KULU-MANALI

Hi readers…. Wish you all a very happy touring. I like travelling very much and always plan my itinerary before proceeding to any destination. To be honest, we don't need to take assistance of tour operators, had we known well about the places we intend to go. Our place of stay should be in such a location, that all destinations or places of interest are easily accessible.  Anyway, I always choose economical accommodation that are comfortable, convenient and suit to my budget. I hope, most of the readers also do.. 

But, many a time I found it very difficult to plan the program effectively as I don't have geographical information about the hotels we choose and with the places of interest. A travel blog will help you to plan your vacation effectively and this was realized when I read a travel blog about Andaman & Nicobar. We can gather loads of information through such blogs, and you don't have to depend on tour operators who always try to extort money from travelers like us. So, don't worry about the packages and offers they give, always build your own travel plan and save money on your trip.

         

      

How to reach:     

(a) By air:- Nearest airport to Manali is Bhuntar (Kulu) which is 50 Km away from Manali and you can take flight from Delhi. After reaching Kullu(Bhuntar) airport, you need to arrange a taxi to reach Manali. It may cost you around Rs. 2,500/- for a Swift DZire. Otherwise buses are also ply between the places, but I could not gather much information about that. I asked many locals regarding this, but none could answer me correctly. (They seem to be reluctant to divulge the information !!! Taxi lobby??) So I took a taxi from the airport to Manali centre. Since my family was also travelling with me, I did not waste much time on that !

(b) By Road: You can also reach Manali by bus. Bus can be boarded from Delhi. (approx. 535 KM and takes around 15 hrs for a single side journey). Plenty of buses ply between Delhi and Manali. You can take Volvo buses by HRTC or private operators, but I strongly recommend private Volvos. HRTC Volvo will cost you around 1600.00 and Private Volvo from 900 to 1000/- (Rates depend upon the season and I traveled during the first week of September which is Off- Season).

Boarding point at Delhi :- for HRTC Buses - ISBT Kashmiri Gate

for other private buses, see options available in Redbus.

Bus stand at Manali :- Walkable distance from Manali City Centre

Tickets can be booked online from HRTC web site or through RedBus

Where to Stay:

     After reaching Manali or while planning your program, first thing that comes to our mind is accommodation, where to stay? Comfortable, convenient and pocket friendly rooms?. Right? I also thought the same way. Then I surfed a lot and finally found booking.com very useful which showed me many hotels reasonable and comfortable. But I was not sure about their location with respect to locales. Because I have never been to this place before. Anyway, I booked one family room at Hotel AmNeu Village House near Hadimba devi temple, which costed me below Rs. 500 per day for a family room!! It has two rooms with two double coat and a common toilet. Room was excellent , neat and tidy and spacious. Readers can check the rooms and availability from the following link. 

(https://www.booking.com/hotel/in/amneu-village-house)

This hotel is located in a village near Hadimba Devi temple, approximately 03 km from city centre. The premises of the hotel were really excellent and as the name goes, it is located exactly at the middle of a village amidst apple trees. We could see small houses/huts around our hotel belonging to the native villagers. You can view long Deodar Cedar trees, mountains and beautiful apple trees from your rooms as well as from the balcony. It was a mesmerizing view and a memorable stay. In fact the hotel is not located that far from the City Centre. City centre is the place, where many shopping streets, shopping malls and bus terminus are situated. It is always crowded and the ambience for a stay is not relatively good and should be avoided as far as possible. I stayed one night at a hotel in city centre which was not as pleasant as Village house. Cost is also two to three times higher than Village house.

Amneu Forest house is also a good option to stay near Hadimba devi temple.

(https://www.booking.com/hotel/in/amneu-forest-view-homes)


However, there are plenty of options available online, and readers can chose any, as per their convenience and budget available. However, do not worry about the location of hotel as you can hire a cab on daily rental basis after reaching Manali. Once you are settled in the hotel, go for a stroll towards city centre. Look for alternate hotels nearby and you can see agents of tour operators roving in the streets and mall centre searching for potential customers ! Even you can see single car drivers/owners on the streets uttering best offers for taking rides to various locales. Please note that rates are NEGOTIABLE during off season period, but during the peak season, where demand is very high, you can not have negotiation.

Where to go !!

Now the question comes, what is there to see and how to prepare the itinerary. After reaching your room at Manali (which you might have booked online), you can explore the local places. If needed, you can change your hotel according to your requirement.  You can cover all these places in a day. So start your local sightseeing early in the morning to cover most of the areas. If you are reaching Manali in the second half of the day, then plan your trip accordingly.

1. Local places:

(a) Solang Valley: It is around 13 KM from City centre. You can see many adventurous activities like, ATV Adventure Mountain biking, Para gliding, rope way etc. In the winter, the entire valley takes a shape of snow blanket and becomes a perfect vista for several snow activities. You can spend at least an hour here and can be extended based on the activities you chose there.

(b) Vashisht Village: Around 2 Km from City centre. You can see Vashisht temple and enjoy the hot spring over here. (BEWARE !!! In Vashisht temple, you can find plenty of so called Kashmiri traders who sell “Sparu” , a special type blanket made of skin of some animal spotted only in Kashmir. Please don’t fall prey to this and there is no authenticity of the item, and it is available only in Vashisht village and near Hadimba devi temple. There are numerous shop near the temple selling such blankets and they keep on nagging you to have a look. They are very talkative and eloquent,that we will fall easily into their words. In fact they will show certificates issued by Kashmir Khadi board and many other government institution. THEY ARE ALL SCAM. So please be prepared accordingly before proceeding to Vashisht Village. Further, the items they display seem to be very attractive and irresistible offers... If you are ready to throw away around 8,000/- just pick the items right from there and don't pay any advance. If you have already made up your mind, try to negotiate further and demand more items in the package they offer. I am sure they will acquiesce to your demand !!! Wish you a happy shopping there in advance! )

(c) Manu temple : Around 2 Km from City centre


(d) Hadimba devi temple : Around 3 Km from city centre


(e) Nehru Kundu : Around 5 Km from City centre


(f) Himalayan Nyinmapa Tibetan Buddhist Monastery: Just 10 m from the city centre

Note: For local sightseeing to all these places, you can hire a taxi costing between Rs 700/- to 1000/- All the above places can be covered in a single day.

2. Jogini Falls :

A must have destination in your itinerary. Mesmerizing, Captivating and anything you say, is less. You can spend as much time as possible here. Reaching here, is little difficult. But once you reach here, you will fail to remember the trekking you did. Remember to carry sufficient snacks and water for the trekking. No restaurants or shops available enroute.

At Jogini fall

View from Jogini fall

Relishing on the spot!!

   You can reach here either through Vashisht village or through Bahang village. I did my trekking (Approx. 2 Km one way) to Jogini falls through Bahang Village which I suppose was easier route. Cab can cost you around 500/- or even less from city centre to the starting point of the trekking  without waiting for your return. Or you can start your trek from your hotel itself...

3. Jana Waterfalls :

Jana Falls is a beautiful natural waterfall inside a small village known as Jana. Located about 35 km from Manali city centre and 12 km from Naggar This place is well known for the local dishes and Maniram dhaba is famous for their dishes being served there. Half a day can be spent here.
You can hire a taxi for Rs. 1700/- from city centre. (I took Alto @ 1700.00 from city centre) and can spend half day here. Please google or search in other sites like trip adviser for a detailed review of the place.

Jana Falls

Jana falls

Jana falls

Delicious local dishes available at Restaurant 

4. Kullu-Manikaran: 

It is 80 Km from city centre and you need a whole day for visiting here. To be honest, I opted it out from my itinerary as I considered it less important. Hot spring is the only main attraction here apart from one Gurudwara and the langar.

You can hire a cab for 2500/- to 3000/- from city centre for the trip.

5. Rohtang pass: 

(Closed on all Tuesdays for maintenance). Generally every year Rohtang pass is closed due to heavy snow fall during winters. The pass is opened from June to October for motor vehicles. Special permit needs to be obtained for crossing the Rohtang pass. But if you hire a cab, driver will arrange the permit himself, provided you give him intimation one day in advance. Cost of the permit is around 550/- Cab is usually available for 2000/-(for Alto) to 2500/-(for Swift DZire), including both way, including permit fee. Rohtang Pass is closed from November to May and is open for visitors June to October. You should not omit this place from your list and you should visit this place once in your life time.

        

Himalayan Yak

At Rohtang pass beyond Final view point

  You cannot club visiting of any other place enroute to Rohtang pass, as it is a whole day excursion. But Nehru kund is located very next to the road towards Rohtang pass and you can spend 10 minutes here. During May/June, July and Oct/Nov, long queues of vehicles can be seen to cross the Rohtang pass, and in those days it will take around 5 hours to reach there!!! However, in September vehicle traffic was much less, that even I could count the vehicles crossing me and I reached the peak in 2 hours. You can find many restaurants on the way. Just ensure that, your driver has taken permit online for the Rohtang pass previous day.

6. Igloo Stay

If you are planning your trip in winter time, please try one night stay in Igloo.

7. Naggar Castle

This is the place where hindi movie " Jab we met" was shot and you can spend one hour here. This castle is enroute to Jana fall.

You can arrange your stay here also ... (Stay like a king)

Suggested itinerary

Day 1 : Jana Falls /Naggar Castle ,Vashisht Temple, Manu temple, Himalayan Nyinmapa Tibetan Buddhist Monastery, Nehru Kund, Hadimba Devi Temple

Day 2 : Rohtang Pass (Remember Tuesday closed)

Day 3 : Jogini falls (in the morning session, start early in the morning) and Solang valley in the afternoon session if you want to do activities

Day 4 : Kullu Manikaran (Whole day evolution)

Day 5 : If you have one day extra with you, and intend to do snow activities, plan your Solang valley and activities for this day followed by local shopping at City Centre. This will give you extra tim to spend at Jogini fall.

Where to eat ??

Generally most of the restaurants in Manali seemed to be expensive for me...but I liked the food being served at a small dhaba type restaurant near Hadimba devi temple.. It is cheap and best.. delicious food.. I think it is worth to share with you all....

Note: There are many other places to see which I have not mentioned here like Tibetan Monasteries. Readers can search internet for more places to explore. Rates I have mentioned above are applicable during off season only. In peak seasons, rates are generally 3-4 times more !! I travelled in the month of September and prices were all damn cheap. The most important fact is that, I could not trace a single speck of ice in Manali and in the entire stretch to Rohtang pass. So if you are heading towards Manali to enjoy the snow, please plan your trip in the winter season. But Rohtang pass is closed for visitors during winter, and best time to enjoy both Manali and Rohtang pass is during May/June and Oct/Nov.

Whom to Contact :

(a) Chaman Lal (Alto Car) 9817005262

(b) Vicky (Manali Travels) 9816003760

(c) Sangay (DZire Car) 7018157956

(d) Rohit (Amneu Village) 7807891001

(e) Sunil (Amneu Village) 8580687467,  6230351802

(f) Aman (Igloo) Manali 9888823721

                                                                  

Once again, I wish you all a happy touring from bottom of my heart and hope my effort in writing this blog will not go in vain and really beneficial for the readers. Comments and critics are truly welcome.


Madhu MT
madhumt@gmail.com