Shimla photos

Attractions of SHIMLA

SHIMLA TOURISM
Today Shimla tourism has translated into being the grooviest spot for honeymooners. Apart from seeing evidences of some great colonial architecture in monuments like the Christ Church, Viceregal Lodge, Gorton Castle and others, there are dozens of tiny travel places around which offer the most pleasant walks like Summer Hill, Prospect Hill, Chadwick Falls, Tara Devi, Chharabra and others. Two of the most famous nearby getaways are Kasauli and Chail. and its not that there is nothing for the more adventurous kinds; Shimla tourism has excellent scope for treks too. Splendid by itself, Shimla is also the tee off point for the rest of Himachal, with roads leading west to the Kangra and Chamba valleys, north to Kullu and Lahaul valleys, and east to Kinnaur and Spiti Valley. South of it lie the lower districts of Solan and Sirmaur.¤ FestivalsShimla tourism highlights like most of the Indian cities, fairs and festivals in the valley. Most of these are mainstream and have been discussed in detail in the section on Religion.
Christmas : Christmas is particularly fun here owing to the overwhelming British presence in the past. A white Christmas is what Shimla’s inhabitants really look forward to. Here we will only discuss festivals that are unique to this area or celebrated here in a manner distinct from the rest of the country.Baisakhi :Though celebrated in many northern states, this agrarian festival is celebrated differently in different regions of Himachal. Generally held on the first of Baisakh (13th April), it is called Bissu or Bisha in Shimla. It signifies vigour and vitality and serves as a ritual before the onset of the harvesting season. Burning the jhalra – a pile of dry twigs with a pole bearing a conical bamboo basket erected in the middle – is an important ritual. It is set afire in the morning as young boys sing and dance around it. Rhyali :Rhyali is the festival of the rainy season. In the Indian society rains denote good harvest thus ensuring prosperity. Therefore it’s an absolute must to keep the rain god happy. Rhyali is celebrated on the first of Shravana (16th July). Some ten days before this, seeds of five or seven kinds (wheat, barley and the like) are mixed together and sown ceremoniously by the head of the family or the family priest in a small basket filled with earth, or near the place where the household gods are kept. Then one day before the actual day, a kind of a mock wedding is performed with a wooden hoe, and as many kinds of available fruits are placed near the tender saplings. Clay images of Shiva and Parvati are placed amidst the tender growth, and the priest chants, "O Haryali, may thou ever remain in the green fields..." and a whole lot of rituals follow. Rhyali is same as Haryali of Kangra.Contemporary Carnivals :A Summer
Festival conducted by the tourism of Himachal is held in Simla every June which includes cultural programmes from Himachal and neighbouring states. An art and handicraft exhibition, a folk dance festival, a Mushaira (recitation of Urdu poetry), the Red Cross Fair, sports tournaments, a fashion show based on folk costumes and a flower show are also scheduled around this time to make most of the tourist season. The extravaganza of the Ice Skating Carnival is normally reserved for December, where the winter winds carry with them the delights of ice skating at Shimla.
Bazaars - The Shopping Hubs
The Mall :is the place for shopping in Shimla. Lined with many showrooms, it is a shopper’s delight. You can buy all sorts of goodies here from old books, through woollens, handicrafts, handlooms, curios and plum sherbet to mushroom pickle. Do check out the State Emporium for good quality handicrafts. Although Shimla has nothing too special to offer on its own, you will get items from all parts of the state at this outlet.Other Shopping Centers :There are two other bazaars in Shimla. Just below the western end of the (eastern) Mall, is the frantic Subzi Mandi, also called Lower Bazaar. It is a maze of twisting, steep lanes full of stalls selling food and just about everything imaginable. Do pick up those colourful socks, gloves and caps that are such a speciality of Himachal.Some of the shops sell good pottery, the most common being the decorated matka (water pot), sold in a variety of shapes and sizes. Prices for meals are less here than in places on the Mall.Beyond the Ridge, the small and busy Lakkar Bazaar (lakdi means wood) is popular for wood souvenirs. Though most of them might seem tacky and of little use, you could perhaps pick up a carved walking stick.Ivory inlay work used to be a major craft in the days of the British, but the quality has deteriorated over the years. Dry fruits and medicinal herbs are also available in some the shops.Rudyard Kipling describes the maze-like bazaars spread across the lower hillsides of Shimla in his novel Kim, "…a man who knows his way there can defy all the police of India’s summer capital; so cunningly does verandah communicate with verandah, alley-way with alley-way, and bolt-hole with bolt-hole."
Pssst! Some Gastronomic Tips There are lots of ice cream parlours, bakeries and sweet and chocolate shops in Shimla. Just about every place serves hot, western breakfast, but many don’t open till 9 am – Shimla isn’t a place for early risers. The Indian Coffee House along the western Mall serves great coffee and south Indian snacks. Both Indian and Western fare can be enjoyed at Embassy Restaurant and Park Café on the eastern Mall. HPTDC runs a good restaurant called Ashiana but it’s a little expensive.

Famous tourist destination reports

SHIMLA
The climate in Shimla is predominantly cold during winters, and moderately warm during summers. The temperatures range from 3.95 °C (39.11 °F) to 32.95 °C (91.31 °F) over the year.The average temperature during summer is between 14 °C and 20 °C, and between -7 °C and 10 °C in winter. Monthly precipitation varies between 24 mm in November to 415 mm in July. It is typically around 45 mm per month during winter and spring and around 115 mm in June as the monsoon approaches. The average total annual precipitation is 1520 mm (62 inches). Snowfall in the region, which usually took place in the month of December has lately (over the last fifteen years) been happening in January or early February every year.

Forecast for Shimla

SHIMLA

SHIMLA
One of the most famous tourist destinations of India, Shimla located in Himachal Pradesh is a beautiful hill station. Also known as Simla, your travel to this place will be one event of your life that you shall never forget. This beautiful hill station derives its name from "Goddess Shyamla", who is supposed to be an avatar of Goddess Kali. This lovely hill station was 'discovered' by the British who immediately fell in love with this place. Infact, they went to the extent of declaring Shimla as their summer capital. Read about Shimla tourism and know more about Simla travel. Shimla abounds in natural bounty and looks picture perfect. The small hill station amidst the lofty snow-clad Himalayan ranges, surrounded by lakes and lush green pastures look as though an artist has painted them. The unique thing about Shimla is that it still retains its colonial charm and this creates an ambience that is not found anywhere else in India. Shimla is one tourist destination that can be visited any time during the year. Summers are warm with cool and pleasant evenings while winters are bone chilling and the temperatures can fall below zero. But this difference is what makes Shimla all the more special! So pack your bags, catch the next flight and come to Shimla -
" A place where dreams come true"

History
Shimla was annexed by the British in 1819 after the Gurkha War. At that time it was known for the temple of Hindu Goddess Shyamala Devi. The Scottish civil servant Charles Pratt Kennedy built the first British summer home in the town in 1822.
Lord Amherst, the Governor-General of Bengal from 1823 to 1828, set up a summer camp here in 1827, when there was only one cottage in the town, and only 'half a dozen' when he left that year. There were more than a hundred within ten years.
Shimla, or Simla as it was called until recently, caught the eye of Lord William Bentinck, the Governor-General of Bengal from 1828 (later of India, when the title was created in 1833) to 1835. In a letter to Colonel Churchill in 1832 he wrote
“
Simla is only four days march from Loodianah (Ludhiana), is easy of access, and proves a very agreeable refuge from the burning plains of Hindoostaun (Hindustan).
”

The bridge connecting Shimla with Minor Shimla, erected in 1829 by Lord Combermere, Shimla, 1850
One of his successors, Sir John Lawrence, Viceroy of India 1864–1869, decided to take the trouble of moving the administration twice a year between Calcutta and a separate centre over 1,000 miles away, despite the fact that it was difficult to reach.Lord Lytton, Viceroy 1876 -1880 made efforts to plan the town from 1876, when he first stayed in a rented house Peterhof, but began plans for a Viceregal Lodge, later built on Observatory Hill. A fire cleared much of the area where the native Indian population lived (the "Upper Bazaar"), and the planning of the eastern end to become the centre of the European town forced these to live in the Middle and Lower Bazaars on the lower terraces descending the steep slopes from the Ridge. The Upper Bazaar was cleared for a Town Hall, with many facilities such as library and theatre, as well as offices - for police and military volunteers as well as municipal administration.
During the 'Hot Weather', Simla was also the Headquarters of the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army and many Departments of the Government, as well as being the summer capital of the regional Government of the Punjab. They were joined during the hot weather by many of the British wives and daughters of the men who remained in the plains. Together these formed Simla Society, which, according to Charles Allen, "was as close as British India ever came to having an upper crust." This may have been helped by the fact that it was very expensive, having an ideal climate and thus being desirable, as well as having limited accommodation. British soldiers, merchants, and civil servants moved here each year to escape from the heat during summer in the Indo-Gangetic plain. The presence of many bachelors and unattached men, as well as the many women passing the hot weather there, gave Simla a reputation for adultery, and at least gossip about adultery: as Rudyard Kipling said in a letter cited by Allen, it had a reputation for "frivolity, gossip and intrigue".
The Kalka-Shimla railway line, constructed in 1906, added to Shimla's accessibility and popularity. The railway route from Kalka to Shimla, with more than 806 Bridges and 103 tunnels, was touted as an engineering feat and came to be known as the "British Jewel of the Orient". In 2008, it became part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Mountain railways of India. Not only that, there was a significant Muslim population in the region before the partition of British India. In addition, Shimla was the capital of the undivided state of Punjab in 1871, and remained so until the construction of the new city of Chandigarh (the present-day capital of Punjab). Upon the formation of the state of Himachal Pradesh in 1971, Shimla was named its capital.
Pre-independence structures still dot Shimla; buildings such as the Viceregal Lodge, Auckland House, Gorton Castle, Peterhoff house, and Gaiety Theatre are reminders of British rule in India . British Simla extended about a mile and a half along the ridge between Jakhoo Hill and Prospect Hill. The central spine was The Mall, which ran along the length of the ridge, with a Mall Extension southwards, closed to all carriages except those of the Viceroy and his wife.
Geographical view
Shimla is located in the north-western ranges of the Himalayas. At an average altitude of 2397.59 meters (7866.10 ft) above mean sea level, the city is spread on a ridge and its seven spurs. The city stretches nearly 9.2 km from east to west.The highest point in Shimla, at 2454 meters (8051 ft), is the Jakhoo hill. Shimla is a Zone IV (High Damage Risk Zone) per the Earthquake hazard zoning of India. Weak construction techniques and increasing population pose a serious threat to the already earthquake prone region. There are no bodies of water near the main city and the closest river, Sutlej, is about 21 km (13 miles) away. Other rivers that flow through the Shimla district, although further from the city, are Giri, and Pabbar (both are tributaries of Yamuna). The green belt in Shimla planning area is spread over 414 hectares(1023 acres).The main forests in and around the city are that of pine, deodar, oak and rhododendron. Environmental degradation due to the increasing number of tourists every year without the infrastructure to support them has resulted in Shimla losing its popular appeal as an ecotourism spot. Another rising concern in the region are the frequent number of landslides that often take place after heavy rains.

More about DEHRA DUN

Dehra Dun for all its intial years was sulking in the shadows of an over populated over sized state gripped by greedy politics. The downsizing of Uttar Pradesh which led to the birth ofa new state Uttaranchal and Dun being crowned as the Capital pushed the town into limelight which uptill now was also victim of ignorance to its more beautiful and loved step cousin Mussorie which still enjoys preferrence as a beautiful hill stations among a majrity of Indians.
Valley in perfect sense surrounded by mountain stretchs on two sides boast of a moderate climate throughout the year unlike the extremists cities of the north which invite hyberbolic rise and fall of the mercury. One hot day is thwarted by rain the very next day due to its geographical adavantage.
One of the few places that can attire itself easily as a hill station or as a modern town with all the infrasttucture to gel with. It cradles to a lot of sightseeing which inlcudes Sulphur Spring a waterfall with high content of suplhur, Rajaji National Park being home to several families of animals with elephant being the most prominent. Then are are architectural beauties like Forest Research Insttitue (FRI) Museum and ofcourse Indian Military Academy (IMA).
Inspite of this it will not come across as a remote raw town untouched with industralization as it boost major head offices of ONGC and Survey Of India neither does it fails to cater to its young generation with Mcdonalds, Pizzahuts, Dominos etc...
My hometown performing a kind ofnative dance on the new world tunes thus existing in complete harmony with its past, present and till we allow its future.....
Best time : OCT - NOV
Famous for Basmati Rice Cultivation and Lichis.
Connectng by dedicated trains and buses to all major cities, 6 hrs from Delhi

ATTRACTIONS
The place is situated amidst beautiful surroundings and legend has it that Guru Dronacharaya underwent his penance here.
The Malsi Deer Park is a newly developed tourist spot at the foothills of the Shivalik range. The place is situated about 10 km from Dehradun on the road leading to Mussorie. A mini-zoo with a children's park and lovely natural surroundings make it an ideal sightseeing cum picnic spot.
Kalsi is a historical place with an Ashokan Pillar, which has inscriptions in Devanagari. An Ashokan rock edict built in AD 450 is also situated here.

There are a number of important institutions located in Dehradun that provide different academic and research facilities. Some of them are the Anthropological Survey of India, Botanical Survey of India, Survey of India, Indian Institute of Petroleum, Rashtriya Indian Military College, Zoological Survey of India, Wildlife Institute of India, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, and Indian Military .

Robbers Cave

Dehradun valley

Map showing the Tourist attractions of DEHRA DUN

This scenic city nestled in the Doon valley is the capital of Uttarakhand , the northern state of India previously known as Uttaranchal. Dehradun is one of the famous tourist destinations in Uttaranchal and attracts a large number of tourists every year.

Dehradun is flanked by the Himalayas in the North, the Shivalik range in the south, the Yamuna river to its west and the Ganges to its east. The city is located in the North western side of the state and adjoins the districts of Uttarkashi, Pauri Garhwal, Hardwar, Nahan (Himachal Pradesh) and Saharanpur (Uttar Pradesh).

Dehra is a variation of the word dera which means camp, or a temporary abode. A group of Sikhs led by Ram Rai on being ordered by the Mughul emperor Aurangzeb to retire to the forests had pitched temporary tents in this area. Dun is the name of the valley and the word means low land at the foot of a mountain.