Initially, the purpose of setting up of the hill stations during the colonial period in India was to serve the needs of the British Army. Shimla was founded by during the course of the Gurkha war (1815-16), Mt Abu duringAnglo-Maratha war of 1818 and Darjeeling was seized from the rulers of Sikkim in 1835. They liked to stay in cold climate and also hill stations were developed as sanitariums (Soldiers sent for rest and recovery from illness).