Employment is largely driven by the government and tourism. Education and horticultural produce processing, comprise most of the remainder.

In addition to being the local hub of transportation and trade, Shimla is the area’s healthcare centre, hosting a medical college and four major hospitals: the Indira Gandhi Hospital (formerly known as Snowdown Hospital,) Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital (formerly called Ripon Hospital,) Kamla Nehru Hospital, and Indus Hospital. The city’s development plan aims make Shimla an attractive health tourism spot.

Hotel industry is one of the major source of income generation for the city. Shimla leads the list of Indian cities with the highest ranked hotels.

Government is trying to promote technology and IT sector as the new area for growth and promotion although not many companies have yet settled in Shimla. Two notable companies that are registered in Shimla are Avant-Garde Digital, an international company, and Instablogs, a company that deals with media publishing.

Shimla the capital of the glorious state of Himachal Pradesh is a fabulous hill-station surrounded by dense forests that comprises of oak, deodar, pine and rhododendron forests. Shimla has abundance of natural beauty and the locals are privileged to live in such panoramic locations. This place can enamor anyone with its beauty.

Shimla used to be the summer capital of the British Raj when they ruled India. This wonderfully cool and charming town sprawls along a mountain ridge, enveloped in oak, pine and rhododendron forests. It’s quite famous for its colonial style buildings and historic railway.

Shimla has a lot of variety to offer. Shimla is an ideal place for fishing, golfing, skiing, trekking etc. Adventuring here which definitely make you enthusiastic and spirited. For more energetic entertainment, hit the indoor roller-skating rink in Lakkar Bazaar or go open-air ice-skating above the Rivoli Bus stand. There are always amazing things to be explored in its surrounding countryside. Fagu, Kulfri and Naldhera are some of the well- known places for adventuring and camping too.

Long walks in the deep green woods will give you a scintillating feeling. The Shimla Ridge gives you a magnificent view of the sunset which is indescribable. Tour to Shimla will captivate you with its natural charm and enable you to get closer to nature. One of the attractions of this hill-station are its apple trees. The sight of a cluster of apple trees with leave you dumbstruck.

Situated at an altitude of 2159 m Shimla is engulfed by snow-covered mountains, green pastures dense forests and wholesome climate. These overall conditions draw tourist to this hill station. The toy train ride from Kalka station to Shimla takes you through a picturesque route, which will keep you spellbound and memories of which you will relish forever.

The old Christ Church, with its beautiful stained glass windows, is one of Shimla’s most prominent landmarks. Also to be enjoyed are the mesmerizing views from Scandal Point, and the Viceregal Lodge (try to be there for the sunrise or sunset) on Observatory Hill. There are plenty of adventure sports and short hikes on offer in the vicinity as well.

The vast majority of the area occupied by the present-day Shimla city was dense forest during the 18th century. The only civilization consisted of the Jakhoo temple and a few scattered houses.

The bridge connecting Shimla with Chhota Shimla, originally erected in 1829 by Lord Combermere, Shimla, 1850s

“Simla is only four days mach from Lroodianah (Ludhiana), is easy of access, and proves a very agreeable refuge from the burning plains of Hindoostaun (Hindustan). ”

In 1863, the Viceroy of India John Lawrence decided to shift the summer capital of the British Raj to Shimla. He took the trouble of moving the administration twice a year between Calcutta and this separate centre over 1,000 miles away, despite the fact that it was difficult to reach. Lord Lytton (Viceroy of India 1876–1880) made efforts to plan the town from 1876, when he first stayed in a rented house, but began plans for a Viceregal Lodge, later built on Observatory Hill. A fire cleared much of the area where the native Indian population lived (the “Upper Bazaar”), and the planning of the eastern end to become the centre of the European town forced these to live in the Middle and Lower Bazaars on the lower terraces descending the steep slopes from the Ridge. The Upper Bazaar was cleared for a Town Hall, with many facilities such as library and theatre, as well as offices—for police and military volunteers as well as municipal administration.

During the “Hot Weather”, Simla was also the Headquarters of the Commander-in-Chief, India, the head of the Indian Army, and many Departments of the Government. The summer capital of the regional Government of the Punjab moved from Murree, in modern-day Pakistan, to Shimla in 1876.

The Kalka-Shimla railway line, constructed in 1906, added to Shimla’s accessibility and popularity. The railway route from Kalka to Shimla, with more than 806 bridges and 103 tunnels, was touted as an engineering feat and came to be known as the “British Jewel of the Orient”.[6] In 2008, it became part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Mountain railways of India.[7] Not only that, there was a significant Muslim population in the region before the partition of British India. In addition, Shimla was the capital of the undivided state of Punjab in 1871, and remained so until the construction of the new city of Chandigarh (the present-day capital of Punjab)[dubious – discuss] Upon the formation of the state of Himachal Pradesh in 1971, Shimla was named its capital.

Pre-independence structures still dot Shimla; buildings such as the former Viceregal Lodge, Auckland House, Christ Church, Gorton Castle, Shimla Town Hall and The Gaiety Theatre are reminders of British rule in India. The original Peterhoff, another Viceregal residence, burned down in 1981. British Simla extended about a mile and a half along the ridge between Jakhoo Hill and Prospect Hill. The central spine was The Mall, which ran along the length of the ridge, with a Mall Extension southwards, closed to all carriages except those of the Viceroy and his wife.

Shimla lies in the north-western ranges of the Himalayas. It is located at 31.61°N 77.10°E with an average altitude of 2397.59 meters (7866.10 ft) abovemean sea level, the city is spread on a ridge and its seven spurs. The city stretches nearly 9.2 km from east to west. The highest point in Shimla, at 2454 meters (8051 ft), is the Jakhoo hill. Shimla is a Zone IV (High Damage Risk Zone) per the Earthquake hazard zoning of India. Weak construction techniques and increasing population pose a serious threat to the already earthquake prone region. There are no bodies of water near the main city and the closest river, Sutlej, is about 21 km (13 mi) away. Other rivers that flow through the Shimla district, although further from the city, are Giri, and Pabbar (both are tributaries of Yamuna). The green belt in Shimla planning area is spread over 414 hectares (1023 acres).

The main forests in and around the city are that of pine, deodar, oak and rhododendron. Environmental degradation due to the increasing number of tourists every year without the infrastructure to support them has resulted in Shimla losing its popular appeal as an ecotourism spot. Another rising concern in the region are the frequent number of landslides that often take place after heavy rains.

Shimla features a subtropical highland climate (Cwb) under the Köppen climate classification. The climate in Shimla is predominantly cool during winters, and moderately warm during summer. Temperatures typically range from −4 °C (25 °F) to 31 °C (88 °F) over the course of a year. The average temperature during summer is between 19 °C (66 °F) and 28 °C (82 °F), and between−1 °C (30 °F) and 10 °C (50 °F) in winter. Monthly precipitation varies between 15 millimetres (0.59 in) in November to 434 millimetres (17.1 in) in August. It is typically around 45 millimetres (1.8 in) per month during winter and spring and around 175 millimetres (6.9 in) in June as the monsoon approaches. The average total annual precipitation is 1,575 millimetres (62 in), which is much less than most other hill stations but still much heavier than on the plains. Snowfall in the region, which historically has taken place in the month of December, has lately (over the last fifteen years) been happening in January or early February every year.