MANALI (INDIA)

INTRODUCTION:

Manali is very beautiful hill station situated on the Beas River. It is in the northern end of the Kullu valley in Himachal Pradesh and at the height of 2050 mtrs. Manali is visited by tourist from various parts of India every year. Manali population is approx. 30,000. Manali has some old relation with Indian culture and heritage that’s what it is called the home of Sapt rishi or seven sages. It is the perfect outing and the picnic spot for Indians in summers and a magical snow covered place in winters. Its temperature could be 10C during Oct to March, Dec to Feb are the coldest months and Rest of the year minimum temperature would be between 10-15C.

ATTRACTIONS:

There are a good number of tourist attractions in Manali to keep you busy for three or four days. We outline some important tourist attractions as under.

ROHTANG PASS This is the highest point in Manali at an altitude of 3979 mtrs. The Mountain View is awesome from this point. There is small lake called Dassur Lake. The Beas kund is also nearby to the Rohtang pass. This is the perfect place to enjoy the cold weather even in summer days.

HADIMBA TEMPLE It is very old cave temple which is dedicated to Hadimba Devi wife of Lord Bheem who was a character in the Indian epic Mahabharat. This temple is surrounded by Cedar forest at the foot of the Himalayas. It is 1.5 km from the Manali. Hadimba Devi temple also called the Dhoongri temple. This temple is built in 1553 by Maharaja Bahadur singh. This temple is four storey temple renowned for its carving of animals and plants. Hadimba was an “RAKSHASHNI” whom Lord Bheem fell in love with.

SOLANG VALLEY It is 13 km north west of Manali and famous for its 300 meters ski lift popularly known as snow point. From this point tourist can get the pleasure to view glaciers and the snowcapped mountains.

VASHIST HOT WATER SPRINGS AND TEMPLE This place is 3 km from Manali, a very small village. Vashist springs are the name of hot sulfur springs. It is believed that water of the springs has medicinal properties. Thousands of tourist come here every year to take bath in these springs to get rid of skin problems. There is a nearby temple of Vashist Rishi and Lord Rama which stand facing each other.

NEHRU KUND It is 6 km from the main town. These springs originated from the Bhrigu Lake. The name of the spring has been kept after the name of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru who used to drink water from the lake during his visit to Manali. It is situated on Manali - Kalong road. It is underground spring as a land slide has wiped out this spring.

TIBETAN MONASTERIES Tibetan Monasteries of Manali are the must watch spot .It is constructed in 1969. It is situated around the bottom of the mall. Himalayan Nyingamapa , Housing a gold faced statue of Lord Buddha is also worth a visit. This place is maintained by donation from the local community and by sale of hand woven carpets in the temple work shop.

THE MALL The mall road is the main area for shopping .There are so many shops lined that sell various traditional Tibetan, Himachal and Kashmiri handicraft. There you will also find Chinese clothes and shoes , masks, instruments, jewelry are amongst the most popular items here.

THE CLUB HOUSE There is a club house is Manali which is 1.5 km from bus stand. It is perfect place for picnic. There are so many facilities provided such as games, restaurants, bar and kids section so.

ARJUN GUFA This cave is 5 km from Manali. This is the place known as Arjun Gufa because Arjun who was the character in Indian epic Mahabharata , brother of Pandava induljed in meditation to get the Pashupati Astra( a powerful weapon).

MANALI SANCTURY It is located 2 km from the Manali notified in the year 1954. It is the home of variety of Himalayan flora and fauna with animal species like lion and snow leopard etc.

WINTER CARNIVAL Winter carnival celebrated every year in Manali . It is a five day activity celebrated in the month of January when Manali goes into the blanket of snow. So the festival begins with Hadimba Devi worship and so many winter sports, cultural events are organized during this festival and attracts lot of tourists from all parts of India.

HOW TO REACH:

Manali is easily accessible from the all parts of Indian by bus, train or by air.

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 as well as at the Himachal Tourism office on Safdar Hashmi Marg near Mandi House Delhi. The approximate travel time from Delhi to Manali is 18 hours; and from Kulu to Manali is 1.5 to 3 hours. Volvo buses are available from Delhi but you need to book these two to five days in advance.

If hiring a private taxi, ensure that the driver has experience driving in hilly regions and doesn't have the habit of drinking alcohol. Also make sure the driver has done the trip at least once before and knows all roads.

The nearest Broad Gauge Rail Head is Ambala Cantt (200 km) or Chandigarh (250 km) from Delhi. Ambala Cantt is on the Delhi - Amritsar and Delhi - Jammu main lines and is well served by rail, but you will need to travel to Ambala to get a bus for the 10 hour ride to Manali. Jogindernagar and Kalka are other, less preferable, rail heads for Manali. The nearest Broad gauge station is Kiratpur Sahib in punjab near the city of Nangal . It lies in Ropar district of Punjab. The station lies on the Ambala Cantt - Una route of Indian Railways. From here you can easily get buses for Manali.

The nearest airport is Bhuntar Airport , 50 km from Manali, 10 km from Kullu, about two hours away. Indian Airlines, Kingfisher airlines, MDLR Airlines and Jagson Airlines operate flights to Kullu from Delhi and Chandigarh.

There are various ways of getting around in Manali, if you are not already travelling with your own vehicle. Most tourists hire a taxi (various kinds available), which takes you around to all the sight seeing spots in and around Manali (Rohtang, Manikaran etc). It costs about Rs. 1500 per day, or little over Rs. 3000 if you book together for 3 days (in the peak season)

The second most common way is to hire a bike. There are many places where you can hire a bike (easy to find if you ask around), and is the most common mode of transport for foreigners. Both cruiser bikes like Bullet and sport bikes from Honda, Bajaj, Yamaha etc are easily available, though Bullet is the most commonly seen one on the roads. Rates hover around Rs. 500-600 per day in the peak season, but much discounted at other times. Public transport is not so good. There are cheap bus services, but they are not so frequent. Yet, if you are going to stay for a long time, it is better to know the times and use them, as other modes of public transport and exorbitant compared to bus. For e.g., auto rickshaws take Rs.200 from Manali mall road to Solang valley, while the bus will cost you just Rs.10.

SEARCH FLIGHTS:

STAY:

In Manali tourist will find all type of hotels, guest houses. Mid-range, budget and spurge. There are so many choices so you can opt one according to your budget and choice.

SEARCH HOTELS:

OTHER ACTIVITIES:

Tourist can enjoy here paragliding, river rafting, trekking, boating, rock climbing, skiing, river crossing, zorbing, snow scooting. There are so many activities to do in winters or in summers. It is the perfect place to visit during vacations.

ADVICE:

Be careful during drive as roads are windings.