Mashobra
What it is
Mashobra is a small town in Shimla district, on the Hindustan–Tibet Road that Lord Dalhousie had built in 1850. It stands at about 2,146 m. In the colonial period it belonged to the princely state of Koti. By the late 19th century it had become a favourite weekend retreat for well-to-do residents of Shimla, then the summer capital of British India.
Photos: Kuma sumit (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Biswarup Ganguly (CC BY 3.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
The retreat at Chharabra
India has two Presidential retreats, and one is here at Chharabra, close to Mashobra; the second stands at Secunderabad, and is called Rashtrapati Nilayam. The President comes at least once a year, and the office moves with them. The building is wooden throughout, dating from 1850. In May 1948, before he returned to London, Lord Mountbatten and Lady Edwina spent a few weeks there, and Jawaharlal Nehru visited them. We have no verified rule for visitors, so view it from the road and ask in Shimla.
Around the town
Wildflower Hall at Chharabra, now an Oberoi hotel, once housed Lord Kitchener and Lord Ripon. Carignano lies 3 km further on. It began as the villa of Federico Peliti, an Italian photographer of Queen Victoria's day, who named it after his home town near Turin. It turned into a weekend resort in 1920, and Anita Desai refers to it in one of her novels. Today it is a picnic spot. The town is part of the Shimla Water Catchment and Wildlife Sanctuary, with pine, oak, deodar and rhododendron forest.
Getting there
By road it is about 22 min from Shimla. It is a quieter place than the main town, with much less commercial development, which is the reason to come. See also Kufri on the same road, the Ridge and snowfall in Shimla for the winter months.
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Questions people ask
What is Mashobra known for?
For the Presidential retreat at Chharabra, one of the two in India, a wooden building from 1850, and for being a quiet, uncommercialised town above Shimla. It lies on the Hindustan–Tibet Road, which Lord Dalhousie built in 1850, and grew into a weekend resort for Shimla's elite in the late 19th century.
How far is Mashobra from Shimla?
About 22 min by road from Shimla on our measured routing, at an average elevation of 2,146 m. Carignano, a picnic spot that was an Italian photographer's villa, is a further 3 km. The town is often combined with Naldehra and Kufri on the same Hindustan–Tibet Road outing.
Can you visit the President's retreat at Mashobra?
We have found no published visiting rule. The retreat is a working residence: the President visits at least once a year, and the office moves to Chharabra then. Wildflower Hall at Chharabra is now an Oberoi hotel. Ask in Shimla, and look from the road, not over the wall.