Himanchal Pradesh and Uttarakhand both being hill states are neighbours as well, but the main reasons for Himanchal Pradesh to grab more pair of eyeballs from India and abroad are majorly its proximity to Punjab and Haryana and the transport is much better and convenient in comparison to Uttarakhand. Another major reason for Himanchal Pradesh to be much more know among the traveller's is due the government support for vocal for local since the time this particular term " vocal for local was not introduced to us by the central government. The buying and selling of land is prohibited to the people outside Himanchal and one can only lease out for a certain period of time.
A local cab would be less tiring bcoz buses have timings and they might not suit you, or may be risky due to covid times, 2 years ago a cab charged us 600 from kathgodam to nainital upto our hotel.