Destinations
Shimla and Kufri
The old summer capital, still built the way the British left it — a ridge with a promenade along the top and the town falling away either side. Kufri is sixteen kilometres on and is where the coach parties go.
Suits — families, first trips, train enthusiasts
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Shimla is not a hill station that grew into a city, it is a city that happens to be on a hill, and that changes what a day there is like. There are 170,000 people living on this ridge and they all need to get somewhere in the morning.
The part visitors come for is the top: the Ridge, the Mall, Christ Church, and the lanes dropping away below them. Vehicles are banned from that whole stretch, so however you arrive you finish on foot. We park at the lift or at Sanjauli and you walk in — that is not us being difficult, it is the only way in.
What surprises people is the lower town. Directly beneath the Mall is a bazaar stacked six storeys down the slope, with staircases instead of streets, and it is much older and more interesting than the promenade above it.
Kufri deserves a word of warning. It is on every itinerary and in the season it is a queue of vehicles and a crowd of horses on a small hill. The Himalayan Nature Park there is genuinely good. If you have a day rather than an afternoon, Narkanda an hour further on is the better use of it.
- Altitude
- 2,205m at the Ridge, 2,720m at Kufri
- Nearest airport
- Jubbarhatti, 23km. Chandigarh is more reliable
- From Dharamshala
- 8–9 hours
- From Chandigarh
- 3.5–4 hours
- Give it
- Two nights. Three if you want Narkanda as a day out
- Best months
- March to June for the weather, December and January for snow. Avoid the third week of May if you dislike crowds.
Worth your time
What to actually go and see
The Ridge and the Mall
An open shoulder of hill with Christ Church at one end and the shops running down from it. No vehicles are allowed on either, which is why they are pleasant and why you will be walking up from wherever we park.
Jakhoo temple
The highest point in town at 2,455m, with a Hanuman statue tall enough to be visible from most of Shimla. Steep on foot from the Ridge, about 45 minutes, or there is a ropeway. The monkeys take spectacles and are not joking.
The Kalka–Shimla railway
A narrow-gauge line finished in 1903, 96km, 102 tunnels, and a UNESCO listing. The full run takes five hours or so. Most people do it one way and drive the other, which is the sensible arrangement.
The Viceregal Lodge
Built for Lord Dufferin, and where the partition of India was argued over in 1947. Now the Indian Institute of Advanced Study. The grounds are open and the interior is by guided tour on set timings.
Kufri
Sixteen kilometres out and the standard half-day. It is a small ridge with a view, some horse rides and a nature park, and in season it is extremely busy. Worth it for the drive and the Himalayan Nature Park more than the hill itself.
Annandale and the Glen
Below the town, and where Shimla goes to get away from the visitors — a flat green army ground and a wooded walk down to a stream. Quiet on a weekday.
Shimla and Kufri, photographed
4 photographs.
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