Hil Station

The British Raj, and in particular the British Indian Army, founded perhaps 50 of the 80-odd hill stations in the Indian subcontinent; the remainder were built by various Indian rulers over the centuries as places of leisure or even as permanent capitals. Some respected historians such as Dane Kennedy say there are only 65 “true” hill stations in the subcontinent, if one combines adjoining stations and excludes small hamlets without civic facilities.

Several hill stations served as summer capitals of Indian provinces, princely states, or, in the case of Shimla, of British India itself. Since Indian Independence, the role of these hill stations as summer capitals has largely ended, but many hill stations remain popular summer resorts.

Hil station is a term used for a town usually at somewhat higher elevations. The term was used in colonial Asia , where towns have been founded by European colonial rulers up where temperatures are cooler, as refuges from the summer heat. In the Indian context most hill stations are at an altitude of approximately between 1,000 and 2,500 metres (3,500 to 7,500 feet); very few are outside this range.

hil station