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

Shimla Shimla, also known as Simla ( the official name until 1972), is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summer capital of British India. After independence, the city ...

, the capital city of

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. 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 Snowdown ( IGMC), Mall Road, Jakhu Temple, Oakover, 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, 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 (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...

, 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 poet, writer and statesman who served as the prime minister of India, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months from 1998 ...

. 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 are evergreen coniferous trees belonging to the genus ''Abies'' () in the family Pinaceae. There are approximately 48–65 extant species, found on mountains throughout much of North and Central America, Eurasia, and North Africa. The genu ...

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. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

s, the Himalayan oak and carmine

rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; : ''rhododendra'') is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the Ericaceae, heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are native to eastern Asia and the Himalayan ...

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 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. Stamp of India - 2018 - Colnect 805703 - The Ridge in Shimla

Stamp of India - 2018 - Colnect 805703 - The Ridge in Shimla

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-day use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures ...

s on The Ridge include Christ Church, a

neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

structure built in the 1850s, and a Tudorbethan-styled library building.

References

External links

Shimla Tourism
at District Administration of Shimla Website {{DEFAULTSORT:Ridge, Shimla Tourist attractions in Shimla British-era buildings in Himachal Pradesh