Best time to visit: Shimla & Manali

 Best time to visit

All year round.

April –July For travellers who want to escape the heat of the Indian summer and enjoy the scenery of mountains with a clear blue sky along with the thrill of adventure activities/sports.

October-November For travellers who wants to see the autumn magically bloom the flowers and the apples in apple orchards with snow-capped mountains afar surrounding under the blue sky along with the thrill of adventure activities/sports.

December-January For travellers who wants to enjoy the snowfall and freshly laid snowy blanket all over the valley and roads of Shimla & Manali, but also flexible with their timelines and sight scenes as there could be blockades/ roadblocks for exaggerating amounts of snowfall.

February – March For travellers who could be lucky enough to experience a snowfall but mainly to enjoy the freshly laid out snow all over the valley with few available adventure activities or sports.

Adventure Activities

• River Rafting in the River Beas

14 km Rafting [Pirdi to Bajaura] - Rs 800/ person.

8–9 Grade III Rapids | Easy | Duration - 1:30 hr.

10 km Rafting [Pirdi to Sarabai] - Rs 700/ person.

7 Grade III Rapids | Easy | Duration - 1 hour.

7 km Rafting [Pirdi to Bhuntar] - Rs 700/ person.

5 Grade III Rapids | Easy | Duration - 40 min (Bargaining is a must)

There are three locations of River Rafting near Manali, above one is Pirdi and the other two locations for river rafting are Raison And Babeli.

• Paragliding in Solang valley river with a per-person cost of INR 2000-3000 for 5 to 7 mins of flight duration (depending on the winds), or with a per-person cost of INR 4000-5000 for 14 to 16 mins of flight duration (depending on the winds). Prices also vary due to other costs like the hiring of GoPro for a video of your flight. (Depending on your Bargaining power)

• ATV Rides/ Quad Bike rides in Solang Valley with a per-person cost of INR 800-1200. (Depending on your Bargaining power)

• Skiing in Solang Valley or Rohtang Pass with a per-person cost of INR 800-1200 . .(Depending on your Bargaining power)

• Snow-mobiling in the Solang Valley or Rohtang Pass with a per-person cost of INR 800-1200. (Depending on your Bargaining power)

There are also some other fun adventurous activities which are less dangerous and also more economical than the above activities:- Zorbing, River Crossing, Zipline, Rock Climbing, Rappelling, Cable Car Ropeway etc.

How to Reach

There are several ways to reach Shimla and Manali.

1. Train to Kalka Railway station & from there book and enjoy a scenic toy train ride to Shimla Station or you can also hire a local cab or car to Shimla from Kalka.

2. Train / Flight / Bus to Delhi & from there a hired car till Shimla or Manali.

3. Train / Flight / Bus to Chandigarh & from there a hired car till Shimla or Manali.

How to plan

There are a huge number of tour operators in cities all over India who designs package tours of Shimla & Manali starting from INR 10k per person. You can also plan your tour by pre-booking your train or flight online and pre-booking your hotels online according to your choice and budget. Local cab or hired car can be booked on spot from Delhi/Chandigarh/Kalka or Shimla/Manali for both inter-state travel destinations and local sight scenes.

-Pritam Maji