hill stations in India

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The hill stations are high-altitude towns used, especially by European colonialists, as a place of refuge from the summer heat. They are prevalent in Southeast Asian and South Asian countries, particularlyIndia.

The Indian subcontinent has seven principal mountain ranges and the largest of all is the Himalayas that lies in the northern part of India. Then there is Shivalik range that also lies within the same region has some famous hill stations that include Dalhousie, Kullu, Shimla, Nanital and many more.

Most of the hill stations in India were developed by the British, around a central mall, to get respite from the oppressive summer heat. Many have picturesque lakes as their focal point, making them excellent places for boating activities. One thing is for sure, you won't be short of things to do at any of the hill stations in India. And to add to the adventure, it's possible to take a toy train ride up to some of the hill stations. You'll find hill stations all over India. This guide lists 10 of the most popular ones.

Most of the hill stations in India are located in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand,Sikkim, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya in the Himalayas and in Maharashtra,Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala in Western ghats. Some of the hill stations in India are listed below bystate.

Since all these hill stations are world famous they are frequently visited by tourists on a summer vacation tour. Due to this almost all of the above hill stations are well connected by rail, road and air services to major Indian cities.

History[edit]

The British must be given credit for developing most of India's hill stations. They did to escape the blistering heat of the long Indian summer. Towering and as if blessing this land is the world's youngest and largest East to West mountain chain, known as the Himalayas Stretching some 2560 Kilometers in an arc across the top of the Indian subcontinent.

The British Raj, and in particular the British Indian Army, founded perhaps 50 of the 80-odd hill stations in the Indian subcontinent; the remainder were built by various Indian rulers over the centuries as places of leisure or even as permanent capitals.

Purpose[edit]

Several hill stations served as summer capitals of Indian provinces, princely states, or, in the case of Shimla, of British India itself. Since independence, the role of these hill stations as summer capitals has largely ended, but many hill stations remain popular summer resorts.