 |
 |
| |
| District Shimla – Nostalgic days of the Raj |
|
Bordering with newly formed Uttaranchal State, Sirmour, Mandi, and Kullu & Kinnaur. Previously known as Mahasu Distt. Being connected with many remote regions of Himachal and Uttaranchal, Shimla provides a good base for treks and jeep safaris in some of the remotest corners of Himachal and Uttaranchal. The area is World famous for Apple orchards. The remote areas of Rohru, Sarahan , Dodra Kwar houses some of the ancient temples and culture of Himachal.
|
|
Main Town
|
|
Shimla
|
|
It offers to the visitors, the famous mall, Jakhu Hill, with Hanuman Temple, old historical buildings such as vice regal lodge, Christ church. With all of seven hills to call its very own and yet a surprisingly compact geographic area coupled with an enormous amount of History and a rare range of built heritage. Shimla has all the ingredients that make for a series of interesting walks.
|
|
| Certain places of interest |
|
| Jakhoo Hill (2455 Mts.) |
|
Jakhoo hill towers over Shimla. Replete with history and architectural charm, there are several houses along its steep. 1.5 Kms. Climb. The forested hill is crowned by a temple dedicated to lord Hanuman (The Monkey God). |
|
|
|
|
|
| The Mall – All visitors to Shimla inevitably walk down the Mall, the main promenade that runs along the top of the Ridge – a busy shopping area with old colonial buildings, souvenir shops and restaurants. At the top end of the Mall is Scandal point, a large open square with a view of the town- a favorite rendezvous for visitors and the local people. Overlooking it is the Christ Church with its fine stained glass windows. The labyrinth of Shimla’s bazaars spill over the edge of the mall. |
| |
Viceregal Lodge – Housed in the Gothic splendor of the Vice regal Lodge is the Indian Institute of advanced Studies, India’s premier academy for higher research.
|
|
Himachal State Museum – Very close to the institute, in colonial building set in spacious lawns, is the museum. It has collections of Pahari miniatures, stone sculpture, local handicrafts, textiles and embroidery. Overnight in Hotel.
|
|
| Kalka – Shimla Toy Train – An experience |
|
| The 96 Km. journey by train from Kalka to Shimla offers an unforgettable experience. The Kalka – Shimla railway is often termed as a scientific fiction. Covering the distance through 103 tunnels and 969 bridges, it has 919 curves (68 Km), 20 railway stations and 5 level crossings on the route. This is one of the unique railway tracks in the World. It has also been recorded in the Guinness book of the World Records as “ The greatest narrow gauge engineering in India”. Railway chronicles show it as the most surveyed project. It is said that a correspondent of Delhi Gazette had first sketched this railway line sometime in November, 1847, almost half a century before it was actually constructed. The project was revived in 1885 but nothing came of it. Another project report prepared during 1887 also failed to commence the construction of the route. Finally, a survey of the train in 1895 paved way for signing the construction contract on June , 1898. |
|
| Though the work on Kalka - Shimla route was completed on November 2nd, 1903 yet it was opened for the general public only on January 1st, 1906. It is a living tribute to the Engineers who dared to bore 107 tunnels, of which 103 are still in use. The longest tunnel at Barog traversed in 3 minutes by the toy trains also has an interesting story behind it. This station is named after Engineer Barog who sacrificed his life here. Just 1 Km. off the station, lies a forlorn tunnel and the grave of this Engineer, who tried to construct this tunnel but failed to align both sides. The wastage of the huge amount of the public money forced him to embrace death. Had the tunnel been aligned properly, it would have been the longest railway tunnel in the World and would have not been running through Solan and Salogra. Besides the Barog Tunnel, other three big tunnels on the route are Kothi (2,276 Ft.), Taradevi (1,615 Ft.) and tunnel no. 103 (1,135 Ft.). |
|
Another important aspect of this trek is its age - old communication system which are still in vogue. The telephones being used by the stations are block phones and the control phone system; the former establish links between two stations while the latter keeps in touch with other important stations. The lanterns which were used to stop and give green signals to the trains during the British regime, are to date in operation.
|
|
| The Present Scenario |
|
The Kalka – Shimla track spins like a silvery thread across beautiful terrain with tunnels and high bridges and connects Kalka at an altitude of 2000 Ft. with Shimla at 7000 Ft. The entire section is built as a rising gradient through the Shivalik ranges. The first train was flagged off on 9th November, 1903 and later, in 1924, luxurious rail cars were into operations.
|
|
| |
| |
