakhoo Temple Road
The city of Shimla is a relatively new town, with the area still being forested in the 18th century with only a few inhabitants. The most important place here was the Jakhoo Temple, which can still be experienced today. The area of the scattered settlement was called Shimla; the name comes from the Hindu goddess Shyamala Devi, who is an incarnation of Kali.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the town of Shimla was gradually established. It was Nepalese Prime Minister Bhimsen Thapa, who had control of the area until the Anglo-Nepalese War, which broke out in 1814. Before the war, Nepal, in the form of the Kingdom of Gorkha, had an extensive kingdom, which with the Sugaulite Treaty in 1816 was cut by about a third.
The Anglo-Nepalese War was waged 1814-1816 between Gorkha and the expanding British East India Company, which won the settlement. In addition to Shimla, other areas west, south and east of present-day Nepal were transferred to the East India Company and thereby to British rule.
In 1817, Shimla was described as a medium-sized village, and in the following years the British began to increasingly build houses in the area.
In the northern outskirts of British India, The Hill States was established, and in 1819 the political official, Lieutenant Ross, established a wooden shack in Shimla, and several others followed his example. The cool climate of the area attracted the British, who found the place comfortable as a resort unlike the intense heat that was in the summer in Delhi and elsewhere in India.
Charles Pratt Kennedy erected a larger house in 1822, and it became the setting for several prominent visits. Lord Amherst, governor general of Bengal, resided here in 1827, and the following year the British military commander in India, Lord Combermere, arrived.
Lord Combermere embarked on the construction of a road and a bridge to the difficult mountain range. It was ready in 1829, and at that time there were about 30 houses in Shimla. The British also acquired land around Shimla from local chiefs, and it increased interest in Shimla, which grew rapidly in the following decades.
Lord Combermer’s replacement was Earl Dalhousie, and he came to Shimla in 1832, and the town then proceeded to receive visits from the important persons of British India. In the 1830s, younger and hopeful officers followed the higher rankings, and with them came women with plans for marriages in the better circles.
In doing so, Shimla’s position was secured as a meeting place with parties, balls and other activities. The upper class children could also attend boarding school here, just as art and theater also became part of the city’s life. Indian merchants were attracted to the wealthy British, and shops and bazaars also shot up between the ever-increasing number of houses and inhabitants.
Shimla continued its rapid development in the 1840s, and a visible sign of the British presence was the construction of an English-style church. The foundation stone of Christ Church was laid September 9, 1844, and it was just one of the buildings that gradually required better access through the mountainous landscape.
Several roads up the mountains were constructed and a tunnel was opened in 1852 so that people and building materials could eventually reach Shimla in greater volume. The 1850s were a time when Shimla evolved; it also happened despite the Indian rebellion against British rule in 1857.
The capital of the British Raj colony was Calcutta, which was very hot during the summer months. In 1863 John Lawrence as British Viceroy of India established Shimla as the summer capital despite the long distance from Calcutta.
The entire government administration had to be moved to and from Shimla every year and it was a major logistical project as the city was not connected by major roads or rail to the rest of India. New buildings were also to be established in Shimla for the government and for other institutions in the new capital.
A fire in the Upper Bazar area, which today constitutes The Mall, caused Shimla to become this as an administrative center with town hall and many buildings for European residents and travelers.
Shimla also came to house the British military leadership of India in the summer, and from 1871 also the state of Punjab government. Lord Lytton became viceroy in 1876, and he initiated the establishment of a larger government building; the so-called Viceregal Lodge, built in 1888.
In the last decades of the 19th century, Shimla continued to grow, and in the city, the hills on the ridge were connected by several roads and new tunnels were drilled to make traffic easier. Life was lived summer and winter, where, among other boarding school children lived in the city.
However, getting from the Indian lowlands to Shimla continued to bring visitors and goods to the city. A railroad was planned to connect Shimla to the city of Kalka, from which there were further connections around India.
The Kalka-Shimla Railway was opened in 1906, and with over 800 bridges and more than 100 tunnels, the facility was a major engineering enterprise. The course brought Shimla closer to the rest of India and the city became an easier place to rule the colony.
The following decades, Shimla continued to expand on the mountain ridges with The Mall at its center. Due to the weather, the city continued to attract British during the colonial period, and in the first decades of the 20th century many new houses and buildings were erected. The British Shimla stretched between Jakhoo Hill and Prospect Hill.
When India gained independence from British rule in 1947, a long-term formation of new administrative units in northern India, previously characterized by countless small states, began. In 1948, the Himachal Pradesh area was established and over the following decades, land areas were continually defined or separated as parts of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and others. In 1971, the borders of Himachal Pradesh were finally established by the formal establishment of the eighteenth state of the Indian Union. On that occasion, Shimla became the capital.
Today, Shimla has developed as both an administrative center and a tourist area. The core remains The Mall and the many British buildings here, and they also provide popular backdrops for many Bollywood movie productions that help make Shimla popular.
Kalka-Shimla Railway has been included in UNESCO’s list of world heritage sites, and by a trip by train or by the major new roads to Shimla you can see for yourself that the city has grown tremendously over a large and beautiful area. The city has more than 800,000 inhabitants and is a favorite destination of summer and winter.
Overview of Shimla
Shimla is like no other cities in India with its location in the Himalayas and a special ambiance of the beautiful mix of British colonial times and modern Indian daily life. Shimla was established as the summer capital of the British, with the Viceroy and the entire administration moving to here when temperatures became too high in Delhi. It made Shimla one of the most important cities in British Raj.
Countless beautiful British-style buildings are everywhere in Shimla’s streets. Timber framing, tudor style and other European inspired architecture were built in the latter half of the 19th century to the first decades of the 20th century. On the main streets of The Mall and The Ridge, there are many stylish examples with Town Hall and Christ Church being some of the most famous.
About the upcoming Shimla travel guide
About the travel guide
The Shimla travel guide gives you an overview of the sights and activities of the Indian city. Read about top sights and other sights, and get a tour guide with tour suggestions and detailed descriptions of all the city’s most important churches, monuments, mansions, museums, etc.
Shimla is waiting for you, and at vamados.com you can also find cheap flights and great deals on hotels for your trip. You just select your travel dates and then you get flight and accommodation suggestions in and around the city.
Read more about Shimla and India
Buy the travel guide
Click the “Add to Cart” button to purchase the travel guide. After that you will come to the payment, where you enter the purchase and payment information. Upon payment of the travel guide, you will immediately receive a receipt with a link to download your purchase. You can download the travel guide immediately or use the download link in the email later.
Use the travel guide
When you buy the travel guide to Shimla you get the book online so you can have it on your phone, tablet or computer – and of course you can choose to print it. Use the maps and tour suggestions and you will have a good and content-rich journey.
Colonial Architecture • The Mall • Jakhoo Temple • Christ Church
Overview of Shimla
Shimla is like no other cities in India with its location in the Himalayas and a special ambiance of the beautiful mix of British colonial times and modern Indian daily life. Shimla was established as the summer capital of the British, with the Viceroy and the entire administration moving to here when temperatures became too high in Delhi. It made Shimla one of the most important cities in British Raj.
Countless beautiful British-style buildings are everywhere in Shimla’s streets. Timber framing, tudor style and other European inspired architecture were built in the latter half of the 19th century to the first decades of the 20th century. On the main streets of The Mall and The Ridge, there are many stylish examples with Town Hall and Christ Church being some of the most famous.
About the upcoming Shimla travel guide
About the travel guide
The Shimla travel guide gives you an overview of the sights and activities of the Indian city. Read about top sights and other sights, and get a tour guide with tour suggestions and detailed descriptions of all the city’s most important churches, monuments, mansions, museums, etc.
Shimla is waiting for you, and at vamados.com you can also find cheap flights and great deals on hotels for your trip. You just select your travel dates and then you get flight and accommodation suggestions in and around the city.
Read more about Shimla and India
Buy the travel guide
Click the “Add to Cart” button to purchase the travel guide. After that you will come to the payment, where you enter the purchase and payment information. Upon payment of the travel guide, you will immediately receive a receipt with a link to download your purchase. You can download the travel guide immediately or use the download link in the email later.
Use the travel guide
When you buy the travel guide to Shimla you get the book online so you can have it on your phone, tablet or computer – and of course you can choose to print it. Use the maps and tour suggestions and you will have a good and content-rich journey.
Christ Church is one of North India’s oldest church buildings. It is art. John’s Church in the city of Meerut, which is older. The church was built in the 1850s in neo-Gothic architecture inspired by English church buildings, and it was also supposed to serve the mainly British-Anglican community that was in Shimla at the time.
J. T. Boileau designed Christ Church in 1844, and since its inauguration in 1857, the church has stood as one of the best-known monuments of the British era in the area. The church clock was installed in 1860 following a donation by Colonel Dumbleton. In the church, you can see several stained glass windows that, among other things, show Christian values such as faith, hope and mercy. You can also see the largest church organ on the Indian subcontinent.
Gaiety Theater opened as Shimla’s theater in 1887 and over the years many great actors have performed here. The theater building was built in neo-Gothic style, a style that had spread from England to the colonies at the time. Today, the theater’s exciting space is used for many forms of culture.
The State Library Building is a library that was built in 1860 in a distinguished style where Tudor architecture meets neo-Gothic trends. The building has since its opening housed the city’s public library, and it was and is one of Shimla’s leading cultural institutions.
The Ridge along with the Mall Road form the main streets of Shimla. Along The Ridge are several famous buildings that formed some of the most important institutions during the British period. These include Christ Church, the State Library and the Town Hall. Today, The Ridge is an exciting street and square to walk on during a visit to Shimla, and it is connected at both ends to the parallel Mall Road.
The present Town Hall was built as Shimla’s Town Hall in 1910-1911 by the British rule. As early as 1851, the Shimla Municipal Board had been established as the city’s governing administrative institution, and public works such as road construction, sewerage, water supply and tax collection were carried out from here. Today, the Shimla City Council continues to function in the house. This concerns, among other things, the library that has been here since the British era.
The Town Hall was designed by Henry Irwin, who also designed many other buildings in British India. The building from 1910-1911 is an extension of the original Town Hall on the site, which, in addition to the town’s public functions, also served as a social gathering place; here was the first Gaiety Theatre, library, billiard room, game room and other entertainment.
Central Telegraph Building was built in 1885 in an almost impressive mix of Swiss-South German construction and New York’s industrialized skyscrapers. In 1913-1914, the British Government’s telegraph moved into the house, and it continued to have the same function in independent India.
The Post Office in Shimla stands as one of the beautiful buildings in the British-inspired style in the center of the city. The relatively large building must be seen in the light of the importance of postal services at the time, and moreover, this was one of the most important post offices in the whole of British India.
The General Post Office was built in 1882. The style is an eclectic mix of different architectural styles; however with clear British inspiration with the house’s half-timbering from the Tudor style.
This temple was established in 1845. It is dedicated to the goddess Kali, who is also known in a fearless incarnation by the name of Shyamala, who has given her name to the city in the form of the word Shimla. The temple is a Hindu temple and is centrally located in the center of Shimla.
The Cecil was built as a large and distinguished hotel in 1884, and after a large-scale renovation in the years up to 1997, it stands as beautiful and breathtaking as the luxury of the late 1800s and thus as part of Shimla’s cultural heritage from the time as the British summer capital .
The renovation was undertaken by the Oberoi hotel chain, and founder Mohan Singh Oberoi was employed at The Cecil in 1922. The employment ended with Oberoi purchasing The Cecil in 1944. During those years, he also bought other hotels and formed the chain of Oberoi hotels, such as The Cecil continues to be a part of.
On this site stood the one-storey building Tendril Cottage in 1883. The building was known among other things as one of the places where Rudyard Kipling stayed in Shimla, where he got inspiration and wrote some of his famous works.
Himachal State Museum serves as the national museum of the state of Himachal Pradesh. It was founded in 1974 and housed in a characteristic mansion building from the Victorian British colonial era. Former residents include Lord William Beresford, who was the viceroy’s minister for military affairs.
At the museum you can experience a number of collections that span many topics in the state’s history and culture. These include archaeological finds, paintings, sculptures, coins, photographs and manuscripts.
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