City of Monkeys: Shimla

Besides the altitude and the 30-minute climb up the mountain, the true challenge of visiting the Hanuman temple in Shimla is the band of thieving monkeys who live there. Legend says that the monkeys protect the temple but they might be driving away worshippers for fear of being attacked. All along the path, there are people selling and renting sticks to fend off these primate pests. The trick is to avoid eye contact and be vigilant. Don’t wear glasses! Put everything in a pocket or a closely held bag especially cell phones and cameras. Of course, for Rs. 50 or 100, you can easily get your valuable back. Here’s how it works: they monkey scouts out its victim and stealthily grabs the loot (shoe, glasses, scarf, you name it!). Then comes an apparent helpful human who barters some food for the goods. Then, the victim is asked to pay for their belonging from the monkey trainer.

The Monkey God through the trees.

Hanuman's foot.

The best part of this picture is the woman on the far right. We are stared at a lot.

There are a lot of impressive things about Shimla. This is just one.