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- Written by Anchal B Chaudhary
Places to Visit in Shimla
The Mall
Situated right in the heart of the town, The Mall is the hub of social life in Shimla. With most of the landmarks and numerous departmental stores, souvenir shops, hotels, clubs, bars, restaurants and ATMs located here, this is the most happening place.
Once on the Mall, what you just cannot miss is the elegant and famous Christ Church with its majestic appearance. The Church is the second oldest in Northern India and has beautiful stained glass windows. Centre of cultural activities, Gaiety Theatre, an old British theatre is also right on the Mall. Various legendary artists like Rudyard Kipling, Prithvi Raj Kapoor, K.L.Sehgal, Balraj Sahani, Pran, Naseeruddin Shah and Anupam Kher have performed on this historical stage.
Scandal Point
Close to the G.P.O where the Mall meets the Ridge is the Scandal Point which commemorates the scandalised affair of the Maharaja of Patiala with a British lady as a result of which he was banished from Shimla, to counter which he decided to develop a hill-station of his own.
Himachal State Museum
Housing a gallery of miniature pahari paintings, wood carvings, jewellery and costumes, the state museum which is also known as Shimla museum has a vast collection of ancient sculptures and paintings and gives tourists a glimpse of the cultural wealth of Himachal Pradesh.
Kali Bari temple
Dedicated to the local deity, Goddess Shyamala, the fearsome incarnation of Goddess Kali, after whom Shimla was named, the temple is located at a prime location between G.P.O and scandal point and is easy to walk to.
The temple receives a heavy influx of devotees on the auspicious occasions of Navratri and Durga Puja.
Jakhoo Hill
Jakhoo hill is the highest of all the seven hills and offers beautiful view of the town and the snow-covered Himalayas. At the top of the hill is an ancient temple popularly known as Jakhoo Temple which is believed to exist since pre-historic times of Ramayana and has a famous Hindu legend associated with it.
Like most other Hanuman temples, Jakhoo temple is also surrounded by hundreds of monkeys.
Annandale (2-4 km)
Ideal for picnics, cricket and polo, Annandale is a tranquil, secluded and sacred place maintained by Army and surrounded by thick deodar forests.
With not much to do except visiting a small ancient temple located here or making a round of beautifully maintained Army Museum, this is a perfect place for relaxing and unwinding in calm and serene surroundings.
Kids will love this place too for there are quite a few attractions for them here. They can have fun on the rides and get a feel of a real helicopter which is stationed there.
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Observatory Hill
Kamna Devi Temple
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