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Have A stroll Around The Summer Capital
Shimla is one of the few places in the world where an enormous amount of
history and heritage has been distilled into such a small place in so
short a time. The town came into being in the first
quarter
of the 19th century and some four decades later, became the "Summer
Capital' of British India. Till the coming of India's independence in
1947, momentous events and memorable architecture packed the town.
Today, the colonial order is gone, but its architectural bequest is now a
part of the legacy for a free India. And the seven hills of Shimla hold a
variety of architectural styles from all over the world- made all the more
distinctive, for manstructural elements are local. In addition, the town
has one of the longest stretches of purely pedestrian road and shopping
anywhere in the world - the Mall. Shimla
also holds what may well be the Earth's only 'urban forest'.
Shimla's Seven Hill Attractions
The seven hills of Shimla are - Prospect Hill in Western Shimla, which
has the temple of Kamna Devi; Summer Hill in Western Shimla, which has the
campus of the Himachal
Pradesh University; Observatory Hill in Western Shimla, which holds
the estate of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study; Invererarm in
Western Shimla, whose top has the State Museum; Bantony in central Shimla,
which has the Grand Hotel;
Jakhoo
in central Shimla, which is crowned by the temple indicated to Lord
Hanuman, and Elysium in north-western Shimla, which holds Auckland House
and Longwood and reaches out towards the Bharari spur.