Destination brief
Himachal Pradesh, India
Travel Score
86
out of 100
In short
A good time to go.
Explore
A balanced mix of sights, food and day trips.
This changes which places are offered first, never a score or a safety verdict. Kept in this page’s link; allow personalization cookies in Cookie settings to remember it.
Weather forecast
Great weather and steady: Thu Oct 22 and Fri Oct 23
Average weather score 99 out of 100, the best of 3 two- and three-day runs in the forecast.
Weather forecast only: air quality, events and safety are shown separately.
Every component and the reason behind it. The full formula is on the Method page.
Average daily weather score 99/100 over the next 3 days; biggest concern: 1% chance of rain on Oct 21.
US EPA index 2: Moderate.
No Level 3 or 4 advisory in our data (not a guarantee of safety).
No storms or heavy rain in the next 3 days.
No listed events with confirmed dates in the next 14 days.
WeatherAPI
Shimla, Himachal PradeshUpdated 5:00 AM local time
12°C
Clear
Feels like 9°High 19° · Low 12°
Rain now
2%
Rain today
1% chance
Humidity
50%
Wind
9 km/h ENE
Festival calendar
Nothing on right now
No listed festivals or events are happening today.
Karva Chauth
CulturalIndia · Nationwide
Oct–Nov 2026Approx.
Married women fast from sunrise to moonrise for their husbands' wellbeing, breaking the fast after sighting the moon — most prominent across North India.
Lavi Fair
FairRampur, Himachal Pradesh · Local
Nov 2026Approx.
A centuries-old Himalayan trade fair in Rampur Bushahr — wool, dry fruits, horses and handicrafts, tracing back to old trans-Himalayan trade routes.
Guru Nanak Jayanti
ReligiousIndia · Nationwide
Nov 2026Approx.
Birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, the first Sikh Guru — marked by Akhand Path readings, processions and langar community meals, most prominently at Amritsar's Golden Temple.
Kartik Purnima
ReligiousIndia · Nationwide
Nov 2026Approx.
The full moon of the holy month of Kartik — ritual bathing in sacred rivers, lamp offerings and fairs, most famously Pushkar's own Kartik Purnima gathering.
Diwali Festival of Lights
FestivalIndia · Nationwide
Nov 8, 2026In 18 days
The spectacular festival of lights featuring diyas, rangolis, and fireworks. A time for family gatherings and Lakshmi Pujan.
Christmas Day
ReligiousWorldwide
Dec 25, 2026In 65 days
Global celebration marking the birth of Jesus Christ, celebrated with feasts, gift-giving, and decorations.
New Year's Day
National HolidayWorldwide
Jan 1, 2027In 72 days
Global celebrations to welcome the new year with joy and festivities.
Vasant Panchami
ReligiousIndia · Nationwide
Jan–Feb 2027Approx.
Marks the arrival of spring and honors Saraswati, goddess of knowledge and the arts — yellow clothing, kite flying, and Saraswati Puja in schools and homes.
Republic Day Parade
National HolidayIndia · Nationwide
Jan 26, 2027In 97 days
India's grand Republic Day celebration: flag hoisting across the country, and in Delhi a massive military parade and cultural tableaux at Kartavya Path.
Maha Shivratri
ReligiousIndia · Nationwide
Feb–Mar 2027Approx.
"The Great Night of Shiva" — temples fill with devotees for night-long prayer, fasting and processions, with especially large gatherings at Varanasi, Ujjain and Somnath.
Events marked “Approx.” are known by month, not a specific day. Exact dates are recorded for 2026; check locally before you plan around them.
US EPA index
2 / 6
ModerateAcceptable for most people. Unusually sensitive people may want to limit long outdoor exertion.
GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Power is what the wall supplies, not what a device needs: most phone and laptop chargers take 100 to 240 V, so you usually need only a plug adapter. Check the label on your device.
Plugs, power and driving side are shown only where two sources agree (Wikipedia, Mains electricity by country (from the IEC's World Plugs), worldstandards.eu, Wikidata, Wikipedia, Left- and right-hand traffic), checked 2026-10-11. See .
Seasonal data not available yet; neutral estimate used.
5:16 AM
Wednesday, October 21
Visibility
10 km
UV index
Low (0)
Local time at destination
Today
Oct 21
19° 12°
Sunny · 1% rain
Thu
Oct 22
19° 12°
Sunny · 1% rain
Fri
Oct 23
19° 12°
Sunny · 1% rain
No known advisory
No Level 3 or 4 advisory found for this destination in our data. This is not a guarantee of safety. Check your government's official travel advice before you go.
Source: U.S. Department of State travel advisorys (Level 3 and 4), retrieved 2026-10-06 from the State Department's public feed; a few records kept by hand carry their own source and date. Updated Oct 6, 2026.
India
Hindi is one of this country’s main languages; local languages can differ by region. Only words that Wiktionary and Wikivoyage phrasebooks both give are shown (CC BY-SA 4.0, checked 2026-10-11). Some languages change a word with who is speaking or how formal you are: these are the common forms.
Visa and passport rules depend on your nationality: check your government’s travel advice before you book.
Shimla, also known as Simla, is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summer capital of British India.
From Wikipedia (opens in a new tab), CC BY-SA 4.0
Exchange rate
1 USD ≈ 95.05 INR, as of 20 Oct 2026
A mid-market rate, not what a bank, card or exchange desk will give you. Rates By Exchange Rate API (opens in a new tab)
GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Towns within a day trip, best conditions first. Pick one for its full brief.
Chandigarh
55 km away · 971k people
80Good to travel
18°Smoky haze
Open briefDehradun
119 km away · 522k people
86Good to travel
17°Clear
Open briefAmbala
90 km away · 195k people
75Good to travel
18°Smoky haze
Open briefLudhiana
128 km away · 1.6M people
75Good to travel
20°Smoky haze
Open briefHoshiarpur
129 km away · 169k people
80Good to travel
17°Smoky haze
Open briefTowns 25 to 150 km away, the larger ones first, each with its own live conditions. Ranked by conditions, nearness and size. Distances are straight-line, so check the travel time. Places under a travel advisory are left out.
NASA POWER climatology (public domain)
Usually the most comfortable: April, May and June. Typical weather over 2001–2020, not a forecast.
Taller is more comfortable. The brighter bars are the best months; the filled label is this month.
Typical weather
15° 5°
Cool
About 12 mm of rain over the month
Festivals that month
What to pack
Worked out from the typical weather of this month, not from a forecast: check the forecast in the days before you go. From our festival calendar. Dates marked approximate are only known by month and can move; an empty list means none is recorded, not that nothing is on.
| Month | Feels | High / low | Rain | Comfort |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Cold | 6° / -5° | 39 mm | 57 |
| February | Cold | 8° / -4° | 46 mm | 62 |
| March | Cool | 13° / 0° | 41 mm | 76 |
| April | Pleasant | 18° / 5° | 32 mm | 93 |
| May | Pleasant | 22° / 9° | 41 mm | 99 |
| June | Wet | 23° / 12° | 127 mm | 86 |
| July | Very wet | 21° / 13° |
Comfort uses the typical daytime high (most comfortable at 20 to 28°C) and the typical rainfall (most comfortable under 1 mm a day), averaged over 2001–2020. Highs and lows are worked out from the monthly average temperature and the average daily swing, so they are close, not exact. It is not a forecast. Humidity, crowds, prices and festivals are not included, and a mountain or coast can differ from its half-degree grid cell.
| 253 mm |
| 68 |
| August | Very wet | 20° / 13° | 259 mm | 67 |
|---|
| September | Wet | 18° / 10° | 133 mm | 80 |
|---|
| October | Cool | 15° / 5° | 12 mm | 85 |
|---|
| November | Cool | 12° / 1° | 9 mm | 76 |
|---|
| December | Cold | 9° / -3° | 12 mm | 66 |
|---|