Hi readers,
After completing our computer engineering we (5 close fun loving friends) knew that we wanted to destress ourselves somehow; and we planned a trip to Manali.. it was june and our 8th semester exams had just finished. We were all residing in gurgaon and we were not allowed to take car.. so we opted for a taxi..(it was Qualis exuipped with a/c) and we sat off to our journey in the evening. The driver was very cool and in very less time he became friendly with us.
In 5 hours we reached chandigarh. Then in morning we decided to divert from the route and set off for Anandpur Sahib. We reached there in quite a less time diverting from chandigarh manali highway. It was really a very unique experience visiting the holy place. Then we opted for a glimpse of Bhakra dam wich was also nearby. I must say that it you plan a trip to that part of india do try to visit this wonder.. then we sat off to manali. It was around 11 am and we were still very far from our destination so we decided to rush.
The highway from chandigarh which leads to manali is quite interesting and also has many towns (like sundernagar, bilaspur, mandi etc to name a few) in between; so one can unwind himself after a long drive. We decided to have a short break and some food also in the evening at Visco resorts near Mandi.
It is a very nice place and the food was also very good. Instantly we decided that we are visiting this place in our return journey also. We reached Kullu in the night.. it was some what cold and it was a very refreshing change from the scorching delhi heat. We had a walk in kullu after dinner and then we sat off for manali in the next morning.
We reached there and we were really amazed to see the tourist rush there. As soon as we reached there we checked in a hotel in the middle of town and decided to visit Hidimba devi temple first. It was a very old built temple surrounded by huge trees. We were feeling that we really came close to the nature..
Then all of us decided to go trekking ..
We parked the qualis in a small village nearby the road and started to advance towards the mountain. It was very beautiful view from that place. We spent our evening there and were really happy that we decided to come here. In the evening we did some shopping in the local market and planned the rest of our trip. The next morning we set off for Rohtang pass. It is a nice 52 kms drive from manali and the altitude increases continuously. We can easily notice the climate change from a typical hill station to a high altitude one as one progresses towards rohtang. The drive is somewhat difficult I must say (I’d be not too comfortable for new drivers), but the views are really breathtaking.
At rohtang pass we stayed for 3-4 hours and went for a walk. Wind was chilling so don’t forget to carry woolens even in summers..we were short of time otherwise we’d have visited the valley which follows rohtang. If you have enough time I strongly recommend to visit lahaul valley. On the return journey we visited solang valley which is a very nice place. As we were running short of time we skipped the trip to manikaran.
Manali is also very famous for adventure lovers. One can try parasailing, hot air balooning, chopper ride (which is very costly) and above all river rafting here. Skieng facilities are also available in rohtang.
Manali is not a very costly holiday spot. It is cheap regardind food and stay. there are not many costly shopping places also. So the place is fit for economy tourists as well.
Manali has totally allured me and I have decided to come here again driving myself. All of us remember our Manali trip whenever we meet..