|
At the eastern end of the ridge the road is much wider and could be
almost classed as a park or plaza where Indians and visitors alike come
to stroll and admire the fantastic views. This section of The Ridge
offers uninterrupted views of either the snow capped foothills of the
Himalayas (the Sivalik Hills range) to the north or the lush green
valley's heading south.
Located in this area of the Ridge are two fine examples of colonial
British Raj architecture, the neo-gothic Church of Christ and the mock
Tudor state Public library. Just above this end of the Ridge is a
viewing platform which provides photographers a great panoramic view of Shimla.
As the Ridge heads west the wide open space narrows as it passes the
Town Hall of Shimla (Municipal Corporation). The traffic free road
continues for approximately another 200 meters slightly downhill with
both sides flanked by mock Tudor designed buildings which provide much
of the unique charm of Shimla.
The Ridge ends at a smaller square known locally as Scandal Point
and here is the junction of Shimla's other main road, Mall Road. Mall
Road which runs parallel to the Ridge but along a lower terrace on the
southern side of the hill. The most significant structure of scandal
point is the colonial post office which still today is the states
central office.
Before the English moved their administrative centre to Shimla the ridge
used to be the main housing and market district of the small town. The
area which the Ridge now covers was referred to as the Upper Bazaar and
provided the only suitable flat surface to construct upon.
The English had ideas for their summer capital and their plans to
transform the area where great aided by a major fire which destroyed
most of this old town in 1876. The reconstruction program was primarily
designed for the English settlers and soon the area soon became
exclusively for Europeans with the native Indians forced to leave on
either side of the hill.
The Ridge of Shimla is unique within India as there is not a car,
rickshaw or bus insight and this removal of traffic adds to the calm
atmosphere of the state capital. The average height of the ridge is
2230m and provides spectacular views looking both North towards the
Himalayas and South towards plains. As the ridge is Shimla's largest
flat open area of the city's festivals occur here, the most popular
festival being the summer festival which is confusingly held in May.
Getting There
Shimla is
well-connected by road. National Highway 22 (NH 22) connects Shimla to the
nearest big city of Chandigarh. Shimla is connected by road to all the major
towns. HRTC (Himachal Road Transport Corporation) runs 24 daily bus services
between Delhi to Shimla (including 7 luxury Volvo services). Buses from
Chandigarh to Shimla are available round the clock.
The Kalka
Railway Station and the Chandigarh Railway Station are the two closest broad
gauge railway stations from Shimla, the Kalka Railway Station being the
closest one. Both the railway stations connect all the major cities in
India.
Nearest airport to Shimla is
Shimla Airport,
located at Jabarhatti, around 22 km to Shimla. The airport currently not
provided any scheduled flight. The nearest domestic /
international Airport from Shimla is
Chandigarh International
Airport at
Chandigarh, roughly 3 hours 30 min (113.8 km) drive via NH5 from
Shimla. It is well
connected with major cities like Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi and
Mumbai etc.
|
