Manali's main sights fit in two days by cab. One day covers the town: Hadimba Devi Temple, Old Manali, the Vashisht hot springs and the Tibetan monasteries. The other goes north through the Atal Tunnel to Sissu, then back to Solang Valley. A third day goes south to Naggar Castle and the Roerich gallery, which closes on Mondays. Rohtang Pass needs a permit and is open only from about May to November.
Each plan is a real route by cab, timed against opening hours.
Hadimba, Old Manali, Vashisht and Solang
5 places · 37 km by cab
See the plan →Hadimba, Old Manali, Vashisht and the Mall · Atal Tunnel, Sissu and Solang Valley
10 places · 93 km by cab
See the plan →Hadimba, Old Manali, Vashisht and the Mall · Atal Tunnel, Sissu and Solang Valley · Jagatsukh, Naggar Castle and the Roerich gallery
14 places · 137 km by cab
See the plan →Call or message a local Manali operator with this plan. Tell them your hotel and dates, and they send a price for the car and driver.
We are still listing Manali operators. Write to [email protected] and we will put you in touch.
With the best time to go and how long to stay.
| Place | Open | Best time | Visit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hadimba Devi Temple | About 08:00 to 18:00, every day; free | Morning, before the queue grows. | 1 h |
| Manu Temple | About 09:00 to 17:00 (listings say 08:00 to 18:00 or 09:00 to 17:00); free? | Late morning, then walk down through Old Manali. | 40 min |
| Club House | About 10:00 to 20:00; small entry fee, each activity paid extra? | Late morning, on the way down from Old Manali. | 1 h |
| Vashisht Temple and hot springs | Temple about 07:00 to 21:00; the hot baths close 13:00 to 14:00 | Any time; the baths are busiest in the evening. | 1 h |
| Van Vihar | About 09:00 to 17:00 (to 19:00 in summer); small entry fee | Afternoon, before the Mall in the evening. | 45 min |
| Tibetan monasteries | Open in daylight, about 07:00 to 18:00? | Late afternoon, then walk on to the Mall. | 30 min |
| Nehru Kund | A roadside spring, open in daylight? | On the way to or from Solang. | 15 min |
| Solang Valley | Ropeway about 09:30 to 17:00; stops in bad weather | Morning or early afternoon, while the ropeway runs. | 2 h 30 min |
| Atal Tunnel | The road is open all day; tourists are asked to be back through by about 17:00? | Early morning, before the traffic builds. | 20 min |
| Sissu | Open-air; tourists are asked to head back by about 17:00? | Late morning, after the Atal Tunnel. | 1 h |
A wooden temple with a four-tier roof, built in 1553 in a forest of tall deodar trees above Manali. It is for Hidimba, the wife of Bhima in the Mahabharata. Inside, the shrine is built round a rock. A short walk away, a small shrine to her son Ghatotkach sits round an old tree.
In the 1-day plan
A temple to the sage Manu at the top of Old Manali. The town is named after him. Around it are old wooden and stone houses, apple trees and narrow lanes.
In the 1-day plan
A Himachal Tourism leisure club by the Manalsu stream, on the road to Old Manali. It has indoor games, small rides and a few outdoor activities. Families with children like it most.
Day 1 of the 2-day plan
An old stone temple to the sage Vashisht in a village across the Beas from Manali. Hot sulphur springs feed public baths next to it, with separate baths for men and women. The water is warm all year.
In the 1-day plan
A park of very tall deodar trees right beside the Mall and the Beas. There is a small pond with rowing boats. It is a quiet break from the busy street next door.
Day 1 of the 2-day plan
Two Tibetan Buddhist monasteries sit a few minutes from the Mall: the Himalayan Nyingmapa Gompa and Gadhan Thekchokling Gompa. Both are bright with painted walls and prayer flags, and have rows of prayer wheels. Small stalls nearby sell Tibetan carpets and crafts.
Day 1 of the 2-day planA cold spring by the road to Solang. It is named after Jawaharlal Nehru, who is said to have drunk from it on his visits to Manali.
In the 1-day plan
A wide valley of open slopes 13 km north of Manali. A ropeway runs up the mountain for the view. In summer there is paragliding, quad bikes and zorbing; in winter the slopes are covered in snow for sledging and skiing.
In the 1-day plan
A 9 km road tunnel under the Rohtang Pass, opened in 2020. It takes you from the Manali side to the Lahaul valley in about 10 minutes, a trip that used to take hours over the pass. At the north end the mountains are snowy for most of the year.
Day 2 of the 2-day plan
A village in the Lahaul valley, on the Chandra river, about 13 km past the Atal Tunnel. A tall waterfall drops down the mountain across the river. The valley is drier and barer than the Manali side, and white with snow in winter.
Day 2 of the 2-day plan
Jagatsukh was the old capital of the Kullu kings before Naggar. Its stone Shiva temple and the Sandhya Gayatri temple have carved stone towers, older than most of Manali's wooden temples.
Day 3 of the 3-day plan
A castle of stone and wood built by the Kullu kings more than 500 years ago, on a hill above the Beas. It is now a Himachal Tourism hotel with a small museum and a tiny temple in the courtyard. The balcony looks far down the Kullu valley.
Day 3 of the 3-day plan
The house where the Russian painter Nicholas Roerich lived from the late 1920s until he died in 1947. The ground floor shows his bright paintings of the Himalaya, and the garden looks over the valley. A short walk up is the Urusvati museum of folk art.
Day 3 of the 3-day plan
A wooden temple with a three-tier pagoda roof in Naggar village, below the castle. It is a fine example of the old Kullu way of building in wood.
Day 3 of the 3-day plan
Manali's main street, closed to cars for most of its length. It is lined with shops selling shawls, woollens and Tibetan crafts, and with cafés and places to eat. It is busiest after dark.
Not in our plans. Add it if you have time.
The village Manali grew from, across the Manalsu stream. Its lanes have old wooden houses, apple orchards, guest houses and relaxed cafés, many with music in the evening.
Not in our plans. Add it if you have time.A tall waterfall above Vashisht with a small shrine to Jogini Mata at its foot. The path climbs through apple orchards and pine forest, with views back over the valley.
Not in our plans. Add it if you have time.Two days covers the town and the Solang side: one day for Hadimba, Old Manali and Vashisht, one for the Atal Tunnel, Sissu and Solang Valley. Add a third day for Naggar.
Yes. The permit is for the car and is booked on rohtangpermits.hp.gov.in: about ₹500 plus a ₹50 congestion fee, with a daily limit, up to two days ahead. The pass is open from about May to November and is likely closed on Tuesdays. Your driver usually books it.
There is no permit or toll for the tunnel itself. Lahaul, where Sissu is, may ask for an e-pass or a green tax at the barrier; your driver handles it. Tourists are asked to head back by about 17:00, and crossing at night needs permission.
A commercial (yellow-plate) cab can. Private cars carrying paying tourists have been stopped on the Solang road. Some visitors hire a local Manali taxi for Solang and Rohtang, so ask your operator before you book.
From about December to March, heavy snow can close the road at Nehru Kund or Solang, and the Atal Tunnel road for days at a time. Sometimes only 4x4s may go past Solang. Check the road status each morning and keep the town day for a snowy one.
No. Most of Mall Road is closed to cars. The cab drops you at the lower end by the bus stand, and the Mall, Van Vihar and the monasteries are a few minutes away on foot.
On foot. The path starts at the top of Vashisht village, about 3 km each way, steep at the end. Allow 2 to 3 hours, and go in the morning. A cab can drop you at Vashisht.
