LIFESTYLE TRAVEL 1.800.973.1177

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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 �9th cen-

tury colonial days when the British ruled In-

dia and made the nearby town of Shimla the

summer capital. For six months every year

from �865 to �947, the government fled the

steamy heat of the Indian capitals, first Cal-

cutta 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 �902 as India’s

newly appointed commander-in-chief, Cur-

zon was viceroy of India. They were soon em-

broiled in a military controversy and became

bitter enemies. Curzon lived in the official

residence, Viceregal Lodge. Kitchener rented

Wildflower Hall, a forested mountaintop

retreat �,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, ac-

tually built on the footprint of Lord Kitchen-

er’s home. It is set on 22 acres of fragrant

cedar and pine trees, adjacent to a �2,000-

acre preserve of dense evergreen forest that

shelters bear, langur monkeys, antelope and

even hard-to-spot leopards.

Though much taller than the original, Wild-

flower 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 Kitch-

ener 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 mead-

ows of a century-old course, not to mention

treks through terraced fields and villages

and along forest trails edged with wild flow-

ers 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 mul-

tistory 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 pe-

destrian 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 �4 years, described a century

ago in “Kim.”

“He led the horses below the main road into

the lower Simla bazaar - the crowded rab-

A taste of the Raj in the Himalayas [by Joan Scobey]

Dawdle over breakfast on the slate terrace of Wildflower Hall, only a low stone wall planted with rosy geraniums between you and a wide-screen Himalayan

panorama rolling out to distant, snow-covered summits. You are at eye level with these craggy peaks in India’s northern hill country, higher than the eagles

wheeling through the crisp air. If you feel a bit heady, chalk it up to the 8,250-foot altitude as well as the breathtaking setting.

LIFESTYLE TRAVEL 1.800.973.1177

PAGE 2

bit-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 po-

lice 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 �888 in grand Scot-

tish Baronial style, with gardens and an

indoor tennis court, it was the residence of

all �3 Viceroys of India, from Lord Dufferin to

Lord Mountbatten, until India won indepen-

dence in �947. 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 op-

tions: The Cecil Hotel, built in �902 and glori-

ously 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 �930s 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.oberoi-

hotels.com.

Double rooms

start around $355, but special packages are

frequently offered. The Winter Retreat Pack-

age is $�,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 Unforget-

table Experience package, including deluxe

room, breakfast and dinner, is $760 for two

nights, $�,�30 for three nights and $�,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 3�, 2006.

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

com.

Chapslee, 0��-9�-�77-280-2542, fax: 0��-

9�-�77-265-8663, 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 interest-

ing 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 ar-

rangements 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 book-

ings, including tea with the Maharajah; (800)

999-�758, www.coxandkingsusa.com.

Joan Scobey is a freelance travel writer.

© Copley News Service