Travel: India
Faded grandeur and pine forests feature on this incredible journey into India’s Himalayan foothills
Our host stared wistfully out of the open train window as it chugged slowly uphill. ‘I used to travel on this train when I was a child. We’d pack a wicker hamper and have a huge picnic onboard. It is one of my happiest memories.’
Fifty years on, Raaja Bhasin is guiding our group on part of our Indian odyssey. He’s an accomplished historian and an expert on the hill station, Shimla – his birthplace and our destination – due north of Delhi. Raaja was instrumental in preserving the so-called Toy Train’s heritage. This year, the narrow-gauge railway celebrates its 10th year as a UNESCO site, 120 years since the track was built by British engineers.
Taking a fast train from Delhi, we join at Kalka. It’s a long journey ahead of around six hours, but our little train will be climbing up to 7,200ft, trundling over 800 bridges and travelling through 100 tunnels; it’s a feat of Victorian genius and grit.
Northern exposure
With a few warning toots, we set off at a sedate pace. The seatbacks are bolt upright and despite all the windows being open, the carriage is too warm. Delhi is hot stuff in summer and the colonial Brits couldn’t cope, so Shimla became their summer capital in 1864. Road travel was difficult; so, 20 years later, they built the railway.
Scruffy cityscapes give way to green fields and trees and we build up speed. A welcome breeze
cools us and after a short while, we make the first of 10 stops. Surprisingly, half the carriage gets out. Small disposable cups of chai (spicy milky tea) are quickly bought from a station stall and passengers stretch their legs. It’s only a short stop, so with a quick toot, we move off slowly, some stragglers having to run to catch up with the train and jump back on.
We begin to climb away from the rice and maize fields through steep wooded hills. Raaja points out a brick bridge resembling a Roman aqueduct. The longest tunnel is just before Barog where we make another stop. The station is pretty, with blue-andwhite painted wooden buildings – but it has a tragic history. An engineer, whom the station is named after, was tasked with building the tunnel. He started at either end of the mountain but he got his measurements wrong and the tunnels didn’t meet. He was fined one rupee. Such was his shame, that he took his own life.
Still climbing, we now travel through dense rhododendron forests with outbreaks of orange and pink lantana flowers. Oak, birch and deodar cedar, the latter is native to this region, occasionally make an appearance, backed by sweeping mountain views. At our penultimate stop an enterprising vendor jumps on and sells bowls of fragrant fresh chaat (a savoury snack) that he mixes deftly to order.
Upcountry Brits
We arrive at Shimla at dusk, and balancing our suitcases aloft on their heads, the railway porters take them to the waiting taxis. The air feels pure and the temperature is pleasantly warm. After the madness of Delhi, it’s blissfully quiet, too.
From just 30 dwellings in the 1800s, it’s now called home by 250,000 people and it’s a popular destination for Indian holidaymakers. Much of the architecture dates back to the British Raj period and our hotel is as historic as the town itself. The handsome Oberoi Cecil was built in 1884 and was the first one acquired by the luxury Indian hotel chain, with Rudyard Kipling one of its early guests.
Street workers are sweeping the roads with besom brooms when we start our guided tour the next morning. It’s so pleasant to ‘promenade’ along a clean traffic-free street, with its multitude of interesting shops to entice: food shops, cafes with their tempting aromas of tandoori breads and spicy meats, colourful handicraft and souvenir stalls as well as clothes and shoe stores.
Along the road are gaps between the buildings providing views to the south across the steep-sided valleys. Halfway is a meeting place: Scandal Point is named after a maharajah who eloped with a British woman in the 19th century. We visit the Gaiety Theatre, designed by Henry Irwin, that could have been transported from England. A 10-minute walk uphill is the simple Kali Bari Temple, used for prayer since the mid 19th century. We enjoy a North Indian buffet lunch in one of the oldest hotels in Shimla – Clarkes. Out of town, it’s a short taxi ride to the Viceregal Lodge. It’s hardly a lodge, but an imposing castle-like building, dating from 1888. We marvel at the extravagant entertaining that must have taken place there. Back outside, in the 21st century, I realise I’m caught in some kind of cute historic time capsule. I can understand Raaja’s genuine enthusiasm for the place. Shimla’s magic is almost palpable and remains with me long after I have left.
Getting There
✤The writer’s trip to Shimla was part of a longer trip with Great Rail Journeys (GRJ). Its India Golden Triangle is a five-star rail holiday taking in the sights of this colourful country. With excursions to Delhi, Shimla and Agra – with its white marble icon the Taj Mahal – and journeys on the Shatabdi Express and Toy Train, the 13-day tour includes stays in five-star hotels. Prices from £1,995pp, departing Jan to Dec 2018. GRJ Independent can tailor holidays to the region for those wishing to travel to India on an individual basis.