Shimla

Shimla, the state capital, was once the summer capital of British India, and its Victorian-era architecture — timber-framed buildings, church spires and the sweeping Mall Road promenade — still defines the town's character. Set across a ridge at over 2,200 metres, Shimla offers sweeping Himalayan views from numerous points along its winding streets, along with a genuinely walkable colonial-era core rare among Indian hill towns.

The Ridge and Mall Road remain the social heart of the town, closed to private vehicles and filled with cafes, shops and evening strollers, while the historic toy train from Kalka — a UNESCO World Heritage narrow-gauge railway — adds a scenic, old-fashioned approach for those arriving from the plains rather than by road.

Developed by the British from the 1830s as a hot-season retreat, Shimla formally became the summer capital of British India in 1864, a status it held until independence, shaping much of the town's surviving colonial architecture.

Shimla airport has limited connections; the Kalka-Shimla toy train or a roughly 3-hour drive from Chandigarh are the more common approaches.