Shimla is also known as Simla (Queen of Hills) name given by British and the capital of Himachal Pradesh. Shimla was declared as summer capital of the British Raj in India in 1864. Shimla is beautiful hill station in lap of the nature surrounded from all side by trees like pine, rhododendron, oak and deodar. Shimla is situated in the north-west Himalayas and is 18 sq km mountain region. The main sources of income for the people of Shimla are Hotel, Travel and Tourism. Language spoken in Shimla include Hindi, Punjabi, Pahadi and English.
Climate of Shimla is the main reason for its popularity in summers. It is located of approximately 2200m above sea level and has hilly area covered by dense evergreen forests. Maximum tourist choose to visit Shimla during summers due to its pleasant climate and some in spring and autumn due to less crowd. During Winter its temperature is between -7°C to 10°C and with frequent snowfall. while in summers temperature is 16°C to 28°C that’s why maximum tourist use to visit here in summers.
Places to Visit in Shimla
There are so many places to visite in shimla like Sanjauli, Arki, Chail, Mashobra, Chharabra and Junga etc. But the main attraction where tourist visit more are as following:
- The Mall is the shopping place or shopping street of Shimla. The two main meeting point at Mall are Ridge and Scandal point. Since it is the main meeting place for every one so people walk up and down to the mall and stopping to gossip. The Mall also have tourist offices, clubs, banks, restaurants and bars like facilities.
- Christ Church is the second oldest Church in Northern India, situated on the Ridge. It has very attractive look with stained glasses windows that shows faith, hope and patience.
- Jakhu Hill is located 2 km away from Shimla and at height 8000ft. It is the highest peak and from here one can watch the beautifull site view of whole Shimla. It has also old temple of Lord Hanuman and home place for the monkeys waited for fed by visitors and this is also the main attraction for the children.
- Summer Hill Himachal Pradesh University is situated here. It is 5 km away from the Ridge and situated at the height of 6117 ft. When Mahatma Gandhi visited in Shimla he lived here in quiet surroundings.
Hotel in Shimla provide the different range of accommodation options for all tourist visiting the city. Varies from luxurious Deluxe hotel and Heritage hotel, to medium priced and reasonably cheap hotel. Here is a complete list of hotels in Shimla.
- Hotel De Park, Shimla
- The Oberoi Cecil, Shimla
- Wildflower Hall, Shimla
- Hotel Shingar, Shimla
- Honeymoon Inn, Shimla
- Hotel Willow Banks, Shimla
- Hotel Woodpark, Shimla
- Barowalia Resorts, Shimla
- Bridge View Hotel, Shimla
- Whistling Pines Resort, Shimla
- Hotel Blue Diamond, Shimla
- Hotel Sun - N - Snow, Shimla
- Toshali Royal View, Shimla
- Hotel Crystal Palace, Shimla
- Hotel Sukh Sagar, Shimla
- Hotel Victory, Shimla
- By Air – If want to come to Shimla by Air then you can easily reached. Jubbarhatti, which is lacated at a distance 23 km from the main city has airport and you can take flight from Delhi, Chandigarh and Kullu. These operate on daily bases.
- By Train – Kalka is the nearest railway station connect to Shimla railway station. Kalka is located at a distance of 96 km from Shimla and take about 6 hours to reach Shimla. It takes about 6 hours to reach from Kalka to Shimla. There are 103 amazing tunnels. The train will passes through beautiful hilly area, bridges and tunnels one can get close touch with nature.
- By Road – Chandigarh and New Delhi is well connected to Shimla so one can easily get bus service from these cities to visit Shimla. From Delhi to Shimla it will take about 8 hours and from Chandigarh to Shimla it will take 5 to 6 hours by bus. There are number of transport services of by both private and government lik deluxe, semi deluxe and local services.