The Ambala Shimla Khab National Highway ( Number 22)
National Highway 22 links Ambala in Haryana with Shipkila and Khab, near the Indo China international border, in Himachal Pradesh. This 459 kilometers long road spans across the states of Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh and touches some major district headquarters, towns and cities on its way. National Highway 22 originates from The Delhi Amritsar National Highway at Ambala and also meets National Highway 21 near Chandigarh. Kalka, Pinjore and Dera Bassi are the major settlements that lie along the highway in Punjab and Haryana stretches. About 2 km beyond Kalka, the highway enters Himachal Pradesh. Parwanoo is the first settlement one would come across in Himachal Pradesh. National Highway 22 then zig-zags its way north-east, past Solan, Shimla, Narkanda, Rampur, Kalpa and Puh, before ending at Shipkila, near the international border. The highway is 398 km-long in Himachal Pradesh.
Delhi to Shimla driving instructions
While travelling from Delhi to Shimla you will pass through Sonipat, Panipat, Karnal, Kurukshetra & then Ambala on national highway number 1. From Ambala the highway will branch out. One goes to Amritsar and the other one towards Chandigarh. You need to take the Chandigarh one that is better. After about 45 kms you will reach Panchkula. From Panchkula proceed on to Kalka. The hill terrain of around 90 kms starts from Kalka. Overall Shimla from Delhi is around 360 kms and takes about 7-8 hours by car.
Shimla lies on Ambala Khab National highway number 22. Khab is near China border so this road is also called Hindustan Tibet Road. The hill stretch starts from Kalka onward. Shimla is 90 kilometers from Kalka, 117 kilometers from Chandigarh, 162 kilometers from Ambala and 370 kilometers from New Delhi. Travel time by car from Kalka is 2.5 hours, Chandigarh 3 hours, Ambala 4 hours and New Delhi 8 hours. The road from Chandigarh to Shimla is well maintained and there are a number of eating joints along the highway where you can find veg non veg both. With the commissioning of a new 10 kilometers long Pinjore Parwanoo four laned Bye-pass the highway is now rid of traffic jams on the narrow stretch between Pinjore Kalka and Parwanoo.
Kalka is the nearest broad gauge rail head from Shimla and is well connected by major cities in India including Chandigarh, Delhi and Mumbai. The Kalka to Shimla section is connected by the UNESCO heritage 90 kilometers long narrow gauge railway track. The ravel time between Kalka and Shimla by train is 5.5 hours. The Himalayan Queen, Railcar and the Shivalik Deluxe are the major toy trains. They are connected with the Howrah Kalka Mail and Shatabdi Express and Himalayan Queen trains from Delhi.
The nearest airport from Shimla is the Jubbarhattii Airport. It is situated at a distance of 28 km from Shimla. Indian Airlines, Jagson and Deccan airlines operate limited regular flights for Shimla from Chandigarh, Delhi, Dharamsala and Kullu. The services are unreliable and remain suspended for months due to commercial non viability and exit of service providers.
There is 24 hours bus service from Chandigarh (travel time 4 hours) and Delhi ( travel time 9 hours) and buses depart at short intervals of time. Both ordinary and luxury buses are available. Some transport agencies are running deluxe VOLVO coaches also. Check with the concerned authorities for the timings and bookings. Buses are frequently available from Chandigarh to Shimla at a gap of half an hour.
Himachal Roadways, HRTC and Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation ( HPTDC) is operating VOLVO Air Conditioned Volvo Buses ( 2X2 ) to and from Delhi to Shimla, Manali and Dharamshala. Theses buses are equipped with latest and comfortable facilities to the passengers. These buses reach Chandigarh after fours hours of departing from Shimla and five hours from departing from Delhi.
