Shimla by Cab: The Ridge & the Toy Train
Seven hours from Delhi to the summer capital of British India — Christ Church, Jakhoo, the UNESCO railway from Kalka, and where to escape the Mall.
Shimla is 350 km from Delhi and about seven hours by road via Ambala, Zirakpur and Kalka, with the last two hours climbing steadily through Solan. It was the summer capital of British India, which is why a Himachali hill town has a Gothic church, a Tudor-style library and a Scottish-baronial Viceregal Lodge sitting along a single ridge at 2,200 m.
The Ridge, and the walk along it
Everything in old Shimla happens on the Ridge and the Mall below it, and both are closed to vehicles — which is exactly why they are pleasant. Christ Church, built in 1857 and the second-oldest church in North India, anchors the eastern end. Scandal Point, the Gaiety Theatre and the Town Hall follow along the Mall. Above them, Jakhoo Temple sits at 2,455 m under a 108-foot Hanuman statue, twenty minutes up a steep path or a short ropeway ride; leave spectacles and food in the car, because the monkeys there are organised and unsentimental.
The toy train, and whether it is worth it
The Kalka–Shimla railway is a UNESCO World Heritage line: 96 km of narrow gauge, around a hundred tunnels and more than eight hundred bridges, climbing 1,500 m in about five hours. It is slower than the road and that is the point. The practical way to do it is one-way — take the train up from Kalka, have the cab meet you in Shimla, and drive back. Book the seat well ahead in season, since the Himalayan Queen and the Shivalik Deluxe sell out weeks in advance.
Where to go when the Mall gets busy
Kufri, 16 km out, is the standard excursion and is often more crowded than the town. Mashobra and Naldehra — the latter with a golf course laid out by Lord Curzon among deodars — are the calmer alternatives on the same road. Chail, 45 km away, has the world's highest cricket ground and a fraction of Shimla's traffic. The Viceregal Lodge, now the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, is worth the guided tour for the room where the Partition was negotiated; it closes on Mondays.
March to June and December to January are the two seasons, the first for weather and the second for snow. Avoid July to September, when the Solan stretch takes landslides. Vehicles cannot enter the Mall or Ridge at all, so you park at the Old Bus Stand or Lift area and take the historic lift up — one more reason a local driver is worth having. YantraCabs runs Delhi–Shimla as a round trip or a one-way drop if you are continuing to Manali.
