Shimla

The UNESCO narrow-gauge railway winds through 102 tunnels and 864 bridges from the plains to Shimla — a 5-hour journey through pine forests and Himalayan foothills.

The open promenade at 2,200m with panoramic Himalayan views — locals gather at sunset and the backdrop is extraordinary on clear days.

The Elizabethan-style palace where the British Viceroy summered — now an Indian Institute of Advanced Study. The most impressive colonial building in the Indian Himalayas.

13km from Shimla, Kufri has slopes for beginners and intermediates with Himalayan panoramas. Equipment rental available. Season is December–February.

Shimla district produces 25% of India's apples — the orchards on the approaches to Shimla turn red in late summer. Many farmstays let you pick during the harvest.

The 2,455m summit above The Ridge is topped by a 33-metre Hanuman statue and an ancient temple where macaque monkeys have held resident rights since the Ramayana era — they will absolutely steal your sunglasses. Trek 30 minutes through rhododendrons or take the ropeway; the 360-degree Himalayan panorama at the top includes the full arc of the Greater Himalayas on clear days.

Built in 1857, this is the second-oldest church in North India and the most photographed building in Shimla — its Neo-Gothic stone facade towers over The Ridge in a way that still looks faintly astonishing at 2,200 metres above sea level. The stained-glass windows depicting Faith, Hope, Charity, Fortitude, Patience, and Humility were added in 1873, and the evening light through them is extraordinary.

The 1974 museum on Chaura Maidan houses the finest collection of Pahari miniature paintings outside a private royal collection — intricate Kangra Valley scenes of Krishna and the gopis alongside Mughal court miniatures, tribal jewellery, and temple bronzes spanning 1,500 years of mountain culture. Entry costs ₹20 and the staff will unlock specific galleries on request.

A 7km forest trail from the Glen drops through cedar and oak woodland to a 67-metre waterfall that crashes into a canyon so deep the spray rises 30 metres upward — most visitors see only the top, but the trail continues to the pool below where the volume of water is properly dramatic. Best in the post-monsoon months of September and October.

The hill station Maharaja Bhupinder Singh built in 1891 after being banished from Shimla by the Viceroy sits 45 minutes away and contains the world's highest cricket pitch (2,444m, built 1893), a century-old palace now a heritage hotel, and a wildlife sanctuary where leopards are the top predator. Far quieter than Shimla and unchanged since the Raj.