SIMLA, a town and district in British India, in the Punjab. The town is.,the summer residence of the viceroy and staff of the supreme government, and also of the Punjab government. It is 58 m. by cart-road from the railway station of Kalka. A metre-gauge railway, 68 m. long, was opened from Kalka to Simla in 1903. The population in 1931 was 18,144, but that was only the winter population. The sanatorium of Simla occupies a spur of the lower Himalaya, running east and west for about 6 m. The ridge culminates at the east in the eminence of Jakko, in the vicinity of which bungalows are most numerous; the viceregal lodge stands on Observatory Hill. The east of the station is known as Chota Simla and the west as Boileauganj. The situation is one of great beauty; and the houses, built separately, lie at elevations between 6,600 and 8,000 ft. above sea-level. To the north, a beautiful wooded spur, branching from the main ridge, is known as Elysium. Three miles west is the cantonment of Jutogh. The minor sanatoria of Kasauli, Sabathu, Dagshai and Solon lie some distance to the south. The
first European house at Simla was built in 1819, and the place was first visited by a governor-general in 1827. It has gradually become the permanent headquarters of many of the official establishments. The two chief medical institutions are the Ripon and Walker hospitals.
The DISTRICT OF SIMLA has an area of roz sq.m., and had a population in 1931 of 36,768. The mountains of Simla and the surrounding states compose the southern outliers of the great central chain of the East Himalaya. Throughout all the hills for ests of deodar abound, while rhododendrons clothe the slopes up to the limit of perpetual snow. The principal rivers are the Sutlej, Pabar, Giri, Gambhar and Sarsa.
The acquisition of the patches of territory forming the district dates from various times subsequent to the close of the Gurkha War in 1816. The Simla Hill States—which as now constituted number 27 in all—include Jubbal, Bashahr, Keonthal, Baghal and Hindur. The States of Sirmor (Nahan) and Bilaspur are under the direct control of the Government of India.