Shimla, the district headquarter is also the state capital of Himachal Pradesh and remained Summer Capital of British empire and capital of Punjab after the partition of India.
Shimla came into existence on Railway line (Shimla to Kalka) completed in 1903.
Shimla is only a class I town in the state and has the distinction of having medical college, university, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, and state museum, etc.
Shimla has rank 3rd in terms of population in the state.
Shimla district stands in the 10th in position in sex–ratio i.e. 915 females per thousand males as compared to the state’s sex ratio of 972 females per males thousand.
Shimla district stands 6th in the position in literacy rate with 83.6 percent in comparison to state literacy of 82.8 percent.
Shimla district is renowned for apple cultivation and exports of these to other states of the country.
Asia’s Second biggest hydel project (Nathpa Jhakhari) with a capacity of 1,500 MW is located in the district.
The district is also renowned for snowfields and passes. The place Narkanda is also famous for skiing and it attracts tourists from other states.