Shimla is always beautiful with its snow-capped Himalayan hills, alluring green pastures, deep valleys, lovely mountains filled with green trees. This exotic spot is filled with tourist attractions and is a real treat to the eyes because of its stunning natural beauty.
Let’s see what are the exciting things you can explore in this beautiful Himalayan town.
Enjoy the train ride
The Kalka to Shimla rail journey is one of the most scenic rail routes in India. It takes five and a half hours to reach Shimla from Kalka. In this unforgettable journey by toy train, you will come across many stunning landscapes, mesmerizing waterfalls and deep bridges exhibiting fine engineering. There is a dreamy feeling when you take this joyful ride in contemplative mood admiring the natural beauty. With 103 tunnels, 917 curves and 988 bridges covering 20 stations, it makes the awesome unique experience. The views are stunning with deep forests, spectacular little villages, mesmerizing waterfalls and snow-covered valleys.
Admire the impressive architecture
Shimla is known not only for its refreshing natural beauty but also for its impressive colonial architecture. In Shimla, every building tells its own story. Modelled after a typical English country house it surprises you with its charm and creativity.
Green valley
Green valley in Shimla is famous for its amazing greenery and scenic views oozing fresh air. Green valley is on way from Shimla to Kufri. It is an ideal place to spend some quality time in mountains covered with thick pine and deodar trees. One can also spot Himalayan Yak here which adds to the excitement.
Plan picnic around Shimla Glen
Shimla Glen is a beautiful U shaped valley with dense forests filled with tall trees. It is a perfect place to take amazing pictures of yourself and your loved ones. Here you can see the real untouched beauty of Shimla in its raw form. Here you can plan one day picnic with your friends and family near the river with clean waters and surrounded all over by mountains. It is an excellent spot to spend some quality time with your inner self, covered with wooded trees it is sheer bliss to be in laps of beautiful nature.
Fun in Waterfall
There is something romantic about waterfalls. The transit nature of water falling from high fills one with delight. Many nature lovers absolutely adore waterfalls which gives so much thrill to the heart. Chadwick waterfall in Shimla forms a major tourist attraction because of its lovely sight. You have to take a walk through forests to reach the falls which is an amazing experience in itself with trees surrounding all over, it’s quite an adventure task, one should feel one with nature while taking the walk. It’s a natural waterfall; once you reach there you will find the cold and clean water of the falls very refreshing. It’s the best place to spend some calm and peaceful time in a serene atmosphere with excellent views. Surrounded by dense forests and majestic mountains it’s a perfect place to click pictures for your Instagram.
The pleasure of shopping
Shimla is also the shopper’s dream destination, here will have a great experience while browsing the markets because of varieties of things it has to offer. Best places to shop here are The Mall Road, Lakkar Bazar, Lower bazaar, Tibetan market. The Mall road is the main shopping hub of Shimla, it consists of many shops, restaurants, banks and also bars. It is the meeting point of not only tourists but also locals; it’s a great place to get the glimpses of local life and its culture. At evening it bustles with activity with different shops selling different kinds of artistic wood items, colourful handicrafts, shawls, woollen items, it is an excellent place to collect memorable souvenirs which you won’t get elsewhere. If you are a fan of Tibet culture, you should head towards the Tibetan market where you will find authentic Tibet items like Tibetan clothes exotic handmade Tibetan jewellery and carpets. There are many shopping joints in Shimla which offers you great fun and which are worth exploring. You can buy many souvenirs and decorative items which look exotic to take back home and share it with your friends. Lower Bazaar in Shimla sells local items like shawls, grocery, utensils, carpets, fruits etc. It is an excellent place to enjoy shopping experience with locals, If you have a penchant for branded items, mall road is best for you where you will get branded clothes and fancy things.
Indulge in Delicious Himachali food
Shimla not only offers mesmerizing locations but is also known for its scrumptious Himachali food. Enjoying this exquisite food while surrounding with majestic mountains and tall pine trees is a great experience in itself. Himachali culture reflects in its traditional food. Some of the traditional food of Himachal are Babroo, Dham, Madra and Meetha chawal which are extremely tasty and flavorful because of the presence of herbs and exotic spices like cardamom, cinnamon, chillies, turmeric and yoghurt. Dham is traditional Himachali meal which includes varieties of Items like aromatic rice, fried pulses, red bean curry and many exotic desserts. Himachali people specially cook them in Fairs and festivals, many local restaurants also serve them with affection. You must not miss it while in Himachal Pradesh. Other street foods you can enjoy in Shimla are hot Momos, spicy Chaats, pizzas, delicious chole bhature and samosas. If you want more authentic food experience then you must stay and eat with local people who are very friendly and happy to serve food with utmost love.
Skiing in Kufri
Kufri is a quaint beautiful hill station in Shimla district of Himachal Pradesh. It is the best place to enjoy winter sports. It is famous for its amazing skiing slopes. People enjoy many adventure activities here like Skiing, ice skating and tobogganing (sliding downhill on a sledge). Studded with the breathtaking natural beauty of snow-fed mountains and lush deodar trees, it is also a superb place to feel adrenaline rush. One of the fun things to do in Kufri is to experience the yak ride. Yaks are beautiful and friendly animals, you can ride on them and also flaunt pictures with them, makes your trip very memorable especially children loves it.
Explore wildlife in Himalayan Nature Park
It’s a fantastic experience to spend some exciting time with wild animals. We feel more in resonance with nature when we experience the presence of wild animal and chirping birds. When you are in Kufri, you must visit this Himalayan Zoo called “Himalayan Nature Park”. Exotic wild animals you will find here are Snow Leopard, Bharal, Sambhar, Tibetan Wolf, deers, peacock and Himalayan bears. It also houses varieties of beautiful birds which are a great joy to watch. It is an excellent location with rich flora and fauna.
Fun in Himalayan Bird Park
If you are a bird lover you should visit Himalayan Bird Park for a unique experience. Himalayan Bird Park is located near Viceregal lodge, here you will find many beautiful birds like Ducks, Peacocks, Pheasants, Monal etc. The best part about this place is, it is an open bird park which is very rare to find in India. You can simply be with birds without any partition; it is a lovely experience for both bird lovers and kids. Photography is allowed so a lot is there to capture in your magic box.
How to Reach Shimla
By Air – If you want to go to Shimla by Air then you head towards Jubbarhati airport, it is located 22 km away from Shimla. It is well connected to other cities, especially Chandigarh Airport and Delhi airport.
By Train – The nearest station to Shimla is Kalka which is well connected with other Rail lines especially Delhi. From Kalka, you can hire either cab or book toy train. Most of the people prefer to train to enjoy the scenic rail journey of this stunningly beautiful Hill station.
By road – Shimla is well connected by road to many big cities like Delhi, Chandigarh, Manali etc you can go in your personal vehicle or book a cab or travel by state bus to this beautiful Hill station.
