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A taste of the Raj in the Himalayas

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published December 26, 2005

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Its towers and turrets rising above a steep, forested slope of the Middle Himalayas, Wildflower Hall is Oberoi Hotel's homage to the Raj. Actually, it is barely five years old, but its roots go back to 19th century colonial days when the British ruled India and made the nearby town of Shimla the summer capital. For six months every year from 1865 to 1947, the government fled the steamy heat of the Indian capitals, first Calcutta and then Delhi, for the Himalayas and did the government's business in the cool hill station of Shimla (then spelled Simla).

Two of the famous names during the Raj, as the British colonial rule was called, were Lord Kitchener and Lord Curzon. When Kitchener arrived in Shimla in 1902 as India's newly appointed commander-in-chief, Curzon was viceroy of India. They were soon embroiled in a military controversy and became bitter enemies. Curzon lived in the official residence, Viceregal Lodge. Kitchener rented Wildflower Hall, a forested mountaintop retreat 1,000 feet above Shimla so, the story goes, he could look down on Curzon.


Kitchener's villa is long since gone, as is a small hotel that replaced it, but the present Wildflower Hall stands on that same site, actually built on the footprint of Lord Kitchener's home. It is set on 22 acres of fragrant cedar and pine trees, adjacent to a 12,000-acre preserve of dense evergreen forest that shelters bear, langur monkeys, antelope and even hard-to-spot leopards.

Though much taller than the original, Wildflower Hall recalls colonial-era hill house architecture, from the slate-clad exterior and narrow iron balconies to its pitched roofs. Inside, teak floors, Oriental rugs, clubby chairs, green baize-covered game tables and a portrait of Lord Kitchener himself over a welcoming fireplace evoke the spirit of the Raj.

Lord Kitchener would be proud. He might not recognize the marble bathrooms, satellite television, DVD players and other high-tech amenities of the 87-room, fully wired hotel, but surely he would appreciate the sporting opportunities in this glorious mountain playground: river rafting, mountain biking, horseback riding, tennis, ice skating and golf on rolling meadows of a century-old course, not to mention treks through terraced fields and villages and along forest trails edged with wild flowers and strawberries.

Too active for you? Hedonists can head for the Banyan Tree spa to sample ayurvedic massages and other holistic treatments based on Western and Asian therapies, swim laps in the heated indoor pool or loll in the outdoor infinity whirlpool and gaze at that blockbuster Himalayan view.

Look for traces of the authentic Raj in Shimla, where British colonials transplanted a bit of England for their summer comfort. The town spills down steep hills, with multistory houses stacked tightly in tiers on the slopes. On top, the main road, The Mall, runs for about three miles, in the middle widening to a mile-long promenade called the Ridge. It is anchored at one end by the golden stone Christ Church and half-timbered public library, and at the other by the Tourist Office and Scandal Point, once the meeting place for assignations and gossip-mongering.

Along The Mall are handcrafts and cafes, wood-gabled shops and restaurants, a touristy pedestrian zone with only hints of its glory days as a once-stylish British shopping street. Below The Mall, via steep alleys and stairways, are the food markets and stalls of the lustier Indian Lower Bazaar that Rudyard Kipling, who lived in Shimla for 14 years, described a century ago in "Kim."

"He led the horses below the main road into the lower Simla bazaar - the crowded rabbit-warren that climbs up from the valley to the Town Hall at an angle of forty-five. A man who knows his way there can defy all the police of India's summer capital, so cunningly does veranda communicate with veranda, alleyway with alleyway, and bolt-hole with bolt-hole."

Shimla's monument to the Raj is the historic Viceregal Lodge. Built in 1888 in grand Scottish Baronial style, with gardens and an indoor tennis court, it was the residence of all 13 Viceroys of India, from Lord Dufferin to Lord Mountbatten, until India won independence in 1947. Now occupied by the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, it has several rooms open to the public, and an exhibit documenting the momentous debate and signing of the Partition Plan that took place there, and its famous visitors, among them Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru.

If afternoon tea seems like an appropriate finale, Shimla has two authentic Raj-era options: The Cecil Hotel, built in 1902 and gloriously refurbished; and Chapslee, a delightful "bungalow" where Kanwar Ratanjit Singh, the Maharajah of Kapurthala, informally known as Reggie, has six rooms for guests. All the furnishings, from Gobelin tapestries, Murano chandeliers, even the wallpaper, date to the 1930s when his grandfather, Raja Charanjit Singh of Kapurthala, bought the house. It's probably your best chance to see how a Maharajah lives - let alone actually meet one.

IF YOU GO

Staying there: Wildflower Hall, (800) 562-3764, www.oberoihotels.com. Double rooms start around $355, but special packages are frequently offered. The Winter Retreat Package is $1,400 for three nights and $2,300 for five nights, and includes deluxe room, a daily one-hour spa treatment and transfers from Shimla airport or train station. The Unforgettable Experience package, including deluxe room, breakfast and dinner, is $760 for two nights, $1,130 for three nights and $1,470 for four nights. Both packages are double occupancy, include round-trip transfers from the airport or train station, and are good Jan. 2 to March 31, 2006.

The Cecil, (800) 562-3764, www.oberoihotels.com.

Chapslee, 011-91-177-280-2542, fax: 011-91-177-265-8663, chapslee@sancharnet.in, www.chapslee.com.

Getting there: The easiest way is the Oberoi Air Charter between Delhi and Shimla, with daily flights five days a week that must be booked in advance; (800) 562-3764.

You can also fly India Airlines between Delhi and Chandigarh, then drive four hours up to Wildflower Hall on a precipitous, twisting road with dizzying hairpin turns; you can't rent a car without a driver, and you wouldn't want to.

The train from Delhi to Shimla, changing in the middle to a narrow-gauge track, takes most of a day.

Among the various carriers that fly from the United States to India, Lufthansa has the most European flights that connect to a number of U.S. gateways. The airline's new business-class service has several interesting perks: the longest flat beds in the air, in-flight wireless Internet, U.S.-type electrical outlets for laptops, and meals by Michelin-starred chefs.

Travel tips: It is convenient to leave travel arrangements to a reliable tour operator such as Cox & Kings, who are very experienced in India. They can coordinate logistics, provide knowledgeable guides, and make all bookings, including tea with the Maharajah; (800) 999-1758, www.coxandkingsusa.com.



Joan Scobey is a freelance travel writer.

© Copley News Service
  1. Legal Jobs
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published December 26, 2005

( 3 votes, average: 3 out of 5)
What do you think about this article? Rate it using the stars above and let us know what you think in the comments below.

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