Ruffled by the lower ridges of the Shivalik Range in the south , cut through by the Pir Panjal and Dhauladhar ranges in the northwest, and dominated by the greater himalaya in the north and east, HIMACHAL PRADESH is India's most popular and easily accessible hill state . Lowland orchards,subtropical forests and maize fields peter out in the higher reaches where pines cling to the steep slopes of mountains whose inhospitable peaks soar in rocky crags and forbidding ice fields to heights of more than 6000m.
The Ridge -> Shimla busy social scene revolves around broad and breezy piazza that straddles the ridge ,

Himachal state museum -> An hour's pleasant walk down from the church on the mall , this nice little museum has a modest collection of stone statues from different places in himachal pradesh . The Indian miniatures on exhibit include pictures from the kangra school . The museum is open daily from 10am to 5 pm except Monday .

Chadwick falls -> (1586 meters) are 67 meters hirh but are only really worth visiting during the monsoon , between july and october. The falls are seven km from Shimla and reached via summer hill .

Orientation & Information -> the mall runs along a ridge which dips away westward . From the ridge there are good views of the valleys and peaks on both sides . From the ridge the streets fall away steeply with the colourful local bazaars (upper, middle, lower and a few in between ) on the southern slopes. The strets are narrow , some of the them with verandah like 'sidewalks'. The main bus terminal is in the middle of the crowded sothern slope. In winter the southern slope is warmer than the northern side.

There are several places to change money on the mall , including the UCO , Panjab National Bank and ANZ Grindlanys. Maria Brothers ,78 the mall , has many interesting old maps and books . The best place to send or receive a fax is the central telegraph office , near the GPO . It is open 24 hours.

Chail This was once the summer capital of the princely state of Patiala . Today the old palace is a luxurious hotel . Chail is 45 km by bus from Shimla via Kufri, or you can reach it via kandaghat on the Shimla to kalka road or narrow gauge railway line. Chail at an altitude of 2250 meters ,is build on three hills , one of which is topped by the temple . Chail also boasts a temple of quite another religion - cricket . Here you will find another
Religion - Cricket . Here you will find the highest cricket pitch in the world !
In the chail palace hotel there are rooms from 0000 but the maharaja & maharani suites are rs. 0000 .

Craignano -> At 2279 meters and 16 km from shimla , Cragnano with its hilltop municiple rest house, is only three Km from Mashobra . Contact the water works engineer in shimla (000-000) for booking .

Naldera -> At 2044 meters , Naldera is 23 km from Shimla and has a golf course(supposedly the oldest in the country ) and cafeteria. There's cheap accommodation at the Golf Club and the hotel Golf Gland .

Rwalsar lake -> The Rewalsar lake , Pilgrimage centre for hindus , Buddhists and Sikhs , is high up in the hills 24km south -east of mandi . There is a mountain cave refuge ner here . The small lake is revered by Tibetan Buddhists and every year , shortly after the new year , many make a pilgrimage here , especially those from dharamshala. The festival , known as Tso-Pema , is particularly important in the years. At this time there are literally thousands of people here , and the dalai lama gives puja(prayers) in the monastery, and then does a circuit around the lake . It's a very colourful event , and will next be held in 2004.

Dharamsala -> Dharamsala has two

Mcleod ganj -> most western visitors stay 500 meters above the main part of town at Mcleod Gunj . Here the Tibetan communinity have set up a whole series of hotels and restaurants . mcdeodgunj is very popular and many places are often full , especially in march .

Khajiar -> This grassy 'marg' is 22km from Dalhousie, and you can get here by bus or on foot , a ay's walk. Over a km long and nearly a km wide , it is ringed by pine trees with a lake in the middle . There's a golf course here and a golden -domed temple . The woodcarvings in the temple are very impressive and date back to the 14th century.

Kullu -> At an altitude of 1200meters , kullu is the district centre; that honour goes to manali. Nevertheless there are a number of interesting things to see around Kullu , and some fine walks.