The Ridge, Shimla, Himachal Pardesh, India

The Ridge road is a large open space, located in the center of

Shimla Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, List of renamed Indian cities and states#Himachal Pradesh, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the States and union territories of India, northern Indian state of Himachal Prade ...

, the capital city of

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The Ridge is the hub of all cultural activities of Shimla. It is situated along the Mall Road, which is the famous shopping center of Shimla. Most major places of Shimla like

Sanjauli Sanjauli is a major populous locality of the city of Shimla, in the Shimla district of Himachal Pradesh, India. Geography Sanjauli is located in the north-western ranges of the Himalayas, at an average altitude of above mean sea level. As th ...

Snowdown ( IGMC), Mall Road, Jakhu Temple,

Oakover Oakover is a historic building in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, Himchal Pradesh, India. One of the earliest houses built in Shimla, it is the official residence of Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh. History A British era building Oakover prev ...

, Kali Bari, Annadale, etc. are connected through the Ridge. It runs east to west alongside the Mall Road, and joins it at the ''Scandal Point'' on the west side. On the east side, The Ridge road leads to

Lakkar Bazaar Lakkar Bazaar is a marketplace adjoining the Ridge in Shimla, India. Shops offer wooden articles targeted mainly at tourists. There is also a roller skating rink in Lakkar Bazaar. The state hospital known as Indira Gandhi Medical College and ho ...

, a wooden crafts market. It's the major landmark and the most easily recognized face of the hill station. When winter sets in and when the country had its first major snowfall of the year, most newspapers printed photos of the ridge submerged in clumps of fresh snow. Prominent landmarks on the Ridge area is Christ Church, a neo-Gothic structure built in 1844 and a Tudorbethan styled library building built in 1910. There are four statues on the ridge; that of

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...

, Dr. Y.S. Parmar the first chief minister of

and the recently established statue of

Atal Bihari Vajpayee Atal Bihari Vajpayee (; 25 December 1924 – 16 August 2018) was an Indian politician who served three terms as the 10th prime minister of India, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months fr ...

. The biggest hill city of the world, at one time the base ridge of Shimla had the thickest forest of the area, now the green slopes are covered with

fir Firs (''Abies'') are a genus of 48–56 species of evergreen coniferous trees in the family (biology), family Pinaceae. They are found on mountains throughout much of North America, North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The ...

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...

s, the Himalayan oak and carmine

rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...

trees, among which are dotted red-roofed chalets, half-timbered houses and Gothic Government buildings are visible from The Ridge.

Importance

Underneath the Ridge, large water tanks are placed from which water is supplied to the British era tourist town. The Ridge houses the city's lifeline in terms of the water reservoir, with a capacity of 1,000,000 gallons of water, beneath it. Because these tanks are significantly large in size, they have been used as the main water supply for Shimla. The reservoir is stated to have been constructed in the 1880s, without using any cement and only lime mortar was used. The Ridge is famous for the various government functions and fairs that are held here. It is usually the venue for all such celebrations and events. The most famous festival that is held at the Ridge is the Summer Festival. This famous festival is held during the months of April or May and the whole of Shimla comes alive with colors and a riot of activities. Prominent

landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or f ...

s on The Ridge include Christ Church, a

neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

structure built in the 1850s, and a

Tudorbethan Tudor Revival architecture (also known as mock Tudor in the UK) first manifested itself in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture ...

-styled library building.

References

External links

Shimla Tourism
at District Administration of Shimla Website {{DEFAULTSORT:Ridge, Shimla Tourist attractions in Shimla