[1][2] The term is still used in present day, particularly in India, which has the largest number of hill stations, most are situated at an altitude of approximately 1,000 to 2,500 metres (3,300 to 8,200 ft).

Other factors included anxieties about the dangers of life in India, among them "fear of degeneration brought on by too long residence in a debilitating land".

"[7] Shimla was officially made the "summer capital of India" in the 1860s and hill stations "served as vital centres of political and military power, especially after the 1857 revolt.

"[10][11][12][13][14][15][16] [17][18][excessive citations] William Dalrymple wrote that "The viceroy was the spider at the heart of Simla's web: From his chambers in Viceregal Lodge, he pulled the strings of an empire that stretched from Rangoon in the east to Aden in the west.

Both discourses serve as evidence of a belief in racial difference and, thereby, the imperial hill station reflected and reinforced a framework of meaning that influenced European views of the non-western world in general.

"[20] The historian of Himalayan cultures Shekhar Pathak speaking about the development of Hill Stations like Mussoorie noted that "the needs of this (European) elite created colonies in Dehradun of Indians to cater to them.