My Trip To Simla, The Summer Capital Of India (in 2006)

Last year (2006), when I went back to India (from Malaysia), I visited Simla.

Simla, is a city in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It is also the capital of the state and a municipality within the Simla district. In 1864, Simla was declared the summer capital of the east while British Ruling in India. A popular tourist destination, Simla is often referred to as the "Queen of Hills" (a term coined by the British). Located in north-west Himalayas at an altitude of 2,130 metres (6,988 ft), the city of Simla, draped in forests of pine, rhododendron, and oak, experiences pleasant summers and cold, snowy winters. The city is famous for its buildings styled in tudorbethan and neo-gothic architecture reminiscent of the colonial era. Simla is connected to the city of Kalka by one of the longest narrow gauge railway routes in India. Simla is approximately 115 km (71.4 miles) from Chandigarh, the nearest major city, and 365 km (226.8 miles) from New Delhi, the national capital. The city is named after the goddess Shyamala Devi, an incarnation of the Hindu Goddess Kali.

Our spiritual organization ( SRF/YSS) has built a beautiful spiritual retreat centre. The retreat building is about 10km away from Simla town. It is built on the slope of the hill. I really wonder how could they possibly built such a beatiful architecture on the sloppy hill. Indeed great! The retreat has about 16 rooms. The rooms are built with pine wood. The frgarance of the pine wood so nice that I used to sleep like a pine wood log. :) The retreat is taken care by a young devotee. He is a good cook. We enjoyed our meals everyday while enjoying the nature and meditations in the quite place far far away from the daily chaos of life. We were there for about 5 days.

The pictures below give you some idea about the place. I wish to go there again. Perhaps in near future. :)