The cheapest taxi option for Manali to Shimla is a Sedan (Maruti Dzire or Toyota Etios) at ₹3,300 for a one-way booking. SUV (Innova/Ertiga) costs ₹4,500 and a 12-seater Tempo Traveller costs ₹6,900. All fares include fuel, driver and AC; tolls and state tax are additional at actual.
Road Trip Guide
Drive
Manali to Shimla
by Car
ManaliShimla
250 km · 7-8 hours drive · cab from ₹3,300
Distance
250km
Drive Time
7hrs
Highway
Cab From
₹3,300
4.9 · 10,000+ trips
What are the road stages from Manali to Shimla?
| Road stage | Distance (km) | Drive time | Road quality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manali to Kullu | 40 | 1.5 hrs | Good |
| Kullu to Mandi | 55 | 1.5 hrs | Moderate |
| Mandi to Narkanda | 100 | 3 hrs | Moderate |
| Narkanda to Shimla | 60 | 2 hrs | Moderate |
How far is Shimla from Manali by car?
Shimla is approximately 250 km from Manali by road, a drive of about 7-8 hours depending on traffic and stops. The recommended vehicle is a SUV (Innova/Ertiga), and a one-way AC cab starts at ₹3,300 (sedan), ₹4,500 (SUV), or ₹6,900 (tempo). Toll and state tax are extra. Start by 5-6 AM for the smoothest run.
Planning a Manali to Shimla trip? The 250 km journey takes about 7-8 hours. Pick the SUV (Innova/Ertiga) that fits your party — sedan, SUV or tempo. Fares are fixed and all-inclusive — no surge, no hidden charges.
Your Route
Manali
Manali to Kullu · 40km · Good
Kullu to Mandi · 55km · Moderate
Mandi to Narkanda · 100km · Moderate
Narkanda to Shimla · 60km · Moderate
Shimla
Excellent
Good
Moderate
Poor
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4.9★ Rated · 10,000+ Trips · Instant Confirmation
Segment by Segment
The Road Ahead
4 segments · 250 km total
Himalayan peaks, cedar forests, hot springs at Vashisht
Beas River gorge, rafting camps, orchard country
Descending via Sundernagar, Pandoh Dam, river valleys
Hatu Peak views, apple orchards, pine forests
Book This Route
Manali to Shimla Cab
All-inclusive · No hidden charges
Sedan
Swift Dzire / Etios · 4 Seater
Most Popular
SUV
Innova Crysta / Ertiga · 6-7 Seater
Tempo Traveller
12-Seater AC · 12 Seater
When to Go
Seasonal Road Conditions
Winter Driving Conditions
Dec — Feb
Route open but icy patches possible Dec-Feb. Snow at Narkanda is common. Drive carefully.
Driving Tips
1
This is the Manali to Shimla direction — the same road as Shimla to Manali, driven the other way, so the stops below are measured from Manali
2
Leave Manali by 6 AM to clear the city before the morning build-up — on a 250 km run the hour saved at the start is the hour you are not driving in the dark at the end
3
Plan a stop every two to three hours; the food stops below are listed by distance from Manali
4
This is India's most scenic mountain drive — every turn brings a new Himalayan vista
5
Do NOT rush this drive — the 250 km takes 7-8 hours because of winding mountain roads
6
Stop at Narkanda for apple orchards in season (Jul-Oct) — buy straight from the growers
Food Stops
1Kullu (35 km)
2Mandi (90 km)
3Narkanda (190 km)
Best Car for This Trip
We recommend SUV (Innova/Ertiga) for the Manali to Shimla drive. Mountain roads and luggage space make SUVs ideal.
Fuel Planning
4 fuel stations along the route. Limited pumps on parts of this route — fill up at every opportunity.
The Manali to Shimla road trip by the numbers
Distance, driving time, fuel stop counts and indicative fares verified weekly against our drivers' actual route runs.
0 km
Total distance
one-way
0.0 hr
Driving time
plus stops
₹0
Sedan from
all-inclusive
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Fuel stops
recommended en-route
The single biggest mistake first-time road-trippers make on Delhi–Manali is not stopping at Mandi for lunch. Plan your fuel and food stops in advance — it cuts your real travel time by an hour because you're not hunting for somewhere on the way.
Pankaj Singh Gaur
Founder & CEO, Triveni Cabs™
Road Trip Q&A
More about driving from Manali to Shimla
Verified against these sources
Verified against official tourism, transport and weather data. We refresh these sources quarterly.
- GOVNational Highways Authority of India (NHAI)— official toll plaza, FASTag and national-highway data(nhai.gov.in)
- GOVParivahan Seva (Ministry of Road Transport)— official commercial vehicle permit and tax portal(parivahan.gov.in)
- WIKIManali (Wikipedia)— Himalayan hill town, Himachal Pradesh(en.wikipedia.org)
- GOVHimachal Pradesh Tourism— official Himachal tourism board (Shimla, Manali, Dharamshala, Spiti)(himachaltourism.gov.in)
- WIKIShimla (Wikipedia)— Queen of Hills, Himachal Pradesh(en.wikipedia.org)
Quick Answer
Is the drive from Manali to Shimla easier than Shimla to Manali?
The road and the distance are identical at 250 km, so the drive time is much the same at 7-8 hours. What changes is where the congestion falls: leaving Manali you clear its outskirts first, and you arrive into Shimla at whatever that city's traffic is doing when you get there.
FAQ
Manali to Shimla Road Trip FAQs
The road and the distance are identical at 250 km, so the drive time is much the same at 7-8 hours. What changes is where the congestion falls: leaving Manali you clear its outskirts first, and you arrive into Shimla at whatever that city's traffic is doing when you get there.
Kullu (35 km) and Mandi (90 km) are the practical stops, and the distances given are measured from Manali rather than from the other end — a point worth making, because every listing of this route online measures them the other way. Plan a break every two to three hours.
Yes, and on this direction it is worth asking specifically. A one-way drop is cheaper than a round trip when you are not coming back, and because we run the Shimla to Manali direction regularly there is a reasonable chance of pairing your trip with a return run — which is the cheapest a one-way ever gets. Call 7668570551 and ask what is going your way.
Around 6 AM, which clears Manali before the morning build-up. On a 250 km day the hour you save at the start is the hour you are not driving in the dark at the far end.
Broadly yes — the plazas are the same barriers and most charge per crossing — but a return-journey rate applies at some plazas within the same day, and a plaza can occasionally be one-directional. Our toll-cost page for this corridor lists the plazas with the car and SUV figures. On a fare booked with us the toll is charged at actuals with the receipts available, so you pay what the road charged rather than an estimate.
Same road, same 250 km, and the same 4 stages in the opposite order — the detailed guide for the other direction is at /travel-by-car/shimla-to-manali. The one real difference is that Narkanda to Shimla is your last stage here and your first stage there, which changes what the hardest hour of the day is.
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