Shimla and Manali Tour: An Ultimate Guide

Hill stations in India are a paradise when it comes to escaping the harsh summer heat in plains. Blessed with diverse snow-capped mountains, sloppy landscape, and serene nature, Indian hill stations are the perfect retreat for summers. Two of the most popular hill stations in India are Shimla and Manali where Shimla entices more of the architecture lovers and Manali captivates the attention of nature lovers. Both of these towns are located in the apple state of India, Himachal Pradesh and are renowned for being honeymoon destination of India. Although Shimla is now more like a concrete jungle, it still offers tourists with many peaceful attractions. Manali, on the other hand, is a natural heaven where people from all over the country come to admire the serene beauty of nature.

Regardless of the fact that trips to Shimla and Manali walk hand in hand, here, you will learn about the itinerary of ShimlaManali tour packages with more preference to Manali as this place has a lot more to offer than Shimla has. To cover most of the tourist attractions in Shimla and Manali, you will need at least eight days. The details of eight days Shimla Manali tour are given below, followed by the list of some popular places to grab a bite of delicacies in Manali.  The first thing that concerns tourists is how to plan the journey to Shimla and Manali. You can take an HPTDC or HRTC Volvo from Delhi or Chandigarh or board a toy train from Kalka to reach Shimla first.

Day1- Your first day will start by traveling to Shimla overnight via either Volvo or toy train. After reaching Shimla, check-in your hotel and rest there for some time. Freshen up now and leave your hotel for exploring local Shimla including the ridge, mall road, and Lakkar Bazar. You can end your day by either staying at Mashobra or coming back to your hotel by evening.

 

Day2- The second day of your tour will be spent in Shimla only whereby in the first part of the day, you can enjoy horse riding and explore scenic view in Kufri and spend rest of the day in chilly peaks of Jakhoo temple and other local attractions.

Day3- On the third day, you can travel to Narkanda then to Hatu peak and back to Shimla. Or, if you hadn’t visited Kufri on the second day, you can plan your third day as Shimla-Kufri-Chail-Shimla, which will be a little less hectic idea.

Day4- Now is the time to say goodbye to Shimla and start your journey to Manali. Most of this day will be used for traveling from Shimla to Manali.

Day5- Your first day in Manali will be used for local sightseeing to nearby attractions like Hadimba temple, Vashisth temple and hot water springs, mall road, Local monastery, etc.

Day6- Solang valley, Gulaba, or Rohtang pass, you will explore snow peaked mountains on this day. You can choose to stop at either Gulaba or Solang valley en route Rohtang pass for an adventurous excursion and come back to Manali by the evening.

Day7- In the morning, you will leave for Naggar castle for some romantic vibe and good food. Places you can visit around this castle are an Art gallery, Roerich Museum, and the ancient Krishna temple. You can also spend your night at Naggar and live in the beauty of the castle.

Day8- If you had stayed at Naggar last night, you can leave for Manali by the noon and board your Volvo by the evening. If you hadn’t, you can visit Manali sanctuary in the first half of this day and explore the trails of the Dhungri temple or Manali log huts to end up in the woods and then board your Volvo bus in the evening and leave for your home.

While this is the complete itinerary of Shimla Manali tour package, there are some eateries in Manali you should not miss out on. Johnson’s, Chopsticks, Grozy, IL Forno, and Shan-e-Punjab, are some very popular places in Manali where you can grab a bite of some really delicious Chinese and Indian food and pizzas.