Shimla Travel Guide

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How to Reach Shimla From Delhi

Delhi to Shimla route is used by a large no of tourists visiting Shimla from Delhi or from other places of India and abroad. Being the capital city of India, Delhi has the best Air and Train connectivity with all parts of India.

How to reach Shimla from Delhi is a common query for many of the tourists. After reaching Delhi, tourists can go to Shimla directly via road by bus or car or take a train to Kalka. From Kalka, most tourists prefer the famous Toy Train to reach Shimla. People who are short on time, take a bus or car to reach Shimla from Kalka.

	Transport	Distance	Travel Time
Delhi to Shimla Direct	Private Car / Bus	345 Km	8 - 9 Hrs

	Transport	Distance	Travel Time
Delhi to Kalka	Train	270 Km	4 Hrs
Kalka to Shimla	Toy Train / Private Car / Bus	96 Km	3 - 5 hrs

Delhi to Shimla road journey is very popular among the tourists. The distance is 345 km and the road passes through NH44 and NH5. The route goes via Delhi-Ambala-Kalka-Shimla.

Delhi To Shimla By Bus

Reaching Shimla from Delhi by bus is very easy. Being a very popular route all through the year, frequent bus services are available from Delhi to Shimla. Both day and night buses are run by government as well as private operators. All types of buses including AC Volvo, AC Deluxe, Non-AC Deluxe and Non-AC ordinary are available.

Government controlled transporters running buses are Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) and Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC). HPTDC and HRTC services are more reliable and recommended as they do not cancel suddenly a scheduled journey in case there are less no of occupancy. This is more important when you are planning a tour during the low season. Apart from these two, there are few private operators running Volvo and AC bus services in this route.

Delhi to Shimla road journey is very popular among the tourists. The distance is 345 km and the road passes through NH44 and NH5. The route goes via Delhi-Ambala-Chandigarh-Kalka-Shimla.

From	To	Distance (Km)
Delhi	Ambala	200
Ambala	Chandigarh	45
Chandigarh	Kalka	32
Kalka	Shimla	87

HPTDC (Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation)

HPTDC runs daily AC Volvo services and reaching Shimla from Delhi takes about 10 Hrs. Usually it runs one bus daily starting at 8.30 PM from Mandi House, Delhi. But during peak season, additional buses are provided. Most of their buses are of Volvo 9400 series and well maintained.

	HPTDC Bus Details
Schedule	The night bus starts at 8.30 PM from Delhi and reaches Shimla at about 6.00 AM in the morning. It takes approximately 10 Hrs to cover the distance of 345 km. While coming back from Shimla to Delhi, the buses start from Shimla at 8.30 PM to reach Delhi at 6.00 AM in the morning.
Booking	Advance booking can be done at - www.booking.hptdc.in. It is better to book well in advance as the demand for HPTDC is high. Specially during high season, tickets are exhausted very fast.
Fare	One-way fare from Delhi to Manali is approximately Rs 1100
Starting Point	Himachal Bhawan, Mandi House, New Delhi
Halt	The buses halt twice. First halt is for dinner, though its already late in the night. For this, it is better to have refreshments before boarding the bus from Delhi. Next halt is in the early morning for tea
Drop Location	The HPTDC bus will drop you in front of victory tunnel in Shimla. If you are staying at a nearby hotel, you can pull your own luggage or hire a porter. Otherwise, hire a local cab to drop you to your hotel
Tips	Overall journey is quite comfortable. Though HPTDC provides a bottle of mineral water, they do not provide blankets which few private operators offer. Vomit bags are provided at the beginning of the journey and sickness bag is available with the conductor in case someone requires that.

HRTC (Himachal Road Transport Corporation)

HRTC runs multiple buses daily from Delhi to Shimla. HRTC runs all type of buses (Volvo/AC Deluxe/Non-AC) in this route. Also, HRTC buses are more in number and they have buses in morning and at night also.

	HRTC Bus Details
Schedule	The first bus starts from Delhi at 06:45 hrs and the last one at 22:00 hrs. Volvo buses are available for both day as well as night journey. There might also be some changes in the number of buses and timing based on the season HRTC Volvo From Delhi to Shimla 06:45, 09:25, 21:00, 22:00 HRTC AC Bus From Delhi to Shimla 20:00, 20:30 HRTC Non AC Bus From Delhi to Shimla 08:00, 21:00 During return journey from Shimla to Delhi, HRTC buses are available from Shimla at 06:45 AM, 08:00 AM, 09:25 AM, 10:32 AM, 11:55 AM, 08:30 PM, 09:02 PM, 09:36 PM, 10:00 PM, 10:30 PM, 11:00 PM
Booking	Advance booking available at - www.hrtchp.com/hrtctickets. If you are planning to visit during the high season, book your tickets well ahead of the journey date as the demand for tickets are high.
Fare	One way fare from Delhi to Shimla is between Rs 500 to Rs 1100 depending on the type of the bus.
Starting Point	Inter State Bus Terminal(ISBT), Kashmere Gate, New Delhi
Halt	The buses halt twice during the journey. Depending on the time of travel, the 1^st stop will be for lunch/dinner and the 2^nd stop for tea break. It is better to have refreshments before boarding the bus from Delhi as the 1^st stop will be only after 4-5 hrs of travel.
Drop Location	The HRTC bus will drop you at New Bus Stand. If you are staying at a nearby hotel, you can pull your own luggage or hire a porter. Otherwise, hire a local cab to drop you to your hotel.
Tips	Overall journey is quite comfortable in Volvo or Scania buses.

Private Bus Service

Apart from HPTDC and HRTC, there are 10 to 15 private operators who are providing AC Volvo in this route. Some of the private services offer blankets and personal LCD seats. But, while comparing the services between the two government operators and the private operators, opt for private operators only, and only if you do not get a booking for the government buses. This is especially true for low season when many a times, private operators cancel the trip at the last moment if the occupancy level is low. Also, punctuality and professionalism are big advantages of the government services.

Most of the private buses start from near RK Ashram metro station. Please check about the boarding point after you do the booking

Few private bus operators operating in this route are –

yellowpedal

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Holiday Appeal

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Reo India Travels Pvt. Ltd

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City Land Travels

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Indo Canadian Tpt. Co. Delhi

3.3

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Delhi/Kalka To Shimla By Train

Shimla has its own train station which is connected with Kalka by meter gauge train line. Kalka to Shimla toy train route is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The route goes up the gradient from Kalka making its way through the curves and gradients offering the passengers a spectacular view of the mountain ranges. The route has 102 tunnels and 87 bridges along the way. No wonder, this journey itself is a prize for the tourists. You always need to book well in advance to get a seat in the toy trains.The train journey from Kalka to Shimla takes 5:30 hrs to cover the distance of 96 km.

Most popular among the tourists is the iconic Shivalik Deluxe Express which is a luxury train specially for tourists. Ticket prices includes breakfast and mineral water.

Kalka - Shimla Train Timing

Train No	Train Name	Kalka	Shimla
52457	Shimla Passenger	04:00	09:20
72451	Rail Motor	05:10	09:50
52451	Shivalik Deluxe	05:30	10:10
52453	Shimla Express	06:00	11:05
52455	Himalayan Queen	12:10	17:20

Shimla - Kalka Train Timing

Train No	Train Name	Shimla	Kalka
52456	Himalayan Queen	10:30	16:10
52458	Shimla Passenger	14:00	20:10
72452	Rail Motor	16:25	21:35
52452	Shivalik Deluxe	17:40	22:25
52454	Shimla Express	18:15	23:20

Delhi To Shimla By Car

If you are travelling to Shumla by your own car or a rented one, most common route to follow for reaching Shimla from Delhi is –
Delhi—Panipat—Karnal—Kurukshetra—Ambala—Chandigarh—Kalka—Solan—Shimla (345 KM)

It will take 8 to 9 Hrs to reach Shimla. You may travel either in daytime or night depending on preference. There are multiple advantages of making the journey via car. You can stop at a place you like. If you are travelling during daytime, photography lovers will love that opportunity. Also, you can stop at places and stretch your legs.

Car Rental Plan – There are multiple options offered by the good car rental agencies serving in this route. On an average, per kilometre fare of sedan type cars (max 4 persons) are Rs 9-10 per km and SUV (max 7 persons) are Rs. 12-13 per km. Various options include –

	Car Rental Plans
One Way	One way distance will be approximately 360 km and cost will be about Rs 4500 in sedan and Rs 6000 in SUV
Round Trip	Delhi-Shimla-Delhi round trip distance covered will be approximately 1000 km including local sightseeing in Shimla. Cost for a round trip will be approximately Rs 10000-11000 in sedan and Rs 13000-15000 in SUV
4-Days Package Trip	Delhi-Manali-Delhi 4 day package trip including local sightseeing will be costing you approximately Rs 15000-16000 in sedan and Rs 19000-20000 in SUV. Additional days will be charged on actual km or 250 km whichever is higher.