The road to Shimla - and monkey business

Driving to Shimla was a 3+ hour excursion.  Chandigarh is approx 300m elevation, and Shimla is 2,200m.  We thought we were in for a drive through the mountains, like going to the Cameron Highlands.  But no.  There were houses, cities, some quite big, for most of the way.  The road was being widened into, according to our driver, a 6 lane highway.  He thought that tourism was driving all the building construction.  Shimla itself is expensive, so people seek a more reasonable holiday alternative outside Shimla.

One shot of the road

but this was more typical.

There were road works aplenty.

"Jobs and Growth" in India.

 We arrived at our hotel.  There are  things to think about in Shimla that I hadn't come across before.  Monkeys for one.  The hotel has warning about keeping windows closed to keep monkeys out, and you can hear them on the roof at night as they settle  down to sleep.

We went for a walk before dinner and came across some.

Tomorrow we see more of Shimla.