A memorable trip to Shimla from Delhi

Last year me and my husband planned a trip to Shimla to get away from the hot summer of Delhi and chill out for some days. We looked for the itineraries and thus decided to go by train as it is both reasonable and comfortable. We did all the bookings of train tickets and hotel in advance according to our plan of staying in Shimla for 2 days. We booked train tickets from Delhi to Kalka railway station, and from Kalka to Shimla as well from IRCTC, as we have decided to go by TOY train. Toy train starts from Kalka and take around 5-6 hours to reach Shimla. We have heard a lot about this thrilling and wonderful train route so we wanted to experience it by ourselves.

We reached Kalka around 9 pm and stayed for a night at Lotus Grand Hotel which was very near to Kalka railway station and good enough for two people at a very reasonable price around 1500.

Next day early morning we reached Kalka station and boarded our train, which was Shivalik Deluxe (Toy Train) to Shimla. The scenic landscapes that engulfs the journey will be glued to our memory for a long time. Most exciting part of this train route is that it passes through 102 tunnels. There are also 864 bridges which comes on this trail. Overall it was a wonderful experience.

We reached Shimla around 12 pm. From there we took a cab to the hotel, which we have already booked for our two days stay at Shimla. It took around half an hour from the station to reach there. This hotel was at very prime location, that is very near to The ridge. Once we reached the hotel, we freshen up and ordered some food as we were very hungry by then. After that we slept for few hours before going out, as we were very exhausted by the train journey and we wanted to get some rest so that we can start our visit to shimla refreshingly.

After getting full rest we woke up and got ready for going to visit the ridge. It was at walking distance from our hotel.

The ridge is a large open space, located in the center of Shimla. It is situated along the Mall Road, which is the famous shopping center of Shimla. Most major places of Shimla are connected through the Ridge.

Christ Church, which is the second oldest church in North India. It was looking beautiful in the night lights. The church is open to visitors between 10:30 am to 5:30 pm, it was closed by the time we were there, so we decided to go inside the church next day.

Every corner of the ridge is glowing with light, the crowd and all the other activities going on there makes it a must to visit place at night. After enjoying and taking some photographs we came back to hotel. After having dinner we slept so that next day early morning we can start our trip.

Next day morning we woke up and got ready. We had booked a cab at a very reasonable price of 1500 rs for a whole day trip to some of the famous places which includes Green Valley, Hip hip hurray fun park, Kufri and Jakhoo temple.

First of all we went to Green valley. It is an ideal spot to capture some fantastic pictures, we also took some of photographs.

The Green Valley is beautiful and breathtaking mountain range surrounded by hills on all sides that are covered with thick forests of pine and deodar. Because of its beauty and grace, has also featured in numerous Bollywood movies.

Our next destination was, Hip Hip Hurray Fun Park. Once we reached, we booked our tickets. The entry ticket is Rs.100 only, there are package rides for Rs.700 which includes Zipline, Burma bridge crossing, valley crossing, commando net climbing, Bungee jumping.

The most amazing thing was experiencing all these activities in the lap of nature, which was very refreshing. We clicked some photographs, then we moved to our next destination Kufri.

Kufri is a small hill station located 20 km from Shimla. The area around Kufri can be explored on horseback, which cost around 500 per person but at the same time you can bargain. Kufri is quite a retreat from december to february to enjoy snowfall. While there is not much to see in Kufri as such, but the panoramic views and temples after a bit of trekking are worth the time. Also, Kufri is a relatively crowded and popular attraction as almost everyone visiting Shimla comes here.

Mahasu Peak, the journey to the highest peak in Kufri can only be covered on horse back, considering the path is very muddy and almost impossible to walk by foot. We hired two horses for 1000 rs and enjoyed the panoramic view from the top. Also visited Nag Temple, which is on top of the peak.

We got some clicks on the back of the Yak with a rifle and hat for 50 bucks. Then we moves to our next destination Jakhoo temple.

The Jakhoo Temple is an ancient temple dedicated to Lord Hanuman. It is believed that this temple holds the footprints of Lord Hanuman. It is the highest peak in Shimla and gives shelter to countless playful monkeys. You can either hire a taxi, get a pony or walk, a rope/cable car is also available to reach the top.

We were in taxi that is permitted almost to the top but there are some steps that we climbed to reach the temple. Several monkeys roam happily and freely on the peak and it is recommended that you remove your eye wear, bags etc that could be snatched by these monkeys. We offered our prayers to the God.

Johnnie's Wax Museum is situated on mall road shimla. Wax statues are good and nicely displayed. But 250 rs per person for 17 statues is a bit high price. They also have customized candle shop where they get you candle of different poses of your own hand. We enjoyed our time there by clicking many photographs with all wax statues in different poses.

State Library is next to Christ Church in Ridge. It has different Summer and Winter timings. The timings for April to September are 11am to 6pm. October to March timings 11am to 5pm. The interiors are made primarily of wood. It has good collection of books but not very exhaustive.

Lakkar Bazaar located past Mall Road, Lakkar Bazaar is a treasure of antique items and wooden works. The wooden toys made here are quite famous and so are the custom made wooden items. You can pick up a lot of souvenirs from this bazaar. The beautifully carved walking sticks, available at this bazaar, are especially famous.

We also got ourselves clicked in traditional clothes near the valley view at Rs60 for a 4x6 photo.