Manali Travel Guide

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Welcome to our Manali Travel Guide! Here we discuss the practical aspects of the journey - booking private taxi, bus tickets from websites, making hike plans etc.

On the way to Rohtang La, November 05, 2023


Table of Contents

  1. Itinerary
  2. Transport: Reaching Manali and Navigating to Tourist Places
  3. Hotel Booking: Offbeat Stay in Manali
  4. Activities
  5. Budget

Itinerary

We took the journey in the first week of November, 2023. The weather was crisp and windy, we got a very clear sky, late autumn color in nature, and a snowy landscape at high altitude.

Ours is a lateback itinerary with amazing road trips and offbeat destinations

Day 1 - Dhaka to New Delhi by air, to Manali by overnight bus
Day 2 - Reach Manali at morning, rest day, walk around Burwa apple orchards in the afternoon
Day 3 - Day trip to Rohtang pass, Atal tunnel
Day 4 - Day trip to Baralachala pass, Suraj taal, Deepak taal
Day 5 - Hike to Hampta valley
Day 6 - Day trip Solang valley, Hadimba temple, Mall road
Day 7 - Rest day, return to Delhi via overnight bus
Day 8 - Shopping day at New Delhi
Day 9 - New Delhi to Dhaka by air

Checkout details about the places we visited in our What to See in Manali post.


Transport

Flight

We experienced Vistara and Biman Bangladesh airlines. Vistara was pricey but good. BB was also good and the price was cheaper. We bought our tickets from ShareTrip, we had to upload passport and visa scanned copies.

Bus

For our New Delhi to Manali overnight bus, we booked tickets in advance while in Bangladesh, from redBus. We used a BD phone number (that has WhatsApp) and email. The tickets were sent to our WhatsApp number and email. Payment was done in INR currency. We used an AmEx card, and the payment OTP was sent to our phone.

The bus we chose was IntrCity smart bus (volvo). Boarding point - R K Ashram Marg, Dropping point - Manali Private bus stand. If you are booking tickets inside India, you can use the IntrCity smartbus website. You will need an Indian phone number to book tickets.

At the boarding point at New Delhi, the bus supervisor will ask for an OTP. We could not receive the OTP as our phone number is Bangladeshi, and we did not have our roaming on. They also did not send boarding OTP to WhatsApp. But it wasn’t an issue. The bus supervisor understood that we were tourists and we actually booked the seats.

Car Rental in Manali

We were stationed in Manali and took day trips for three days. We booked a private car (w/ driver) in advance from Kullu Manali Taxi Service. We contacted them via WhatsApp. They take advance payment in Google Pay. At that time, Google Pay was not available in Bangladesh. They understood our issue and gave us an option to pay with cash after arriving in Manali. The pricing was reasonable and communication was responsive. Would recommend their service!

Our charges were
Day trip to Rohtang La - INR 3,500
Day trip to Baralacha La - INR 6,000
Day trip to Solang valley, Hadimba temple, mall road - INR 2,500

Our driver was very jolly and professional. The punjabi songs we heard in his car now remind me of speeding up on high altitude roads in the Himalaya.


Hotel 

Burwa, Manali, November 04, 2023

We booked at Kalista resort via Agoda. It is at Burwa village, about 5 kms from Manali center. The location was quiet, the view from the room was heavenly—mountains on the horizon and apple orchards below us. The staff was so polite and the food so good. Beautiful wood-panelled interior. All of these, and the best part is - the price is so reasonable (we booked 5 nights with BDT 10,000). Kalista is probably the most offbeat and worth it stay in Manali! It will be in our top stay list forever.

If you are transferring from New Delhi, for a night stay at New Delhi, Karol Bagh is a better choice in terms of quietness and cleanliness, than the touristy Paharganj.


Activities

Skiing, paragliding, horse riding, yak riding etc. can be booked on spot or on arrival in Manali. Paragliding costs INR 2,000 for a moderate distance and time. For higher distance fall, it costs INR 4,000. It can be booked on the spot (we found it on our way to Rohtang Pass) and the waiting queue is not long.

If you plan to do any hikes/trekking in Manali, you can book it via Potala Adventurers. Read more about our day hike experience - Hampta Valley Hike for Beginners.


Budget

For the 2 of us, the whole trip cost us $1,200. It includes everything on the trip except shopping.



Hope this guide helps you plan the nitty gritty of your journey. Throw any question you have in the Comments!



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