Shimla local Site Seeing Tour Package

Shimla Local Site Seeing Tour - Highlights (Customizable according to Interests)

• Cost only Rs 3000/- or US$ 40 Per Person ( Min, 2 Pax),
• Group Price (4-5 Pax) - Rs 1599/- or US$ 25 Per Person.
• Tour Starts at 9:00 AM Sharp & Concludes at 05:00 PM ( 8 Hours)
• Pick up & Drop from your Hotel. Or Start from Mall Road/Ridge - Shimla
• Guided Tour ( English Speaking Licensed Guide)
• Cover All Major Shimla City Attractions
• Lunch at a good Restaurant at Mall ( New Plaza Restaurant/Asiana Restaurant or Similar)
• Coffee with Snacks at the end of the Tour ( Indian Coffee House or Cafe Sol or Similar)
• Social Bonding with Shimla Mall Road Locals in School
• Car Included for Vicereagal Lodge, and Other Distant Attractions
• Assistance in shopping in Shimla Mall Road Shopping , Books, & Other Shopping ( Guidance for Authentic Shops in Shimla at Best Prices) 

Walking Tour Of Shimla City - 8 hours ( Lunch + Car Included as standby)

This Tour Covers full day walking tour of Shimla Attractions and full day Starting from Ridge, Visit Jakhu Temple, Ridge Attractions like Christ Church, Other Historical Buildings, follwoing the mall Road attractions and Proceeding to Viceregal Lodge, Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, followed by shopping in Mall. List of some of the Points covered are as below :-

• Ridge
• Christ Church
• Viceregal Lodge
• Mall Road
• Visit to Scandal Point
• Visit to Maria Brothers Antiquarian Bookshop
• Dak Bungalow of Shimla 
• Shimla Museum
• Visiting Souvenir of Electricity coming To Shimla
• Swiss Bavarian Architecture in Shimla
• Chinese Shoemakers of Mall Road
• Gothic, Elizabethian, Tudor, Scottish and Swiss Bavarian architecture in Shimla
• Visit Shimla Telegraph office
• Visit Gaiety Theatre
• Visit the Oberoi Cecil at Chaura Maidan
• Indian Institute of Advanced Study
• Shimla Indian Coffee house

Tour Starts from the Ridge & Terminates also at Ridge.

The Ridge :  0 Kms

The Ridge is the large open space in the heart of town presents excellent view of the mountain ranges. Shimla's landmarks - the Neo-Gothic structure of Christ Church and the new - Tudor Library building is worth seeing. 

Christ Church & St. Michael's Cathedral : 

Built in 1846-1857, Christ Church is the second oldest church of Northern India. The Church overlooks the ridge and is one of the landmarks of Shimla.You can discreetly have a look inside the church, or attend English-language services every Sunday during the tourist season . Also Visit The town's other important churches are St. Michael's Cathedral and Roman Catholic Cathedral, which is just off the Mall 

The Mall Site Seeings : 1-2 Kms

Most of Shimla's landmarks are located here. The Mall further joins the Ridge at the ‘Scandal Point' , here a statue of the nationalist leader Lala Lajpat Rai has been erected. This is the main shopping centre of Shimla with restaurants. This is especially pleasant in the evenings when the views and lights are wonderful. The Gaiety Theatre, which is a reproduction of an old British theatre is a center of cultural activities. A passenger lift of HPTDC can be taken from the Cart Road and the Mall. Lakkar Bazaar adjacent to the Ridge is popular for its wood-crafts and souvenirs. 

Jakhu Temple: 45 Minutes from Ridge  

Dedicated to Lord Hanuman, this temple is at an altitude of 8048 feet above sea level  near the highest point of Shimla ridge. It offers a panoramic view over the surrounding valleys , out to the snowcapped peaks, and over the town itself. The temple is a 45-minute walk from the Ridge, one can also hire pony or taxi to visit temple.. Jakhu is a vantage point for witnessing the changing skyline as the sun rises or sets. 

Kali Bari temple - 1 Kms

The temple is situated near to The Mall and its 5 minutes walk from The Mall.The temple is dedicated to Shyamala Devi (Shimla is named after this goddess), an incarnation of Goddess Kali. Temple faces heavy rush during Diwali and Durga Puja as many Bengalis visit this temple.

Himachal State Museum & Library : 2.5 Kms

The museum is located 2.5-km west of the scandal point and opens daily except on Mondays and public holidays. It has got a good collection of ancient historical sculptures, paintings, coins, photos and other items from all over the state as well as outside it. It has also got a library, which houses many historical books and manuscripts. Visiting hours are from 10 AM to 5 PM and it is closed on Monday and gazetted holidays.

Viceregal Lodge & Botanical Gardens : 2 Kms

On the Observatory Hills is located Viceregal Lodge, which is also known as "Rashtrapati Niwas". This magnificent building was the residence of the British Viceroy Lord Dufferin. This lodge was completed in 1888 and it is said that every brick for the building was carried by mules. This is a six-story building and is surrounded by well-maintained gardens and lawns. The lodge has now been converted into Institute of Advanced Study. 

Indian Institute Of Advanced Studies :  

Housed in the former Viceregal Lodge, it was built in 1888. The style of architecture is English Renaissance, the masonry of the walling is light blue limestone and the wrought stonework is done in sandstone in a beautiful light gray tint. It has magnificent lawns.  The entry in the institute is by ticket and only on Sundays the grounds are open for the public. 

Glenn : 4 Kms 

Glen Shimla Is about 4 km walk from the Ridge through dense Forests, a sprightly stream flows through the Glen forests at an altitude of 1830 meters.It is a secluded picnic spot.

Annandale :

Beyond the Glen is Annandale, another picnic spot. It is covered with deodar forests and was once the playgrounds of Shimla, where racing, polo and cricket entertained the Britishers.Surrounded by deodar trees, this glade has an ancient temple on the edge. 

Back to Ridge for Shopping

The best shopping area in Shimla are The Mall, Lower Bazaar , Tibetan Bazaar and Lakkar Bazaar. There is an enormous range of goods that Shimla has to offer. This includes handicrafts, wood, and metalwork, shawls, pullovers, local tweeds, Wooden articles and Toys, caps, Tibetan carpets and pickles, jams and squashes. The Lakkar Bazaar is famous for its Wooden Crafts and Articles can be purchased from this area. There are many Emporium's and Showrooms on the Mall from where one can buy Himachali Shawls, Pahari Cap, Pullovers handicrafts and toys etc. The day today items can be purchased from the shops in the lower bazaar. The Tibetan Market is famous for imported goods mainly electronics goods and fancy items

Lunch Options

New Plaza Restaurant ( Great Meat Dishes, Chicken tikka, Chicken mughlai, Butter Chicken etc)
or
Ashiana Restaurant ( Great Vegetarian or Non-Veg options including Tandoori Chicken, Veg korma, Rogan Josh)

Coffee Options in evening

• ICH
• Cafe Sole

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More Details of Shimla Walk tour

Scandal point

• History of Shimla cannot be completed without mentioning the name of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh. The maharajah Bhupinder singh of Patiala was a frequent visitor to Shimla the summer capital of the Raj. It is rumored that, in shimla in 1892 he met an English girl there who eloped with him. This infuriated Lord Kitchener, the commander in cheif of Indian army based in shimla and Lord Kitchener completly banned Bhupinder Singh from entering Shimla. Maharajah shifted residence with his new found love to his palace at Chail, A near by hill station. The girl was probably the daughter of a high ranking British officer, though it is also rumored that  she was relative of Lord Kitchener.

Maria Brothers Antiquarian Bookshop Visit

• Maria Brothers Antiquarian Bookshop in Shimla has the rare, first edition (1858) of Complete Works of Shakespeare, illustrated by John Gilbert. (Inset) Illustrations for Romeo and Juliet.
• The owner Rajiv Sud has really wonders on his dusty bookshelves. 
• 16 volumes of the first edition (1880) of Arabian Nights (Burton Club, London). It costs, um, Rs 1 lakh.
• The bookshop also has the first edition (1858) of Complete Works of Shakespeare, illustrated by John Gilbert. This copy has been engraved by Brothers Dalziel, who also cut the illustrations for Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass.

Dak Bungalow of Shimla 

• The first dak bungalows were built in Shimla in the 1820s, much before it was declared summer capital by Viceroy John Lawrence in 1864.

Shimla Museum

• Famous for keeping records for Numerous large-scale political decisions were taken In Shimla 
• Discussions which led to the Partition, 
• The shimla Manifesto, declaring the first war with Afghanistan was signed here, 
• The historic 1972 Shimla Agreement 
• 1914 conference which resulted in the drawing of the McMahon Line.
• Shimla that the British government ran the country for eight months in a year. A little village in Himalayas — neither Calcutta, nor Delhi — controlled one-fifth of the world during British Raj

Shimla Museum

Visiting Souvenir of Electricity coming To Shimla

• An old street lamp made of cast iron having the coat of arms of King George’s V, who was king when Shimla first got electricity in 1913. Now, it lays bare because the emblem was unscrewed after Independence.

Chinese Shoemakers of Mall Road

• This one km-long stretch is lined with Chinese shoemakers (one claims that yesteryear actors, such as Kamini Kaushal, Moushumi Chatterjee and Hema Malini, were regulars. 

Visit Shimla Telegraph office

• Mystery  regarding alf-stone-half-red brick building of Telegraph Office. now occupied by BSNL. This whimsical building in Shimla had Asia’s first automatic telephone exchange and a capacity for 2,000 lines. It is an earthquake-proof, majestic structure, made of Ashlar-worked stone. You could see that the stone is finely cut, to a size that was pre-decided. However, in 1922, money was scarce and that is what forced the architect, John Begg, to continue building the top half structure in red brick.

A Nostalgic Tour to Gaiety Theatre 

• Gaiety Theatre built in 1887, takes you through the restored Victorian Gothic building built by Henry Irwin in 1887. The acoustics ensured that microphones were not missed, and the walls are covered with golden peppier Mache. The first English play to be staged here in 1887, Time Will Tell, starred Kipling.

Gaiety Theatre Shimla

Visit the Oberoi Cecil at Chaura Maidan

• The Oberoi Cecil at Chaura Maidan, with barely-suppressed eagerness to rush to my room and jot  things down. structure was built in 1883. Then called the Tendril Cottage, it was a single-storey structure and was frequented by Kipling. Today, the hotel has retained its vintage charm and offers an array of modern services and experiencesBut I stop outside the hotel and remember — in an old photograph of Shimla, one taken during the British Raj, the hotel was in equally an impressive condition, complete with the servant quarters across the narrow street.

Indian Institute of Advanced Study

• To turn back time, visit The Indian Institute of Advanced Study, also known as the Viceregal Lodge. It sits atop the Observatory Hill and houses an eclectic library and a café. Its driveway is lined with rhododendron and oak trees.The building was designed by Henry Irwin between 1884 and 1888, and used Burma teak.Building has graping faces and teak has not been polished in 125 years. The First and second floors of the building which has the erstwhile Viceroy and Vicereine chambers.haunting yet grand rooms of the Viceroy and the Vicereine. 

• Shimla is the last surviving urban forest apart from Helsinki, the capital of Finland. Pheasants can be found just a mile from where I am, Bhasin tells me, and winter hyenas would love an invitation anytime.