"Located on the Mall road, the State Museum is a colonial building set in spacious lawns. Having a good collection of coins, photographs, local handicrafts and other items the museum is a humongous building. The doll gallery consists of a collection of Himachali bride and tribal dolls while the collection of Pahari miniature painting is also worth a look. \nThe museum has a vast collection of damaged sculptures from all over the state preserved here, like the 8th century stone images from Masrur and Bajaura. Apart from these there are many rare specimens worth seeing.\nStationed 2.5 km west of the Scandal Point, which is another major attraction of Shimla, the museum can be reached by taxi or bus, generally taking around one hour to explore the whole museum."
Himachal State Museum
"In Hinduism, the goddess Tara (Bengali:???? ???? ?? )(Sanskrit: T?r?, Devanagari: ????) meaning \"star\", is the second of the Dasa (ten) Mahavidyas or \"Great Wisdom [goddesses]\", Tantric manifestations of Mahadevi, Kali, or Parvati. As the star is seen as a beautiful but perpetually self-combusting thing, so Tara is perceived at core as the absolute, unquenchable hunger that propels all life."
Tara Devi
"Observatory Hill in the west of Shimla, houses as the Indian institute of Advanced Study (offering various courses) and is a famous attraction in Shimla. Observatory hill is a high peak in Shimla, offering splendid views of the surroundings. \nMuch of the institute is closed for public view. The observatory Hill is the historical place from where the British government held meetings on their actions on ruling on India. Guides are available."
Observatory Hill (Institute of Advanced Studies)
"Shimla (English pronunciation: /???ml?/; Hindi: [???mla?] ( listen)), also known as Simla, is the capital city of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, located in northern India. It is bounded by Mandi and Kullu in the north, Kinnaur in the east, the state of Uttarakhand in the south-east, and Solan and Sirmaur to the south. The elevation of the city ranges from 300 to 2200 metres.[clarification needed] Shimla is well known as a hub for India's tourism sector. It is among the top 10 preferred entrepreneurial locations in India.\nIn 1864, Shimla was declared as the summer capital of British India, succeeding Murree, northeast of Rawalpindi. After independence, the city became the capital of Punjab and was later named the capital of Himachal Pradesh. Shimla came into existence from 1st Sept,1972 on the reorganisation of the districts of the state. After the reorganisation, the erstwhile Mahasu district and its major portion was merged with Shimla. Its name has been derived from the goddess Shyamala Devi, an incarnation of the Hindu goddess Kali. As of 2011 Shimla comprises 19 erstwhile hill states mainly Balson, Bushahr, Bhaji and Koti, Darkoti, Tharoch & Dhadi, Kumharsain, Khaneti & Delath, Dhami, Jubbal, Keothal, Madhan, Rawingarh, Ratesh, and Sangri.\nAs a large and growing city, Shimla is home to many well-recognized colleges and research institutions in India. The city has a large number of temples and palaces. Shimla is also well noted for its buildings styled in Tudorbethan and neo-Gothic architecture dating from the colonial era.\nOwing to its scenic terrain, Shimla is home to the legendary mountain biking race MTB Himalaya. The event was started in 2005 and is now regarded as the biggest event in South East Asia."
Scenic Spots
"Up the Ridge is a 2006 documentary film by Appalshop filmmakers Nick Szuberla and Amelia Kirby revealing injustices in the American Prison System. It especially highlights prisoners sent from urban areas to be incarcerated in rural supermax prisons, such as Red Onion State Prison and Wallens Ridge State Prison. The film delves into issues of parole reform, prisoner abuse, and prisoner suicide. Up the Ridge was created as a part of the Thousand Kites project, a nonprofit organization aimed at exacting prison reform through narrative means. (Kite is prison slang for sending a message)\nIn 1998, Szuberla was a volunteer DJ for a hip-hop show \"Lights Out\" on WMMT, an Appalachian region radio station when he received hundreds of letters from inmates transferred into nearby Wallens Ridge State Prison, the region's newest prison, built to prop up the shrinking coal economy. The letters described human rights violations and racial tension between prisoner staff and inmates. Filming began that year. Through the example of Wallens Ridge State Prison, the documentary explores the United States prison industry and the social impact of moving hundreds of thousands of inner-city minority offenders to distant rural outposts. The film displays competing political agendas that seem to align government policy with human rights violations, and political expediencies that bring communities into racial and cultural conflict, sometimes with prisoner suicide and prisoner abuse as consequences. Connections exist, in both practice and ideology, between human rights violations in Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo and physical and psychological abuse recorded in U.S. prisons."
The Ridge
"Himalayan Aviary, also called as Himalayan Bird Park, is a hub for sighting rare avian species. Located at a height of 2213 m, the park is filled with a variety of vegetation as well. An extremely popular attraction in Shimla, Himalayan Aviary is located close to the Visceral Lodge. A wonderful place for the nature lovers, it a worth visiting spot for all tourists.\nThe Aviary boasts of a vast variety of birds like peafowl, pheasants, Himalayan Monal and many other species of common as well as rare birds. The park is just 4.5 km from west of Scandal Point and is conveniently walk-able. The Aviary is opened only during the summer months from April to June as it gets snowed during the winters"
Himalayan Aviary
"Christchurch (/?kra?st??rt?/; M?ori: ?tautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's third-most populous urban area. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of Christchurch. The population of Christchurch City at the 5 March 2013 census was 341,469.[2]\nThe city was named by the Canterbury Association, which settled the surrounding province of Canterbury. The name of Christchurch was agreed on at the first meeting of the association on 27 March 1848. It was suggested by John Robert Godley, who had attended Christ Church, Oxford. Some early writers called the town Christ Church, but it was recorded as Christchurch in the minutes of the management committee of the association.[3] Christchurch became a city by Royal Charter on 31 July 1856, making it officially the oldest established city in New Zealand.\nThe river that flows through the centre of the city (its banks now largely forming an urban park) was named Avon at the request of the pioneering Deans brothers to commemorate the Scottish Avon, which rises in the Ayrshire hills near what was their grandfathers' farm and flows into the Clyde.[3]\nThe usual M?ori name for Christchurch is ?tautahi (\"the place of Tautahi\"). This was originally the name of a specific site by the Avon River near present-day Kilmore Street and the Christchurch Central Fire Station. The site was a seasonal dwelling of Ng?i Tahu chief Te Potiki Tautahi, whose main home was Port Levy on Banks Peninsula. The ?tautahi name was adopted in the 1930s. Prior to that the Ng?i Tahu generally referred to the Christchurch area as Karaitiana,[4] a transliteration of the English word Christian. The city's name is often abbreviated by New Zealanders to Chch.[5][6] In New Zealand Sign Language, the city's name is the fingerspelled letter C (made by forming the hand into a C shape) signed twice, with the second to the right of the first, while mouthing \"Christchurch\".[7]"
Christ Church
"Jakhoo Temple is an ancient temple in Shimla, dedicated to Hindu deity, Hanuman.[1]\nIt is situated on Jakhoo Hill, 2.5 km /1.3 miles east from the Ridge, Shimla at a height of 2,455 m (8,000 feet) above sea level.[2] Shimla's highest peak offers a panoramic view of the Shivalik Ranges and the town of Sanjauli.\nAn ancient \"Lord Hanuman\" temple is there and every year a big festival is held on Dushera . You can go to the temple by foot (a steep climb) from Ridge (path behind the church) or can hire a pony/horse. Taxis are available too."
Jakhu Temple
"Shimla is famous all over the world for its dream like journey on the toy train. Starting from Kalka the 96 kms long journey to Shimla is covered in about 5 hours. Running for more than 100 years, this toy train ride (staretd in the year 1903 by Lord Curzon) has been credited as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.\nThis scenic journey takes the passengers through 103 tunnels, crossing more than 800 bridges and viaducts. The toy train runs on a narrow gauge and moves slowly between the flanked mountains, through mesmerising valleys and pine, fir and deodar forest glades. \nThe train arduously climbs on the steep cliffs and halts at various places where tourists can capture the spectacular glimpse of nature in their cameras. In fact, the train runs in such a slow motion that tourists can get down for a quick picture and get back on the train in a jiffy. \nThere are many classes of toy trains that run on this route. There are regular passenger trains (Kalka Shimla Express and Himalayan Queen), deluxe trains (Deluxe Motor Rail car and Shivalik Deluxe Express), super deluxe (Shivalik Queen Tourist Coach, Shivalik Palace Tourist Coach). The train usually leaves in the morning from Kalka while from Shimla trains usually leave during the second half of the day."
Toy Train Ride