Your Perfect Itinerary To Experience Manali At Its Winter Best!

Extremely tempting weekend getaway plan alert!

Manali is a must-visit for anyone seeking natural beauty amidst the monotonous grill of life. Plus, in winters, the lush snow in Manali will make you hum along the lines of yeh haseen wadiyaan… instantly! Manali is undoubtedly one of the celebrated winter wonderlands in India. If Manali has your heart too and you’re doodling plans to visit there for a long time, here’s how you can witness the unmatchable beauty in four days!

Before we embark on the itinerary, let us tell you a little back story. This place was on our list for a long time. For 4 years, we had planned to go to Manali but somehow this just didn’t happen.

Ritesh had seen Manali for so many years because of Kalakrruti (his travel company, where they have summer & Diwali camps & tours for kids & youngsters). Since the lockdown, I promised myself to show most of India to Rinnku. Snow & snowfall are some of the beautiful things to witness. We have been lucky & blessed to witness snow & snowfall for the last 3 to 4 years.

December is our anniversary & somehow December always gives you the vibe of celebrations. If you all are following us on Instagram, you would know how Rinnku loves celebrating. Her birthday is a month-long celebration & so is the anniversary. So, for me, it becomes a little difficult to live up to all the things, but I do it and make sure there is a smile on her face each day, be it a special day or a normal day & so does she. We both live for each other & each other’s smiles.

Okay, let’s get back to Manali. Here’s a comprehensive itinerary that we followed in Manali and you can too. 🙂

Day 1 –

We landed at Chandigarh airport and our driver was waiting with the car for us. We had the same car & driver throughout this whole trip. Since we had left early morning at 6 am for the airport and had a very light snack at the airport, we were hungry and asked him to take us for lunch in some good Dhaba since we wanted to have some local & north Indian cuisine. He took us to the place called Haveli in Ropad which is 1 hour from Chandigarh airport. Haveli is a modern Dhaba & is a huge one. Sanitization & safety was in place & they had some amazing food options. We had an authentic north Indian meal & trust us – it was so soulful. We reached our Manali hotel at 11 pm with multiple breaks in between.

When we checked into our room, we couldn’t see the view outside our room, since it was pitch dark, however, we could hear the river flowing. I was super excited to see Rinnku’s reaction in the morning when she would see the view. And we slept in that cold blanket which eventually became warm & cozy.

#Note: There is a lot of construction work going on. Many tunnels & bridges are under construction. So, calculate extra hours & time for the journey. This construction of the roads, tunnels & bridges will go on for the next few years.

Day 2 –

Super excited me, woke up at 6 am to see if it looks as gorgeous as it was last when I saw (many years back) & yes, it looked same, even more gorgeous. Huge mountains, green trees, river flowing just outside our hotel, huge open blue sky with white clouds. The view which one can never get bored of, the view which you can keep seeing for hours, the view which can transport you to some other world in few seconds and can make you & your soul happy from within. It was cold outside. I went into the room to wake Rinnku up, I couldn’t wait to see that sparkle in her eye after seeing the view. The same view which I wanted her to see for the last 4 years. Woke her up, and took her out on the balcony. And there it was – that sparkle – for which I was waiting for so long. We both kept looking at the gorgeous view & thanked destiny to be kind to us & let us witness & live this dream life.

Then, we left for Solang Valley, however, we were sure we will not be renting any snow jackets, etc due to covid & safety reasons, so we were well prepared with our woollens. We didn’t even do any snow activities. Skiing was possible, however, we both weren’t keen on the same. ATV biking and other activities were safe, however, we both just wanted to avoid it. On the way, we met local police, and in the conversation, he said, you should definitely visit Atal Tunnel, since it has just started for tourists a few days back. We had heard of Atal Tunnel being the longest tunnel in making. We were excited to see the tunnel, however, weren’t sure if we will be allowed to cross the same or no., We still went ahead to take a chance. We were there around 1 pm. We saw a huge queue to get into the Atal Tunnel. They were not letting everyone get inside the tunnel at the same time. We waited around 30 – 35 minutes for our turn. But the wait was worth it!

We entered the Atal Tunnel and it is made so beautifully. It is the longest highway tunnel in the world. This tunnel is a boon for all the people travelling from Manali To Lahaul or vice versa. It literally cuts down the travel time by 4 to 6 hours. We reached the other side of the Atal Tunnel at 1.45. While we reached inside, the police & security told everyone that the tunnel will close for an hour at 2. So the last car can leave at 1.59 pm and then after that the tunnel opens at 3 pm. We had around 15 mins with us to take some pictures. It was so windy & cold that it was impossible to stay here for longer than that. So we took the pics & while we sat in the car and started moving it was 2.01. They had put the barricades already. We had no other option but to wait & sit in the car or just move around the wind & enjoy it. Our driver parked the car again and we came out of the car. It was windy and how & suddenly it started snowing.

Rinnku was happy & was thanking the universe, thatchy got late and the tunnel got closed, or she would have missed the snowfall. That one hour was magical and beautiful.

#Note: This place is at a high altitude and the air is very thin. People with a breathing problem may face issues.

We left the place at 3 (when tunnel gates were open). We had a great time here. And now we were super hungry. We went to this beautiful Cafe 1947 which is one of the best cafes in Manali. Safe, sanitized, good food & very good view. It is by the riverside & surrounded by mountains. They have open space to enjoy the view & food & they have few tables inside to keep you warm & cosy. It was 2 degrees by the time we reached the cafe and decided to sit inside and enjoy the food with a view.

It’s winter, days are shorter. It gets dark at 5.30 pm. we headed to the hotel, thinking we will relax for some time and then go out again later. But when you spend time in snow, you get tired. We slipped into a blanket for that cosy feeling. Sipped hot water to keep ourselves warm. And just chilled in the hotel. The hotel had few indoor games. We played that and just relaxed.

Day 3 –

This day was magical. Rinnku woke up at 7.30 am. The first thing she did was open the curtains & door and went to the balcony to see the view, The minute she looked out, she screamed (literally). I got so scared, thinking something happened to her. She ran inside to call me & to take me to the balcony to show the view of the lifetime, It had snowed all night. And the snowfall was so heavy that everything was covered in snow, Trees, mountains, just everything was white. Like god literally painted the colourful town into white. It was beautiful, it was magnificent, we had seen many white places, but this was unexpected, and in 1 night everything just changed. It was snowing heavily while we were on the balcony. Nature is beautiful. It has so much for us, just that we could make the best of it while keeping in mind that we have to preserve it and not abuse it. This is how our morning of day 3 started. Absolutely magical!

We couldn’t get over the whole thing. We went for breakfast. The snowfall had stopped by then. The view was beautiful. We got ready to click some pics. I was travelling to Manali after almost a decade. Our local friends and travel agents were excited and eager to meet. A local friend who stays in Manali’s small village nearby made sure we met him today and he wanted to take us around and show us some spots which no tourist knew about.

We clicked a few pictures & left to meet the friend. He took us to this beautiful village called Kasheri. The whole day was meant to be magical. The route to this village was so scenic and so beautiful. Words or pictures won’t be able to make any justice.

We spent a good 3-4 hours with him. We kept taking a few breaks on the way to see the valley and view. This village was based on the mountain. We couldn’t reach the top of the mountain, coz it had snowed, our normal cars wouldn’t drive through the snow. However, we went uphill to the point, where it was only snow & pine trees & nothing else. It literally felt as if we were standing in heaven & breathing in heaven. That feeling was something else, We stood there for some time & then took a U-turn and left from there. We will be sharing the whole Vlog on this. Don’t miss watching it.

We came down from the same beautiful road, and we were super hungry. There were small local cafes and restaurants just at the base of this mountain road. We had momos & Maggi there. It’s always fun to have Maggi in the mountains & cold weather. This beautiful restaurant has a sit-out & tables by the river. However, it was so cold that we couldn’t sit there and sat inside where we asked the owner of the restaurant to burn the woods (like a campfire) to keep ourselves warm. After Maggi & momos, we left for mall road to see the market.

This market has some delicious food joints including a mother-son duo selling momos. If you are there, don’t miss having momos from her. The wait time to get momos from her in the peak hour is anytime from 10 mins to 30 mins. She sits right in the centre of the mall road shopping area (on the pathway). Then we had some bread pakoda, samosas, Kadhai Dudh, jalebis, of course, momos from aunty(a must-have). After this, we just took a walk at the mall road, did some window shopping, and returned hotel.

Day 4 –

Today it was another magical view. The snow had melted a little. Greenery & snow on the trees & mountains was looking magical and a new place altogether. We literally saw 3 different views on 3 different mornings.

On that day, we had planned to go to Hadimba temple & see the old Manali, if it was open. Many things were closed because of the night curfew & lockdown phase 2 was going on.

After an elaborated breakfast, we left for Hadimba temple. It’s beautiful, surrounded by huge pine trees, a long & narrow walkway, gardens and a playing area around. This place is beautiful and very peaceful, one can spend hours here at peace. This place had some positive vibes in it. You will find a lot of local people with whom we interacted, spoke, and spend some time with them. If you want to take pics in local outfits, you can do rent the clothes there and click the pics. You can ride on the yak. You can do some street shopping or buy souvenirs just outside the temple.

After that, we had decided to celebrate by going to Cafe 1947 because we had won our first Travel Blogger Award. It definitely needed to be celebrated. This all was possible because of your love and support.  That day, we went to the cafe a little earlier so that the sun is still there and we can sit by the riverside and enjoy the meal. We spent our whole evening there around 7 pm we went to the mall road again for a quick momo treat. 🙂

We came back to the hotel and packed our luggage as our beautiful 4 days had come to an end. We were to head to our next destination that was Dharamshala.

#Note: We stayed at Mastiff Grand Manali booked by Kalakrruti | The Trawingers. Hope this detailed account of our trip to Manali gave you a clear idea of what to expect from this gem of a place. After all, Manali has a charm of nostalgia that can lure you to visit more than once. If you’re planning to head to this surreal hill station anytime soon, we assume this guide will definitely help you to get started! 🙂