Shimla :India

Much has changed in Simla since the days when the British ruled fifth of mankind from this small Himalayan settlement. Simla has become Shimla in a gesture of Indianisation. The official summer capital of the Raj from 1864 to 1947 has become the permanent capit of one of India’s smallest and better run slates, Himachal Pradesh. T tourists are overwhelmingly Indian and the resident and seasonal populations have burgeoned. As a result, the summer brings water shortages and the winter, electricity cuts. An army of trucks delivers supplies to the hill station from the plains and another army of trucks travels to the plains loaded with apples and out-of-season vegetables – the cash crops which have brought prosperity to the state. Unruly buses choke the old cart road and new concrete hotels and offices stalk the hillsides.

Much has changed, but much remains the same. Fire has destroyed a few of the oldest Raj buildings but neither fire nor the developers could efface the omnipresent signs of the past – the ‘wild west Swiss’ of the Mall and the Ridge, and the two buildings which still dominate the skyline – Christchurch and Viceregal Lodge. The Mall is still the social centre of the station; the lower bazaar is still the same rabbit warren it was in Rudyard Kipling’s time; and the Ridge still looks out over snows. In short, Shimla remains one of the largest and most successful hill stations.

Because Shimla lies at a height of 2,215 metres (7,267 feet) above sea level, it is comfortable to visit throughout the year, although the summer months of May and June are the most crowded. The climate is, as it always was, a great attraction in the summer, despite the heat haze which can block out views. At night, forest fires burn on distant hillsides. The monsoon, generally a quiet time of the year, reveals beautiful sunsets with clouds settling below in the valleys. The winter months show the surrounding mountains at their best and Shimla too has snow which sparkles in the ‘long moon-nights’.