Shimla’s most famous temple, a steep 30-minute hike up from the east end of the Ridge, is dedicated to the monkey god Hanuman, so it's quite appropriate that hundreds of rhesus macaques loiter around, harassing devotees for prasad (temple-blessed food offerings). Nearby a 33m-high pink statue of Hanuman looms above the treetops and is visible from most of Shimla.
The hilltop is awash in devotional music and the temple houses a small shrine surrounded by funky relief murals of Hanuman performing feats from the Ramayana.
On the way up to the temple, peep through the gates of Rothney Castle , built for colonial reformer and naturalist Allan Octavian Hume, who amassed the world's largest collection of stuffed Asiatic birds here before donating it to the British Museum.
Primate alert: the monkeys on this route can be a menace, so bring a walking stick to discourage them.
