SHIMLA
Pedestrian-only strip lined with shops, cafes, and the Himachal Emporium (fixed-price government store — best place for authentic Kullu/Kinnauri shawls if you don't want to haggle). Vehicles genuinely aren't allowed; even locals walk this stretch.
Mall Road was laid out in the mid-19th century as Shimla's principal promenade once the town became the summer capital of British India in 1864, styled after European high streets adapted to the ridge-line terrain. Motor vehicles were traditionally barred except for the Viceroy's carriage, a restriction on ordinary traffic that persists in modified form today. Lined with colonial-era shopfronts, it functioned as the exclusive social and commercial artery for British administrators and, later, Shimla's residents.
