How to reach Himachal from Delhi and Chandigarh — by train, bus and flight
Himachal from Delhi and Chandigarh by road, rail and air: distances and drive times to 16 hubs, the Kalka–Shimla and Kangra Valley trains, and the airports.
ArticleVerified 2026-10-24
Best time to visit Himachal, month by month — snow, monsoon and the roads that open
Himachal month by month: when it snows in Shimla and Manali, when the monsoon peaks, when the Spiti and Lahaul roads open, with IMD rainfall.
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Himachal is not one climate. The Shivalik foothills are warm; Shimla and Dalhousie sit at hill-station height and see snow; the Kullu and Kangra valleys take the monsoon hard; Lahaul, Spiti and upper Kinnaur lie north of the main range and live by when the passes open. The months below say what each part of the state is doing, and link to the guide that has the detail. Rainfall figures are IMD normals as published for each town.
Photos: Wayfarersonmove (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Timothy A. Gonsalves (CC BY-SA 4.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
January
The cold month. Shimla's IMD record shows 42 cm of snow in January, and Narkanda and Dalhousie are under it. In Manali the nights fall to freezing or below, the Solang road carries snow, and the tunnel keeps Sissu and Keylong reachable. Dharamshala has days of 16 to 18°C and nights of 6 to 7°C, with snow possible at Triund. Kinnaur villages are under snow, and Spiti is reachable only the long way, through Kinnaur.
February
Shimla's snowiest month on the record, with 43 cm, and with January the reliable weeks for skiing at Solang, Narkanda and Kufri. Keep your dates loose. The roads over the high passes stay shut, while the valleys below them are quiet.
March
Spring arrives from below. Blossom comes to the Kullu valley slopes, the Rohtang road is still shut while the tunnel is open, and the high meadows keep their snow. See Manali in March and April and when to visit Kullu. Dharamshala warms fast, and the lower Kasauli and Nahan are at their easiest.
April
The start of the classic hill-station season in Shimla and Dalhousie, which run April to June. The Kheerganga path clears of snow through the month, and Triund is usually clear by mid-April. Sar Pass opens, with more snow and harder going in April and May. The Spiti road from Manali is still closed.
May
Rohtang opens, and Manali and the Kullu valley are at their busiest. The Manali to Kunzum road to Kaza typically reopens in May or June. Beas Kund and Bhrigu Lake open late in the month, with snow still on both routes. Kalpa and the upper Kinnaur villages are only just coming out of a winter that runs to May.
June
Peak season in the Kullu valley and the lakes: Manali in June. The river runs hard with snowmelt. The rain builds towards July, and in Shimla it is already more than twice May's. Lahaul is open and green.
July
The monsoon. Shimla gets 328.3 mm, Mandi 235.7 mm, and Dharamshala 859 mm on the IMD normals. Slides close the Kullu highway for hours, the Barshaini road above Kasol closes after slides, and rafting stops when the water is up. See Manali in the monsoon. This is also when Lahaul and Spiti are drier and open: the main season there runs July to September. The Minjar fair fills Chamba.
August
The wettest month in most of the state: 351.3 mm in Shimla, 292.7 mm in Mandi, 942 mm in Dharamshala. Treat every road in the Kullu and Kangra valleys as at risk of a slide. Water sports at Bilaspur's Gobind Sagar start in August. Spiti and the Lahaul road are the dry-side alternative.
September
The rain falls away: Shimla drops to 164.5 mm. Skies clear through the month, and it is the first of the best trekking weeks for Triund, Kheerganga, Beas Kund and Bhrigu Lake; see the treks by length and month. Manali in September is quiet and green.
October
The clearest month. Shimla has 30.3 mm of rain, Dharamshala about 53 mm, and the mountains stand out. The Kullu Dussehra falls in the October–November window, and Manali in October is the favourite of many returning visitors. The lake at Bilaspur is full. The Kunzum road towards Manali typically closes for the season somewhere in this month, and Kalpa's long winter begins.
November
The driest month in Shimla at 13.6 mm, and snow returns to Narkanda and Dalhousie, which hold it from November to March. Rohtang closes by mid-November. Mandi has a long dry, clear stretch through the month. Regattas run on Gobind Sagar. Pack for cold nights in the hills.
December
Cold and clear, with the first reliable snow near Shimla and in Manali in December. Shimla's rain is only 26.2 mm. Christmas and New Year fill the hill stations. The high passes are shut, and Kaza is reachable only through Kinnaur. See where to see snow in Himachal.
The same data, place by place
Each hub's own best-time guide has the monthly detail: Shimla, Manali, Kullu, Dharamshala, Dalhousie, Mandi, Chamba, Kasol, Kalpa and Kaza.
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Questions people ask
What is the best month to visit Himachal?
October for clear skies across most of the state, and April to June for the hills when you want warmth. Shimla's rain falls to 30.3 mm in October from 351.3 mm in August. Spiti is best from July to September, when both road routes are open.
When does it snow in Himachal?
From November to March in Shimla, Narkanda and Dalhousie, with the IMD record at 42 cm in January and 43 cm in February for Shimla. The high valleys of Kinnaur, Lahaul and Spiti are under snow from October, and the passes close for the winter.
Which months are worst for Himachal?
July and August, when landslides close roads in the Kullu valley and the Kangra valley. Dharamshala averages 859 mm in July and 942 mm in August on the IMD normals. Lahaul and Spiti, north of the main range, are drier, which is why Spiti is a monsoon-month trip.