P3's Travel Dazzle: Manali - Dreamy & picture perfect

Continuing with the good fortune of seeing our beautiful country we planned a trip to Manali - Shimla - Chandigarh flying in & out of Chandigarh (Sep 25 - Oct 3'2015)

I had last been to Manali about thirteen years back. It was a two-three day halt then after a very memorable trek to Sar Pass in Himachal Pradesh.

Situated amidst snow-clad Himalayan peaks, a river playing peek a boo, quaint cafes with good food & music, and colourful shops Manali is one of India's best hill stations. It has a little something for everyone. After spending sometime in Manali, you understand why many foreigners spend months together at Manali/Dharamshala during summers & Goa during winters :)

The Journey:

We landed at Chandigarh in the afternoon around 3 p.m & for some strange reason both of us thought we'd reach Manali by 9 p.m (day dreaming clearly!) Our driver Mr Gurpreet very sweetly said 'Abhi toh teen baje hai.. 12 tak pahunch jayenge' (its 3pm, we will reach by midnight) ..what..midnight !!..

Off we went slowly on the not-so-good roads with beautiful valley views. Just passing through Chandigarh, I was impressed. The wide roads, trees dotting every way..what a well planned city! ( Mental note: we need to visit this city separately.)

We took a dinner break around 8 & then continued sleepy along the winding roads. Finally we reached our resort La Ri Sa at 12:30 a.m & just dozed off..

The Stay:

You are spoilt for choices in Manali as it is replete with hotels and homestays that fit every budget. If your aim is to just soak in the place & relax like us, it is best to choose hotels that are away from Manali especially the busy Mall Road area.

I came across La Ri Sa resort while doing the usual internet search & am so glad I did. Here was a resort which looked prettier than its pictures on the internet. As per their website, La signifies that which is above, Ri, the mountains, and Sa means the earth. The design,thought & service does justice to all three.

We went for a stroll before breakfast- by the organic vegetable patch & then along the pathways.The apple trees were in full bloom. It was a scene right out of an Enid Blyton novel.

Breakfast was their inhouse fresh fruits & grilled organic vegetables, combined with that gentle morning sun, Simply Divine !!

Breakfast time

Vegetable patch

Apples !

The Sights- Old Manali:

After the lovely breakfast we set out to explore Old Manali.
First stop - Hadimba temple, glad it still has a lovely thick canopy of Cedar trees all around it. Hadimba temple is an ancient cave temple dedicated to Hidimbi Devi. When we reached there, a wedding procession was moving towards the temple. Colourful bright dresses, laughter & music filled the air. They danced so gracefully that everyone watching had a smile .Then we went for a stroll in the garden behind the temple, such tall trees the sun hardly touches the ground. The chill in the air, the purity was refreshing.

Hadimba Temple

Selfie time!

From Hadimba temple our driver, Gurpreet (+91 9779996379) took us to Club house. Club house has some food stalls, a little pond for boating, a horror house , some Dinosaur theme park - most of it is for kids except for the river crossing, which a lot of adults were enjoying too. We just took a quick 5 mins walk around it & then went to Manu Temple.

Manu temple is located at the end of old Manali with a beautiful view of the hills. The narrow roads require an auto ride, which is easily available at the start. The way is dotted with cafes & shops selling shawls & jewellery. The temple has nice wooden architecture & faces the hills.

After Manu temple, we went to the Lazy Dog Cafe to grab a bite. Lazy dog is a popular cafe. As soon as we entered, I loved the vibe only accentuated by the blue floor embellished with wooden bark pieces. Anything artsy & you have my attention :)
The cafe is next to the river & has outdoor seating too. The food was delicious ..

So this cafe scored big time on ambience, location & food. Lazy Dog has live music in the evenings

View from Lazy Dog

Drizzle, hot Coffee & this view = Bliss

Lazy Dog - Floor

Mall road time.. with a stopover in the garden at the end of mall road. While Gurpreet stood in line to obtain Rohtang permit for the next day, we strolled along the shops. Mall road has the usual touristy stuff restaurants & loads of shops selling souvenirs. We had some piping hot jalebis & were sure we didn't need to visit it again in this trip.

Mall Road

Hot deliciousness with the evening chills

We also went to the old Manali market side, where we came across World Peace Cafe. It has decent food but the view is what makes it really special. You can spend hours here, with company , with a book or just by yourself

World Peace Cafe

View from World Peace Cafe

Around Manali

ROHTANG:

Unlike North Sikkim, where one has to leave at the break of dawn, here it was a comfortable start at 7.30 a.m. Winding picturesque ways make up for a beautiful drive.

Rohtang is a high mountain pass on the eastern Pir Panjal Range of the Himalayas around 51 km from Manali. It connects the Kullu Valley with the Lahaul and Spiti Valleys of Himachal Pradesh.Rohtang means pile of corpses due to people dying in bad weather trying to cross the pass.

Rohtang has a fixed daily quota of 400 diesel and 600 petrol vehicles each day. Tourists can now get the permit online too (himachal.nic.in and hpkullu.nic.in).

It was raining the previous night in Manali which meant snowfall at Rohtang. We spent a good two hours enjoying the snow & views around.

On the way to Rohtang

Come away with me..

On the way back, the gurgling river looked too lovely to miss..so we spent sometime by the river.

Hung around at LA Ri Sa in the evening & then went to Cafe 1947 in Old Manali for dinner.

Cafe 1947 is another charming cafe by the riverside that plays good music. The walls are decorated with old records & you have books & board games for company. Loved the wood fired no cheese pizza we had there! A beautiful day spent..

LA Ri Sa - Evening teatime

NAGGAR CASTLE

Naggar, 26KM from main town Kullu, is a quiet & charming village. The Naggar castle is constructed with wood & stone which provides an interesting contrast of colours & texture. The castle was built in AD 1460 in an impressive amalgamation of European and Himalayan architecture. Jagatipatt temple is in this castle.

It is believed that thousands of bees carried this stone slab to the place which is called patt in the local language. gods disguised as bees helped the ancient king to carry the stone slab which is now a popular attraction in Naggar. The views from the castle are picture perfect.

Naggar Castle - Wood + Stone

Jagatipatt Temple

Now thats a home with a view - Naggar Castle

Right outside Naggar is Home Bakery. This bakery serves a brilliant apple strudel.Do not miss it !
Guilt stories: I've had apple strudel every single day in this trip

Yumm !

Right as we stepped out after the blissful dessert, we were greeted by this view- Divine light falling over the valleys ..

Divine light

From Naggar we went on the road along the river towards the shops selling woollens & bought few shawls. The wholesale apple market along the way were just gleaming with their crates of bright red apples .

SOLANG VALLEY:

Located 16 km from Manali , Solang Valley lies on the western bank of the Beas River. It is 8500 feet above sea level. The blue sky & the lush greenery all around are simply blissful.

We took the ropeway (Rs 500 per person) & enjoyed the views along the way. The coniferous trees, the snow capped mountains at a distance it was picture perfect. Solang valley offers paragliding & skiing too.To enjoy skiing, January and February are the best seasons.

Memories made - Snow, Green mountains, River side & Cafes..It was time to bid adieu to gorgeous Manali.. We left for Shimla the next day via Chail Palace.

Some more pictures from Manali :