Shimla location
Shimla also called queen of the hills and capital city of Himachal Pradesh, lies in the north-western ranges of the Himalayas. The latitude and longitude of Shimla is 31.61°N and 77.10°E respectively. The average altitude of Shimla is 2397.59 meters (7866.10 ft) above mean sea level, the city is spread on a ridge and its seven hills. The highest point in Shimla is the Jakhoo hill at 2454 meters (8051 ft) which also has the famous Jakhoo temple. The closest river is the Sutlej about 21 km from Shimla at Tattapani.
Shimla being a famous tourist spot as well as the capital of Himachal Pradesh is well connected by road, rail and air. The heritage narrow gauge toy train has also found its place in the list of UNESCO heritage sites. The travel to Shimla by rail and road is itself a distinct experience as the tracks pass through lovely mountains and valleys and the view changes at every turn.
Shimla by road
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.
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Shimla By train
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.
Kalka Shimla toy train | Kalka Shimla train time table
Shimla by Air
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.
The distance from Shimla airport to the Mall Road (city center) can be covered in about one hour by taxis which are easily available. As the airstrip is small only small planes can land at this airport
The preferred airport is Chandigarh (120 Kms from Shimla). Chandigarh has better air connectivity with other Indian cities than the Shimla airport. Indian Airlines, Kingfisher, Deccan, Go air, Jet airways operate multiple daily regular flights.
Content last updated in January 2023. Travel with confidence with Sunrsie Himachal Packages from Sunrise Holidays Shimla.
