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Kasauli - this small hill station seems to live in a time warp that belongs to the 19th century. 77 km from Shimla and 35 km from Kalka, at 1,927 meters, Kasauli is a quaint little town with a strong Colonial influence.
Its main attraction is its overall cleanliness and its accessibility. The narrow winding roads that wind their way up and down the hillside offer some magnificent sights.
The upper and lower malls run through Kasauli's length and one can enjoy long walks on it. A mixed forest of pine, oak and huge horse chestnut encircles the town. Traffic is restricted on these roads, which is the reason why Kasauli is one of the quietest hill stations in India and it's this quietness that makes a serene, soothing weekend possible.
Its colonial ambience is reinforced by stretch of cobbled road, quaint shops, gabled houses with charming facades and scores of neat little gardens and orchards.
The highest point at Kasauli, known as Manki Point (3.5 km from the center), is now with the Indian AirForce. If you climb rather steep steps, you can visit the temple of Lord Hanuman (the top of the hill is foot shaped and legend has it that Lord Hanuman touched the hill with his foot hence the shape), and moreover Manki Point commands a panoramic view of the hills, valleys and plains below, with the meandering Sutlej and, far away, the city of Chandigarh.
An ancient Church that is also worth seeing is located on the Upper Mall Road. A little above this place, there is a Central Research Institute established in 1906 by Dr. Sample. It prepares vaccines for treatment of typhoid, cholera, smallpox, and snakebite and is only of its kind in Asia. Close to this there is Pasteur Institute founded in 1900 to produce ant rabies vaccine against dog-bite.
All in all, Kasauli is a lovely little town and especially charming when you're a nature lover.
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From a nondescript village, at an altitude of 2,130 meters, Shimla (population 123,000) has grown into one of the most royal and posh hill stations of the country. It still holds the charm of a typical hill station with the mall and the evening walks and its laid back attitude. Especially the winter snowfall and the need to run from the summer heat of the plains attracts a lot of tourists each year to this hill station.
Shimla is located on the slopes of lower Himalayas. The altitude of Shimla from the sea level makes it a very cool place. The temperature range is not very high and the maximum temperature rarely crosses 25 degrees during summers.
Shimla in itself is a very small town and is very well maintained and neatly kept. In the central part of the town is the Mall, which almost divides the city in two parts. In the center of the city is the famous Scandal Point that was immortalized by Rudyard Kipling. From Christ Church to the Scandal Point is the Ridge area. The Ridge is a place where all tourists flock and spend time. You must spend at least a couple of hours in a day there, basking in the lazy sun. You won't be alone though, for the Ridge is perpetually swarming with the young and the old…
The Mall is packed with big showrooms, while the Lakkar Bazaar is flooded with wooden knick-knacks and handicrafts. The Tibetan market, right down the lane from Scandal Point, has some very 'genuinely' fake imported goods, like jeans, T-shirts, bags, shoes, jackets et al.
Shimla, that is on the one hand, a very popular hill station where it's happening but on the other hand, a hill station that has preserved its unique charm.
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Delhi | K-97 | Office | Agra | Himachal Pradesh | Jaipur
Rishikesh and the River Ganga | Jodhpur | Kasauli and Shimla
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