Shimla Walks

If you need to look at Shimla from the lens of history, heritage and culture, this is the place to be.

The depth of knowledge and data that we received on our walks was fascinating. The anecdotes were insightful and more importantly we treaded the paths less travelled.

More power to Shimlawalks!

We have done a lot of walking tours and we rank this one as one of the best. Sumit is an expert on the area and conducted the tour at a leisurely pace. It felt like a hugely enjoyable conversation with a friend. Highly recommended.

My name is Clare Penny. We visited Shimla in September 2022 for one main reason ; to trace my mother’s roots. My mother was born there in 1930, the seventh child of ten children born to Anglo-Indian parents. My grandfather worked for the Press department attached to the ruling British Government, based at Viceregal Lodge, at that time. Owing to Independence and Partition of India in 1947, my mother’s family felt they had little option to remain in India and therefore left en masse to settle in the UK and in Australia.
From the moment we met Sumit our guide until we left 3 days later, we were in amazing knowledgeable hands. Sumit showed us all the places that meant so much to my mother and her family; the Ridge, the bazaar, the Gaiety Theatre, Scandal Point, Viceregal Lodge and many other places that they spoke about. I came armed with the sketchiest of information about the family’s years in Shimla and had just one contact who I had never met or spoken to but who could, I was assured, point us to the right places the family had lived and worshipped. Within a few hours Sumit had found our contact, as he knew him! Things then moved very swiftly and the house where the family grew up, the school they went to and the church they worshipped at were all located. I must point out that other members of my family have come to Shimla to trace their roots and have not been able to find these places.
Seeing the house my mum grew up in was a surreal experience, one I will never forget. The lady occupier of the house came out, had a dialogue with Sumit and before long we were invited in to look around, and, to our surprise, we found it largely unchanged since my mum’s time. It was a very special experience.
Our contact in Shimla was connected to the Catholic Church where the whole family worshipped in the 1920s up until they left in the 1950s onwards. Again with Sumit’s help we were able to find the baptismal records of not only my mother, but some of her siblings too, including one brother who died. This was another surreal moment.
I had one other reason to visit Shimla ; I had brought my late mother’s ashes with me to leave in Simla. Again, with Sumit’s invaluable help, we located the cemetery of some family ancestors. Sumit fought the tall weeds covering the graves with the rest of us, trying to locate a particular grave. Eventually we found it and the next day we were able to have a simple and personal ceremony to lay my mother’s ashes in the place of her birth.
I always told people that my mother left Shimla but Shimla never left my mother. She spoke about Shimla with love and longing until it became akin to hearing about a legend or a fairytale passed down through the generations. I was so happy to have finally come to Shimla and found it to be exactly how it was described ; stunning, beautiful, historic and indeed quite legendary. I cannot thank our guide Sumit enough; without his help we would have never had had the experience we had

Our Heritage walk with Sumit was fascinating. Sumit proved knowledgeable, patient and a delightful companion with which to explore the beauty and heritage of Shimla. We leaned much about the geography, history and multifaceted cultural background of Shimla. Unhurried, cultured, educated and passionate about his subject, we recommend Sumit Raj and Shimla walks unreservedly,

Shimla walks has been doing a great service of preserving the rich culture of Heritage City Shimla. Idea of the company is unique and they have successfully conducted countless family history tours for those foreign nationals who have been in the city in colonial times. Further Shimla can be felt so closely only through its heritage walks conducted by the company. The owner Mr Sumit Raj, who is writer of about half a dozen of books has life-long experience and best knowledge about Shimla and it's great history. The best guided tours of Shimla and surrounding area for the visiters from India and abroad are available with them catering to different needs of the visitors, tourists and students। I can confidently say if Shimla is not explored with ' Shimla walks ' it has not
been explored at all.

The Knowledge of the colonial era that Mr Sumit Vashisht has and shares is amazing.he changed my perspective about the small overcrowded over populated town of Simla.he instilled knowledge and his experiences.must say.it was an awesome experience.
Just like how Simla is a heritage town Mr Vashisht too is a heritage of this town. Highly Recommened!

If you wish to discover the real Shimla, the one the touristy websites wont tell you about, contact Sumit. He's the living encyclopedia of this beautiful place!

The best that can be. When passion and professionalism come together, the experience you get has to be great.

With Sumitji, you know you are in good hands. Safety, service, knowledge and enrichment. All the ingredients for making your trip worth it.

Such a brilliant walk. Sumit and his team went above and beyond to make our trip to Shimla memorable. I wish we could have had longer!

If you want to know about Shimla and surroundings in a different and unique way. Shimla Walks for you.

Shimla walks without any second thought any guest been sent has highly appreciated such knowledge and experience I would do it again and again. Thank you and best wishes

On our last trip to Shimla, we had a wonderful experience exploring this beautiful colonial city with Shimla walks. Most interesting part was the scores of anecdotes about Shimla shared by Sumit during the walking tour. I undoubtedly recommend Shimla walks to all those who want to explore many unknown facets off Shimla and its amazing history, geography and society. Can't wait to travel again to Shimla and explore its another facet with Shimla Walks.

Excellent heritage walk with Sumit! Would strongly recommend if you have a spare morning and want to really understand the story of Shimla