Hill_station

Hill station

Hill station is a term used for a town usually at somewhat higher elevations. The term was used in colonial Asia (particularly India, but rarely in Africa), where towns have been founded by European colonial rulers 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.

Hill stations being at higher altitudes are cooler than plains.

History

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 Simla, 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.

List of hill stations

This is a list of hill stations in various countries, which are mainly in Asia.

India (by state)

Most famous hill stations in North India are Shimla, Darjeeling, Kullu-Manali, Mussoorie, Nainital and that in South India are Ooty, Munnar and Kodaikanal.

Andhra Pradesh

Gujarat

Saputara

Himachal Pradesh

Jammu and Kashmir

Jharkhand

Hazaribagh

Karnataka

Kerala

Madhya Pradesh

Pachmarhi

Maharashtra

Meghalaya

Rajasthan

Mount Abu

Tamil Nadu

Uttarakhand

West Bengal

Pakistan (by province)

Azad Kashmir

Muzaffarabad

Northwest Frontier Province: Most of the hill stations of the NWFP are in the Galiyat region, which also extends into the Murree Tehsil of the Punjab province.

Northern Areas

Punjab: All the hill stations listed here are in the Galiyat region. Although the Galiyat area is primarily in the NWFP, it also extends into the Murree Tehsil of the Punjab province. The largest hill station of the Galiyat is the town of Murree.

Sindh

In the Dadu District, the Gorakh Hills area of the Kirthar Range is being developed as a hill station. The Gorakh Hills are located 450 kilometres north of Karachi and 100 kilometres west of Dadu. According to meteorological studies, Gorakh Peak lies at an altitude of 5,688 feet above sealevel. In winter, people of the area come down from the mountains due to the severe cold and stay in the Kachho area. The temperature in June is 17 to 30 degrees Celsius (average) and in January −5 to 20 degrees Celsius (average). Average annual rainfall is 12.5 inches (320 mm). The surface of the Gorakh is 1,340 acres (540 ha) of land.