India, Dec. 10 -- Visitors often call Shimla the "Queen of the Hills," and winter is the season that explains why. By December, the forests around the town begin to lose their colours, as snowfall starts to cover most parts of Shimla. But snowfall in the region follows a fairly narrow window, and planning around it makes a big difference.

The snowfall phase generally begins toward the end of December and runs through mid-February. Weather systems moving across the Himalayas usually decide whether the town wakes up to a shirt or a full spell of snow, per Times Now reports. Early December stays mostly dry, with temperatures falling below freezing. The last week of the month is when the chance of snow starts to build.

In most years, Shimla...