Manali Tourism & Travel - Know Before you Go!

Manali Tour & Travel Guide at WeAreHolidays

Manali, one of north India’s most popular hill stations is at an altitude of 1,950 metres. Situated on the Beas river, it is one of the most visited tourist spots in the north, especially in the summers. In winters, the place wears a thick blanket of snow. A number of treks (Beas Kund, Chandrakhani Pass) start or pass through Manali. It is connected to Ladakh via the valley of Lahaul, Spiti and Rohtang Pass, another popular nearby attraction. Solang Valley, apart from offering splendid views of snow-capped mountains and glaciers, also offers adventure activities like skiing, trekking, horse riding, paragliding and zorbing.

Mall Road

Mall road is the lifeline of Manali, the main market at the Mall being the central attraction. Tourists can enjoy a quiet stroll across the Mall and pick up some attractive stuff as well.

Hadimba Devi Temple

Hadimba or Dhungri temple in Manali, a Pagoda styled shrine in the midst of a deep cedar forest, is one of the most important temples in the region. As legend goes, Hidimba was a Demon princess, wife of Bheema (second son amongst Pandavas) and mother of the brave Ghatotkatch. This four-story structure, with exquisite woodcarvings also has beautiful carvings of Goddess Durga on the doors of the temple. The green surroundings can easily rejuvenate anyone's mind. The best time to visit is in the month of May, when the 3-day festival of Dhungri is celebrated.

Old Manali

The Old Manali area is located some 3-km from the present day Manali. It has a number of guesthouses, which look ancient now, and orchards left free for the lifestock to graze.

Museum of Himachal Culture & Folk Art

Opposite Hadimba Temple, the Museum of Himachal Culture & Folk Art has religious relics, household objects, instruments, weapons, architectural woodcarvings and scale models of Himachal temples.

Vashisht

Three kms from Manali is the village of Vashisht, which is renowned for its hot sulphur springs. The village is also the site of some old temples, dedicated to the great sage Vashisht, and to Lord Rama.

Temple of Manu

Slippery stone paths snake through the old village houses up to the temple of Manu. Incidentally, Manali is named after the sage Manu who chose this area for his meditation.

Kullu-Manali Valley is known as the fruit bowl of India. Himcoop Juice Bar at The Mall Manali is one of the well know corner shops since 1972 selling 100% Natural Apple Juice and fruit drinks made from local fruits. Since there are apple orchards all around Manali, it's often possible to find apple cider.

Apple Blossoms at Manali Heights

Here you'll find the best of local Himachali food as well as delectable Indian, European, oriental cuisine.

Lazy Dog

Located in Old Manali, it has an extensive multi cuisine menu with good ambience.

Cafe Zeppelinn

Kothi village (13km from Manali, on the way to Rohtang Pass) is the last Cafe you encounter on your way out of Manali towards Rohtang. It is run by young enterpreneurs depicting their love for mountains and music. They serve pizzas, pastas etc. They also play rock music from the 60s and 70s.

Il Forno

Located on a hillside near Hadimba Temple, Forno serves genuine Italian food. The wood-fired pizzas, lasagne and pasta dishes are prepared by a Veronese chef and you can enjoy an espresso or beer with wonderful valley views from the garden terrace.

Manali market

A variety of food like Mughlai, Italian, Chinese are available at the Main market just opposite the Manali bus stand. The mall road has a variety of eating options ranging from stalls and dhabas to fancy restaurants. Deeper into the lanes of the town, one can find more local eating-places. Old Manali has a great collection of restaurants/bars and shops.

Bob Dylan's Cafe

Situated in the heart of old Manali, this cafe serves delicious cookies and sandwiches making it a very popular place to eat. Also, at no extra cost you have a movie theater where you can choose from among hundreds of movie titles and enjoy your movie along with cookies. They play Bob Dylan's music as well.

Johnson’s Cafe

The restaurant at Johnson Hotel is one of the best in town for European food, with dishes like lamb and mint gravy, smoked chicken, and fig and apple crumble. The restaurant-bar is cozy, but on warm evenings or sunny afternoons, the garden terrace is the place to be.

Cafe \\m// 1947

It is the first music cafe on the banks of river Beas, known for dishes like "Burger Of Bodom", "UFO-Double crunch Pizza" and "The Terminator". You can play instruments there as well. Also, there are concerts and parties held regularly.

Chopsticks

The most popular traveller choice along the Mall in Manali town, this Tibetan-Chinese-Japanese place (which also serves Indian) is always busy. Cold beers and fruit wines are also served.

Khyber

This dimly lit bar and restaurant is central Manali' best place for a cold beer or a bottle of fruit wine or cider. The food is also good, the speciality is meat-heavy Punjabi and Afghani cuisine but there's also Chinese, continental, and tandoori food. Drinks are reasonably priced.

Green Forest Cafe

Lying on the Hadimba Temple - Old Manali road, only a few hundred meters from the temple, it is a very popular destination amongst locals and foreigners alike. It serves Tibetan soups, veggie dumplings, other sandwiches and snacks.

When To visit

The best time to visit Manali is from March to June, when its not too cold and the days are pleasant.

Air

The nearest airport is at Bhuntar (Kullu), which is about 50 km from Manali and 10km from Kullu making it a 2-hour drive by taxi to Manali. Currently, Kingfisher Red & MDLR Airlines provide daily nonstop services from Delhi, Air India provides twice a week nonstop services.

Rail

Manali is not easily approachable by rail. The nearest stations are at Chandigarh (315 km), Pathankot (325 km) and Kalka (310 km). The nearest narrow gauge railhead is at Joginder Nagar (135 km). The nearest Broad Gauge Rail Head is Ambala Cantt. From Ambala, you can take a bus for the 10 hour ride to Manali.

Road

Manali is well connected by road to Delhi through NH-21 and NH 1. The towns that you come across en route to Manali from New Delhi are the towns of Panipat and Ambala in Haryana, Chandigarh, Ropar in Punjab, and Bilaspur, Sundernagar, and Mandi in Himachal. Manali is about 550 km from Delhi, and there are buses connecting the town with Delhi, Shimla, Dharamsala and Leh. For service from Delhi to Manali, tickets and reservations can be made at the Inter State Bus Terminus in New Delhi or online as well. You can book your seats in Luxury/Volvo buses from Himachal Tourism website. The details are as follows: - One side fare per person: Rs. 1100 (Delhi - Manali) and Rs 1200 (Manali - Delhi) - Time taken: Approx. 14 hrs (One way) - Starting Time from Delhi: 6:30 PM, Reaching Time at Manali: 08:30 AM - Starting Time from Manali: 5:30 PM, Reaching Time at Delhi: 10:00 AM

Shopping in Manali is mainly restricted to Tibetan and Kashmiri arts and handicrafts. Manali provides a great souvenir shopping opportunity with its wide variety of local stores selling shawls (Kullu and Kashmiri), other jewelry and embroidered stuff. Keychains, nameplates, etc which are customized to imprint one's own message are worth buying as mementos. One can also visit the Manali Market to buy woolen stuff like sweaters, pull overs, Kullu caps, shawls, blankets, etc. Fruit products, honey and apricot oil are locally produced in the valley. Jam here tastes like real fruit due to high content of fruit pulp Apricot oil. It is good for joint pains and general massage. Plenty of local shops sell chingus - a type of blanket that claims to be warm in winters and cold in summers. Be careful while buying these.

Manali isn' really known for late nights. Some of the places open at nights are:

Johnsons Cafe DJ

With comfortable sofas, an open fire and good food, its a place where everyone is welcome. Its especially popular amongst Indian tourists.

Chopsticks

A popular late evening hang-out place. Not just for eating, but drinking as well. We have ourselves been there a couple of times, enjoying a bottle of Apple wine.

Rohtang Pass

Rohtang Pass is the highest point, 13000 ft, on the Manali-Keylong road, 51-km from Manali town. It provides a wide panoramic view of mountains rising far above the clouds, which makes the 51 km drive by road an experience in itself. Its a 3-4 hrs drive from Manali at 1400 bucks for a full day in an Alto. Be careful about snow/traffic jams etc. You will have to hire Dangris (boiler suit type overalls) for Rohtang pass. Also gumboots costing around 500 bucks for 3 people are required to play around in the snow. You may hire skiing equipment and a guide for another 2000 bucks. As you get closer to Rohtang, the items get more expensive. This pass opens for tourists from April end to October end.

Manikaran

Manikaran Sahib Gurudwara is certainly worth a visit as the hot spring at Manikaran is not to be missed. River Rafting is great fun, and here it take place on the Beas River. You may have your lunch at Sanjha Chulha Restaurant, while returning from Manikaran Sahib or you may have Langar at Manikaran Sahib Gurudwara.

Naggar

The town of Naggar is famous for its wooden castle which displays a unique architectural blend of western and Himalayan style. The castle is scenically located near the Beas River and offers panoramic views of the surroundings. Near the castle lies the Reorich gallery that displays the paintings of the famous Russian painter, Nicholas Reorich.

Arjun Gufa

On the left bank of the Beas, 5-km from Manali near the village of Prini, is the 'Arjun Gufa' or the 'cave of Arjuna'. As legend goes, it was here that Arjuna practiced austerities to get the Pashupata Astra or weapon from Lord Indra.