The cheapest taxi option for Shimla to Chandigarh 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
Shimla to Chandigarh
by Car
ShimlaChandigarh
115 km · 3-4 hours drive · cab from ₹3,300
Distance
115km
Drive Time
3hrs
Highway
Cab From
₹3,300
4.9 · 10,000+ trips
What are the road stages from Shimla to Chandigarh?
| Road stage | Distance (km) | Drive time | Road quality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shimla to Solan | 45 | 1.5 hrs | Good |
| Solan to Kalka | 40 | 1.5 hrs | Moderate |
| Kalka to Pinjore | 10 | 15 min | Good |
| Pinjore to Chandigarh | 25 | 30 min | Excellent |
How far is Chandigarh from Shimla by car?
Chandigarh is approximately 115 km from Shimla by road, a drive of about 3-4 hours depending on traffic and stops. The recommended vehicle is a Sedan (Swift Dzire), 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.
Travelling from Shimla to Chandigarh? It's roughly 115 km and around 3-4 hours. Choose a Sedan (Swift Dzire) to match your group size and budget. Book in two minutes with a fixed fare, verified driver and 24/7 support.
Your Route
Shimla
Shimla to Solan · 45km · Good
Solan to Kalka · 40km · Moderate
Kalka to Pinjore · 10km · Good
Pinjore to Chandigarh · 25km · Excellent
Chandigarh
Excellent
Good
Moderate
Poor
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Segment by Segment
The Road Ahead
4 segments · 115 km total
Pine forests, Barog break, Mall Road glimpses
22 hairpin bends, toy train alongside, tunnel views
Kalka — start of mountain railway and ghat road
Pinjore Gardens (Mughal heritage), flat approach road
Book This Route
Shimla to Chandigarh 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
Snow possible Dec-Feb on upper sections. Black ice risk near Shimla. Beautiful but drive with caution.
Driving Tips
1
This is the Shimla to Chandigarh direction — the same road as Chandigarh to Shimla, driven the other way, so the stops below are measured from Shimla
2
The hill section comes early in this direction rather than late, which suits anyone prone to car sickness better and means the descent is done while you are fresh
3
Leave Shimla by 6 AM: finishing the mountain stretch in daylight matters more than arriving early, and the light goes sooner in the hills than on the plains
4
Plan a stop every two to three hours; the food stops below are listed by distance from Shimla
5
This is a short but intense mountain drive — 22 hairpin bends demand full attention
6
The Kalka-Shimla toy train runs alongside the road — look out for it for amazing photo ops
Food Stops
1Solan (45 km)
2Barog (50 km)
3Pinjore (90 km)
Best Car for This Trip
We recommend Sedan (Swift Dzire) for the Shimla to Chandigarh drive. Well-maintained highway makes a sedan the perfect, cost-effective choice.
Fuel Planning
3 fuel stations along the route. Limited pumps on parts of this route — fill up at every opportunity.
The Shimla to Chandigarh 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
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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 Shimla to Chandigarh
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)
- WIKIShimla (Wikipedia)— Queen of Hills, Himachal Pradesh(en.wikipedia.org)
- GOVHimachal Pradesh Tourism— official Himachal tourism board (Shimla, Manali, Dharamshala, Spiti)(himachaltourism.gov.in)
Quick Answer
Is the drive from Shimla to Chandigarh easier than Chandigarh to Shimla?
It is a different drive rather than an easier one. Going Shimla to Chandigarh the hill section comes first, while you are fresh, and the plains run is at the end — which most passengers prefer, and which suits anyone prone to car sickness. The disadvantage is that you meet Chandigarh's traffic at the end of a long day rather than at the start of it.
FAQ
Shimla to Chandigarh Road Trip FAQs
It is a different drive rather than an easier one. Going Shimla to Chandigarh the hill section comes first, while you are fresh, and the plains run is at the end — which most passengers prefer, and which suits anyone prone to car sickness. The disadvantage is that you meet Chandigarh's traffic at the end of a long day rather than at the start of it.
Solan (45 km) and Barog (50 km) are the practical stops, and the distances given are measured from Shimla 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 Chandigarh to Shimla 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. The Shimla to Solan section is the mountain work and you want it done in daylight — the light goes earlier in the hills than the clock suggests, and the descent is the part where being tired matters.
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 115 km, and the same 4 stages in the opposite order — the detailed guide for the other direction is at /travel-by-car/chandigarh-to-shimla. The one real difference is that Pinjore to Chandigarh is your last stage here and your first stage there, which changes what the hardest hour of the day is.
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