SHIMLA

Here is a list of places you can see around Shimla,

Kufri
Green Valley
Wild Flower Hall
Helly Pad
Bhimkali Temple
Mahasu Peak,
Apple Garden (Kufri)
Fagu Valley(Kufri)
Maheshwari Temple
Indira Tourist Park
Chini bunglow
Mashobra
Naldehra
Kaiyari Ghat
Theog
Matiana
Narkanda
Hatu Peak
Vice Legal Lodge
Prospect Hill
Bird Park
Sankat Mochan Temple
Kamna Devi Temple,
Mini Vaishnoo Devi Gufa
Advance Study
Kamna Devi Temple
Jhaku mandir
Christ church
Mall road

 

 

How much to pay to taxi from Shimla To Kufri? 

If you are staying at a hotel in Shimla, the hotelier will provide you services for the travel. Do make sure that you are not getting your cab arranged by them. The best way is to get a taxi from Taxi stand right at the footstep of Lift. This is union taxi stand (Distance: approx 3 kms from old bus stand). Here the rates are genuine.

Cheat Twist: Usually the hotelier will offer you price of 1200 for whole day trip to Kufri. This is way too high as the taxi will not show you any tourist spot.It will just take you to the foothills of Kufri and from there you will have to go horse back to travel the tourist spots. They will try to lure you with false commitments about their services and all. Do not trust them.

Money Saving Tip:I will suggest just try fetching the cheapest cab to reach the place as the cab driver is not going to show you any tourist attractions.

 In the way just ask the cab driver to stop at green valley view point. Here you will find people standing to dress you up and get your snaps done. The cost that they offer is Rs 65 per photo.

Himachali Dress at Green Valley

The Cheat Twist: The cost of one photo is Rs 65 but once you dress up you will be informed that minimum 5 photos will be clicked. This comes out to be 65 x 5 = Rs 325. If you will bargain they will settle up for 3 pics

Money Saving Tip. Use your own camera and pay for the dress only..They will charge you Rs 50 -100 only.



Must Try: A pic on the yak.
You can even get yourself clicked with a yak at green valley view spot.The guy may ask you anything between 25 to 50 rupees but , the actual bargain price is Rs 20 for unlimited pics from your own camera.

The Jhaku Mandir, Shimla. 

Jhaku temple is around 20 minutes distance by car from Mall Road.It is know for its tallest and largest idol of Hanuman ji. There are 3 options available to go there..
1. You can walk and it will take you around 45 minutes. Make sure you know the exact way if you opt for this option
2. Take a taxi. It will be expensive affair to hire a taxi. The taxi will charge you somewhere between 100 to 200 rupees. Opt this option if you are a big group or if you have small children and elderly people are with you. The taxi driver will wait at parking spot and then will bring you back.
3. The cheapest and fastest mode to reach the temple is to take government run cab. The cab driver will charge Rs 10 per person.The cab keeps coming at an interval of 20 to 30 minutes, depending upon number of cabs running in a particular day. The only problem is that you need to struggle to get inside the cab as there are many people striving for it and while coming back you need to wait for the cab to arrive at the temple. To get this cab you need to go on the lane on the right side of the church. While you wait for the cab you can grab some tasty snacks at Ritz cafe.

Make sure you are not wearing any goggles or specs when you reach the temple area as there is fear of monkeys snatching it .In worst case scenario, if you become the victim to the monkeys, you can bargain your belonging with the packet of prasadam.Walk up the stairs to the temple empty handed (without anything in your hand and hands outside the your pocket)to avoid encounter with the monkeys.

Where to stay The Mall Road or the Circular Road, Shimla. 

The best place to stay in Shimla is probably the Mall Road, Shimla. However you can try other options as well. We will tell you the benefits of staying at the mall and the benefits of not staying at the mall as well. The good thing about mall is that you can roam around Mall road, Church, Scandal Point etc easily. Other good thing about staying at mall is that you are staying at higher level and so scenic beauty is more beautiful. There are no cars allowed on mall so of course its clutter free.

But what if you do not get to stay at The Mall. Actually no big deal, rather it has got it's own set of benefits. First and foremost you do not have to abide by lift timings to get to your hotel. If you are not aware then let me tell you that lift is the easiest option to reach the Mall Road. It is run by government and takes just Rs 8/- per person one way. The lift timing is around 9 in the morning  till 9 in evening. Now if you are travelling by Volvo or Bus, most probably you will land Shimla Bus Stop at around 7 in the morning or so. At this time it is hard to get good restaurants open near old bus stand. Now if you have booked your hotel at the mall, you will have to walk up to the mall carrying your luggage or else you will need to take a taxi worth 100 to 200 rupees(which is actually not worth) , you can even hire a coolie who will charge you around Rs 100. The option that we stick to was to wait at the restaurant (Hotel Crystal Palace) near the lift and reached mall road when the lift started. Another benefit of staying at the lower level is that you can grab a cab for anywhere right from the union taxi stand near the lift.

Both the options are good and it's upto you to decide which one to choose.the rates of hotels is almost same at both the places.