Shimla the summer capital of the erstwhile British Raj in India, is a municipal corporation in Shimla district and the capital city of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Nestled in the middle Himalayas in northern India, Shimla is a hill station destination much beloved by honeymooners and other tourists, particularly in summer.

The city is named for the goddess Shyamala Devi, an incarnation of Kali.

Scottish civil servant Charles Pratt Kennedy built Simla's first British summer home in 1822, and by the latter half of the 19th century the town had become the summer capital of the British Raj. British soldiers, merchants, and civil servants moved there each year to escape the heat and disease of summer in the Indo-Gangetic plain. Pre-independence structures still dot Shimla; imposing Victorian monuments of British rule in India.

Shimla district is located in the middle western ranges of the Himalayas. This region has a hilly terrain and has an uneven cover of evergreen pine forests. The Shimla city spreads over the hill at an average altitude of 2000 meters (roughly 6500 feet) above mean sea level.

A good part of the economy is supported by government. Shimla is also an important tourist destination, accounting for almost a quarter of all tourists arriving in Himachal. Kufri, Naldera, Tattapani, Shiv Gufa (Near Sarrur pul), and Chail are among the main tourist attractions. Shimla district is also famous for its apple orchards, originated by American missionary Satyananda Stokes.