A Motor Trek Through The Himalayas And A Toy Train Ride Back To Delhi

We spent a whole day driving through the Himalayan mountain foothills to Shimla the largest and “queen” of India’s hill stations (another “pray for your life” van ride). This charming city built on the tops of seven hills is an architectural wonder. Set at an elevation of 7,260 ft, Shimla was the summer capital of the British Administration from 1864 to 1939. The British (Raj) would spend six months at Shimla and governed approximately one-fifth of the world population.

I just couldn’t even imagine how all the excavating and building was accomplished:Christ Church, a lovely Anglican cathedral is located on the pedestrian street that runs along the top of one hill:

The British built a fabulous headquarters on the top of another Shimla hill. It is open to the public. The grounds are lovely with views of the valleys and surrounding mountains:There are monkeys pretty much everywhere–they will steal your glasses, water bottles and any foodstuffs. They peak in the windows:

The cows are everywhere also. They love walking down the middle of the street or laying down and taking a nap wherever they want:

After a couple of nights in Shimla, we headed back to Delhi. The first leg of our journey was a five hour ride on The Toy Train. This was completed in 1903 to connect Shimla (northern border) to the rest of India. The Toy Train, named so because it is a small train on a small track is a hard working train that goes through 105 tunnels, 86 bridges and some of the prettiest landscape in India:

The interior is pretty much original and low on comfort. If you get the chance to ride this train is a memory maker. These are two of my travel buddies (Yas and Rach) just “chilling out”:

We are in Delhi for one night and then move on to Agra to see the magnificent Taj Mahal.