Manali: Great honeymoon destination. Review on Manali

First of all “Happy Married life” in advance and to tell you that these days are very important in our life… the golden days in our life, the HM days… so my personal, very personal advise is that you please spend more time with each other and not in exploring different areas.

See, on the first step decide for Airplane from Pune/Mumbai to Delhi, I would advice to go by airplane as the further journey is of 12 hours… and it’s too good., so go by airplane. You can get cheap tickets on https://ezeego1.com and you can have direct confirm booking done by credit cards.

Second is to decide about how to go to Manali from Delhi. Take HP tourism buses only as the luxury buses are not reliable and also they are not on time. Visit the site https://hp.gov.in/hrtctickets/ to get the details about the buses from Delhi ISBT(Inter State Bus Transportation) direct to Manali. Do take the Volvo AC bus, as it’s very comfortable.

Tata AC buses are good but they would halt at many places like Asiad Buses and would take lot of time. Volvo AC buses are clean and always on time. They would provide you water and good service and would halt at a good hotel for your dinner and refreshments. Also the Volvo AC buses have VDO coach so they would entertain you with the ‘movies’ of your choice. We had two movies there. Get return tickets online. The bus starts at 8:00 pm from Delhi and would reach Manali at 8:30 am in Manali. Remember the airport in Delhi and ISBT are far away, normally the distance takes 2 hours to reach in normal conditions., so manage well(No direct Metro Train).

Next is to decide about the hotel. In Manali, you have to make a choice whether to have a hotel in the heart of the city with mall and shopping area nearby or in the hills in the icy places… I was in Hotel Kunzam, a deluxe hotel just besides the bus stand. We had all the hotels and shops nearby and there was crowd every time there. But many people also decide to stay on hills where too there are hotels but no shopping areas, but with natural beauty. But choose a hotel only from the Himachal Pradesh tourism. See the site https://hptdc.nic.in/ for more details on the hotels. See the ‘Beas circuit’ there. I should say Hotel Kunzam is the best as it was very clean and the rooms were good also, there was hot water supply and absolute silence(no disturbance) and good room service there. The staff was very helpful and they would help you getting to different places and also to get you food in room itself and all the leisure. Hotel Hadimba Cottage is good but it would be costly. But it’s on the hill top and also you will have great views from this hotel. This hotel is managed by Hadimba Devi temple trust but is from the HPTDC and a very good hotel. They have cottages with a hall, bedroom, dining room and all, so ideal for nature lovers. Another good hotel is Hotel Rohtang Manalsu, which has a straight view of the Vashisht. Good hotel, not far from the crowd of the city, and you can really enjoy your stay in this hotel. Kunzam had a good food quality and they would serve you fast and the food is cooked according to your choice(spicy/normal). So make your choice and book the hotel online. Note that these hotels have check in and checkout timings as 12:00 noon. Your bus reaches there at 8:30 am, but if there is room available, you can get the room at 8:30 pm itself.

Next step is to have tourism. I would recommend to take a taxi from the HPTDC, the office is just besides the Hotel Kunzam(A person sits also in the Hotel Kunzam). We have SBI ATM right besides. They are reliable and would show you all places and also would ‘guide’ you, so no need of another special guide. Also, they are helpful and would take your pictures together and halt at the stops that you like more. We had taken a taxi(Tata Indica) for Naggar and Manali local tourism which covers all the places for Rs. 650. So take this taxi and enjoy Vashist(Hot water springs), Hadimba Devi Temple, River Beas, Naggar Castle and many more… Do purchase any shawls from the shawl factories as they are cheap and original. Don’t purchase ‘Chimpku’ there. It’s stupid and is a collection of muflar, jacket and all for ladies.

Next day, is the day for the thing you are there(Playing ice). Just get in touch with HPTDC and get a bus ticket to go to ‘Rohtang Pass’. Remember to carry the Thermo coat as it’s warm and would help you. Have as many jackets on you as possible. Rohtang Pass (13000 feet above sea level) normally it is closed as there is too much ice there. We went only till Gulaba Camp(8500 feet) but it was very cold and there was snow fall there. Remember to carry something to eat there as there is no hotel or anything to eat there. Some people would sell Maggie at 40 Rs a plate and it won’t help you a lot. The same bus would take you to Solang Valley, which is good for gliding, but those people wont guarantee where your glider would go! and Nehru kund, which is a hopeless spot just besides the road. Enjoy River Beas there while you return, it’s the water of the ice with which you have played… While going, you can rent clothes specially made to play in the ice, but please carry your own woolen coats/jackets, as you can wear the ice coat on your woolen clothes… and also they are needed!!! When you rent the clothes, please check the clothes if they are torn, as you will have infection if ice goes inside. Same goes for shoes and hand gloves. Normal rent for these clothes is 200 Rs per person per day. Enjoy playing ice but please don’t go in any place all alone, in our case, there was a couple who was lost and then it took almost 2 hours to search them. Go to places where there are people playing ice gliding etc…

You can take bus on the next day to go to Manikaran, but I bet you will be so tired by playing ice the earlier day, that you will prefer to stay in the heater. Also, your limbs would be paining because of ice and it requires one day of rest at least. Manikaran is good, no doubt, and we have direct bus from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm to have the trip.

You can keep a day for shopping and going to Hadimba Jungle(nature’s park), on the way to Hadimba Temple. You can also go to the Club house and go for disco and all. Enjoy the ‘Trout Fish’ there, as it’s only available in the river Beas in the freezing water. Chole Bhature, Palak Paratha, Veg Paratha and Paani Puri are good items for Veg people. Please don’t try the western dishes like Pizzas, burgers, softies etc else you will frustrate. Remember to purchase from factories and not from the shopping malls in Manali, as they are too costly.

Return Volvo Bus is around 6:30 pm, so either you can have a choice to book hotel till next morning or else checkout at 12:00 pm and keep the belongings there in the hotel(You can!!!) and roam for 6 hours. You can use the wash rooms and lunch halls in the hotel as long as you need… Also, in between, in transit from Delhi, you can see Red Fort, India Gate, Chandni Chowk etc in Delhi.