India: in pursuit of a childhood dream in the Himalayas, Delhi to Shimla

The historic, narrow-gauge train to Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. Photo/ Getty Images

Simon Heptinstall fulfills a childhood dream of seeing the sun rise in the Himalaya, with The Daily Mail

During the long overnight flight to Delhi, I remembered how, at the age of 16, I was set my first-ever journalistic task – interview the scary old groundsman 'Sonny' Clarke for our school magazine.

Former Army officer Sonny got surprisingly emotional as he told me about the best moment of his life: 'Seeing the sunrise over the Himalayas.'

For an English schoolboy in the 1960s, that seemed an impossibly exotic and distant experience. How would I ever get to see something like that?

Over the years that phrase 'the sunrise over the Himalayas' became fixed in my mind as a metaphor for all that is fabulous but unreachable.

I started travelling in the 1970s, but India and the Himalayas were never considered. The colourful images and films made it look incredible but warnings of unhygienic, chaotic travel with a risk of disease and accidents always deterred me. Until now.

Almost half a century after that interview with Sonny, I was persuaded that there is a clean, safe and luxurious way to visit India. I put myself in the hands of Western & Oriental, a tailor-made travel company. It promised to take me to see the real India… and return in one piece.

The mountain city of Shimla. Photo / Tushar Firan, Getty

My trip involved stays in Delhi, Chandigarh and Shimla, yet I was able to return from eight days touring the subcontinent with not even one insect bite.

Western & Oriental arranged a trip that involved five-star hotels and travelling in chauffeur-driven cars. I was given a 'minder' for all my public excursions. Every luxury touch was included: porters carried my bags everywhere (on their heads) and chilled towels, bottled water and safe snacks were always available.

But this wasn't a sanitised view of India through the window of an air-conditioned limousine. I was taken to see the real India.

I loved dodging the wild, random traffic of a 14-lane highway in a motorised tuk-tuk – and a cycle rickshaw ride through the smelly, noisy mayhem of Old Delhi market was one of the experiences of my life.

I saw temples, palaces, colonial buildings and parks, but also got close to the squalor of life for so many. Then I boarded a historic, narrow-gauge train. It twisted spectacularly up into the Himalayan mountains. The route links the hot Indian plains with the mountain city of Shimla.

I stayed at Wildflower Hall, on a peak above the city. It's more than 8,000ft above sea level and I set my alarm for 5am and rose in a chilly, breathless dawn.

Standing at my window, I watched as the sky turned orange over distant snow-capped peaks to the east. At last, I'd seen the sunrise over the Himalayas.

TRAVEL FACTS

Western & Oriental (westernoriental.com, 020 3588 6130) offers a seven-night tailor-made journey to India from £2,999pp.

This includes flights to Delhi, two nights at The Oberoi Gurgaon in Delhi, two nights at The Oberoi Sukhvilas Chandigarh, three nights at Oberoi Wildflower Hall near Shimla, all B&B with transportation by train and private car.