Cities in Himachal Pradesh: Shimla, Dharamshala, Mandi and More
Photo: KennyOMG, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped), via Wikimedia Commons
The Ridge at Shimla in the early morning, before the shops on the Mall open.
Himachal has no big cities, only hill towns, and each one is the door to a valley, a temple or a road further in.
Shimla and Solan, the old road up
Shimla is the capital and the only town of real size: the 2011 Census counted 169,578 people inside its municipal limits. Its centre, the Mall and the Ridge, is for walking: private cars need a permit, and a 2026 law raised the fine for driving there without one to ₹15,000. Park on Cart Road below and take the public lift up.
The slow way in is the narrow-gauge train from Kalka: 96 km and five to six hours through more than a hundred tunnels. By road, Shimla is about 120 km from Chandigarh, three and a half hours by car. Solan, on the same line and the same road, is a busy market town, named India's "Mushroom City" in 1997 for the national mushroom research centre at Chambaghat. The factories the old lists praised are not in Solan town but at Baddi, Barotiwala and Nalagarh, low in the same district.
Dharamshala and McLeod Ganj
Dharamshala, in Kangra district, is two towns on one slope. Lower Dharamshala has the offices, Kotwali Bazaar and the cricket ground. Upper McLeod Ganj has the Tsuglagkhang, the temple beside the Dalai Lama's residence, and the shops and cafés of the Tibetan community in exile. A cable car, the Dharamshala Skyway, joins the two; it closed for about two months after the 2025 monsoon landslides and runs again, weather permitting.
Gaggal airport is 13 km away, with few flights. The nearest broad-gauge station is Pathankot, about 90 km away, and most people arrive on overnight buses from Delhi. Palampur, 45 km east, is the quieter tea town of the same valley.
Mandi, Kullu and Manali on the Beas
Mandi is called Chhoti Kashi, "little Varanasi", for its ghats and its stone temples to Shiva, more than eighty of them by the state's count. The Bhootnath temple sits in the old bazaar, and Panchvaktra stands where the Suketi stream meets the Beas. It is worth a night, not just a tea stop. The new four-lane highway from Kiratpur now bypasses the town, and two tunnels opened in September 2026 cut the Mandi to Kullu drive to about an hour in normal traffic.
Kullu is the valley's working town, and its Dhalpur ground holds the Dussehra fair; in 2026 it runs from 21 to 27 October. Manali, 40 km up the valley, is a resort rather than a city. Bhuntar airport, 10 km from Kullu and 50 km from Manali, has a few flights that depend on the weather; check before you go.
Chamba, Bilaspur and the lower towns
Chamba sits on a shelf above the Ravi, far from the main roads. Its Lakshmi Narayan temple group, begun in the 10th century, is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India; the old claim that it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site is wrong. Pathankot, 120 km away, is the nearest railhead. Bilaspur is a new town above the Gobind Sagar reservoir. Una and Hamirpur, near the plains, are working towns with trains, colleges and an engineering institute, but little to keep a traveller.
Joining the towns by road
Himachal's towns sit in separate valleys, so the order matters more than the distance. The Shimla district gives these car times: Shimla to Mandi, 143 km in about five hours; Shimla to Dharamshala by way of Hamirpur, 235 km in about seven. From Mandi the new highway reaches Kullu in about an hour. Buses take longer.
One loop runs Chandigarh, Shimla, Mandi, Kullu and Manali, and back down the four-lane road. Dharamshala and Chamba are easier from Pathankot. From July to September landslides can close any road, so keep a spare day. For the valleys beyond the towns, read Himachal Pradesh, valley by valley.
Towns to know
- Shimla (Shimla): the capital, 169,578 people in 2011 (Census of India), with the Mall, the Ridge and the toy train.
- Solan (Solan): a market town on the Kalka line, known for mushrooms.
- Dharamshala and McLeod Ganj (Kangra): offices below, Tibetan life above, joined by a cable car.
- Palampur (Kangra): tea gardens under the Dhauladhar range.
- Mandi (Mandi): stone temples and ghats on the Beas.
- Kullu (Kullu): the Dhalpur ground and the October Dussehra.
- Manali (Kullu): the last town before the high passes.
- Chamba (Chamba): carved temples above the Ravi.
- Bilaspur (Bilaspur): a rebuilt town above the Bhakra reservoir.
In Himachal a town is measured less by its size than by the valley it opens.
Plan your visit
| Best season | March to June and late September to November. July and August bring heavy rain and road closures. |
|---|---|
| How to reach | Chandigarh airport is the main gateway; Jubbarhatti, Gaggal and Bhuntar have few flights. Railheads: Kalka for Shimla, Pathankot for Dharamshala and Chamba, Kiratpur Sahib in Punjab for Mandi. |
| Getting around | HRTC state buses link every town, and taxis wait at each bus stand. Walk in Shimla; take the cable car up to McLeod Ganj. |
| Where to stay | Around the Mall or Chhota Shimla; McLeod Ganj or Dharamkot; old Mandi near the Beas; Old Manali or Naggar; central Chamba. |
| How long to spend | Two nights each in Shimla, McLeod Ganj and the Kullu valley, one in Mandi. More in our Himachal Pradesh guide. |
| Permits | None for these towns. Private cars need a permit for Shimla's sealed roads; park on Cart Road instead. |
Questions people ask
Which is the biggest city in Himachal Pradesh?
Shimla, with 169,578 people in its municipal area at the 2011 Census; no other town comes close. The 2027 Census is under way.
Is there an official list of the most developed cities in Himachal?
No. There is no official ranking of 'developed' towns, and old lists that rank them are opinion. This guide chooses towns for what a visitor finds there.
Is the Lakshmi Narayan temple in Chamba a UNESCO World Heritage Site?
No. It is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India. Himachal's UNESCO listings are the Kalka to Shimla railway, part of the Mountain Railways of India, and the Great Himalayan National Park.
How do I get from Dharamshala to McLeod Ganj?
By a short, steep road, or on the Dharamshala Skyway cable car from Kotwali Bazaar. The cable car stops in bad weather, so check that it is running.
Read next
Written by Muthu, editor of Aura of India. Sources: Shimla District, Government of Himachal Pradesh: How to reach, District Kangra, Government of Himachal Pradesh: How to reach, District Mandi, Government of Himachal Pradesh: Places of interest, District Kullu: International Kullu Dussehra 2026 (21-27 October), District Chamba, Government of Himachal Pradesh: How to reach, ICAR-Directorate of Mushroom Research, Solan: About us, Himachal Pradesh Economics and Statistics: Urban statistics (Census 2011 populations), The Indian Express: Mandi-Kullu travel time halved as Deod, Hanogi tunnels open (2026), Hindustan Times: Bill passed proposing heavy penalties for vehicles on sealed roads in Shimla (2026). Last verified: 15 October 2026.
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