Shimla Manali Tour Packages

Shimla Manali Tour Guide — The Complete Himachal Pradesh Reference

Holiday Vibez curates Shimla Manali tour packages spanning every season, budget and extension — from city breaks at Shimla's colonial hill station heritage, to snow-sport weekends at Kufri and Solang Valley, to the full Himachal circuit extending to Spiti Valley, Dharamshala, Kasol, and Kinnaur. Shimla (2,205m, population 170,000, Himachal Pradesh capital) was the summer capital of British India from 1864 to 1947 — the Viceroy and the entire government machinery (including the army, telegraph, and later the railway) moved from Calcutta and Delhi to Shimla every summer to escape the plains heat. The British left behind a townscape of Tudor timber-framed cottages, Baroque churches, and the largest concentration of Victorian public buildings outside England: Viceregal Lodge (now Indian Institute of Advanced Study, built 1888, occupied by Jawaharlal Nehru, Ambedkar and the Cabinet Mission during the 1946 negotiations that led to the partition of India), Christ Church (1857, second oldest church in North India, with original Pre-Raphaelite stained glass windows), Gaiety Theatre (1887, all-wood Victorian theatre), the Gorton Castle (1904, Tudor revival, Government Secretariat). The Mall Road and The Ridge (1km promenade, no vehicles allowed, open to pedestrians and horse riders) are the social centre of Shimla — at weekends the Ridge fills with families, couples, and the characteristic ponies that have carried loads in Shimla since before the road. Jakhu Temple (2,455m, 2km from the Ridge, 30-minute uphill walk through deodar forest — or ropeway ₹200/person) is a Hanuman temple perched on the highest accessible peak in Shimla; a 33m (108ft) statue of Hanuman stands at the hilltop at 2,600m altitude, making it the world's highest altitude major religious statue. The walk to Jakhu passes through rhesus macaque monkeys who are sacred to Hanuman and will steal any food, spectacles, or loose items — leave valuables at the hotel. Kalka-Shimla Railway (KSR, 1903, 96km, gauge 762mm narrow, UNESCO World Heritage as part of Mountain Railways of India 2008, alongside Darjeeling and Nilgiri) crosses 102 tunnels (Tunnel 33 is the longest at 1.14km), 864 bridges and viaducts, and 18 stations from Kalka (656m) to Shimla (2,205m) in 5.5 hours. The original steam locomotives have been replaced by diesel railcars and the Shivalik Deluxe Express; the Himalayan Queen from Delhi passes through the Kalka-Shimla section. The highest speed the train reaches on the steepest descent is 25 km/hr — the grade is too steep for normal adhesion traction. Chail (45km from Shimla, 2,250m) was built by the Maharaja of Patiala in 1891 after the British Viceroy Lord Kitchener asked him to leave Shimla (the reason varies in different accounts — most commonly: he eloped with an English girl at Scandal Point on Mall Road). The Maharaja responded by building a competing hill station at an even higher altitude. Chail Palace (now a hotel) and the Chail Cricket Ground (2,250m, claimed to be the world's highest cricket ground, built on a levelled hilltop in 1893) are the main attractions. Manali (2,050m, Kullu District, population 8,096 in town, 25,000+ in the wider area) is the gateway to Lahaul, Spiti, and Leh Ladakh from the south — the Beas River runs through the town, the deodar forests of Old Manali rise above it, and the Pir Panjal range frames the northern horizon with snow-covered peaks. The name comes from Manu, the Hindu sage who survived the great flood and landed here — Manu Temple (the only temple in India dedicated to Manu) sits in Old Manali. Hadimba Temple (1553, built by Raja Bahadur Singh of Kullu, dedicated to Hadimba Devi/Hirimba, wife of Bhima from the Mahabharata) is the most photographed building in Manali — a four-tiered pagoda-style wooden roof (18m high, covered in yak and goat horns as offerings) rising from the deodar cedar forest. Entry free. Photography of the deity inside is prohibited. The festival of Doongri (May, 3 days) brings the goddess Hadimba out on a silver palanquin through the cedar forest. Solang Valley (14km from Manali, 2,480m) is an open alpine valley used for skiing in winter (December–March) and paragliding, zorbing, horse riding, and snow activities in summer when the snowline retreats. The Solang ski slope is a 500m beginner-to-intermediate run; more advanced skiing is at the higher snowfields accessed by cable car. Rohtang Pass (3,978m, 51km from Manali, on NH-3 Manali-Leh Highway) means "pile of corpses" in Tibetan — a reference to the number of travellers who died attempting the crossing in winter. The pass is open approximately May 15 to November 15; snow is present year-round on the pass itself, even in July. Entry requires a permit (rohtangpermits.nic.in, ₹500/car, only 1,200 vehicles allowed per day to prevent environmental damage) and a Pollution Under Control certificate for the vehicle. Atal Tunnel (10 October 2020, 9.2km, 4-lane highway, the world's longest highway tunnel above 10,000 feet/3,048m, built by Border Roads Organisation at ₹3,720 crore) connects Manali to the Lahaul valley — it eliminates the requirement to cross Rohtang Pass and has opened the Lahaul Valley to year-round access for the first time in history (the valley was previously cut off for 6 months in winter). The south portal is at Dhundi (3,060m) and the north portal opens in the Sissu meadow of Lahaul (3,071m) — the Sissu waterfall (visible from the NH-3 north of the tunnel) is the most photogenic stop in Lahaul. Naggar (1,768m, 22km south of Manali on the old highway) is the former capital of the Kullu kingdom — the Naggar Castle (1460 CE, built by King Sidh Singh using a local legend: an eagle was released and where it alighted, the castle was built) is now a heritage hotel. The castle houses the Roerich Art Gallery (paintings of Nicholas Roerich, the Russian artist who lived in Naggar from 1928 until his death in 1947 and whose Himalayan landscapes are among the most celebrated paintings of the 20th century). Kullu Dussehra (October, 7 days, international festival) is unique in India — while all of India celebrates Dussehra for one day with the burning of Ravana, Kullu celebrates for 7 days in a format that predates the Ramlila tradition: 73 village deities (devtas and devis) from across the Kullu valley are brought on palanquins to Kullu town to pay homage to the Raghunath temple, proceeding in a massive procession (the Rath Yatra) down the Dhalpur Maidan. Great Himalayan National Park (UNESCO 2014, 754 sq km, Kullu district) is one of the last intact temperate forest ecosystems in the world — it harbours snow leopard, Himalayan brown bear, musk deer, bharal, over 300 bird species, and the habitat of the Western Tragopan (Tragopan melanocephalus, critically endangered, this is its core breeding territory).

Getting there: Delhi to Shimla: Shatabdi Express to Kalka (3 hrs, ₹680 AC chair) + Toy Train Kalka-Shimla (5.5 hrs); or road 7 hrs (370km). Delhi to Manali: Overnight Volvo bus ISBT Kashmiri Gate (12 hrs, ₹1,400–1,800); or fly to Bhuntar (KUU) 1 hr (₹4,000) + cab 40km to Manali. Shimla to Manali: 250km, 7–9 hrs by road (NH-3 via Mandi). Best seasons: December–February: deep snow, skiing, Manali snowfall (temperatures −10 to +5°C). March–April: spring, snow still on passes, apple blossoms in Kullu. May–June: peak tourist season, Rohtang opens, warm days. September–October: post-monsoon, clearest skies, Kullu Dussehra festival (October). Avoid July–August peak monsoon for driving (landslides on NH-3).