Delhi to Manali by Car

Styler,
Whats the best place to stay in Manali. If I am travelling with 2 kids and a wife. (for two days).
Note: Also I am looking for a western toilet.
Thanks
dom

There's LOTS of hotel info in this sub-forum and in the Hotels forum, do take a look around.
If you then have something narrowed down and need more clarifs, feel free to ask again.

hey guys..just back after a 10 days trip to manali..the roads r terrific (the only exception was the bridge on the kullu-bhunter bypass was damaged n thus shut and we had to go through the congested kullu city)...
the bilaspur stopover was perfect..its a comparitivly new property with well maintanied rooms...in manali we stayed at log huts..just one word to describe them..awesome( the only drawback was that the view from the log huts wasnt as great as i was imaginging it to be). manali is by far the best hill station of india(except kashmir) but the mall road and vashist areas are as bad and as congested as any other contrete jungle hill stations.
on my way back it took me exactly 14 hours from manali till noida(9am to 11pm), with just two stoppages of one hour each..bilaspur for lunch and kingfisher(ambala) for tea.
thnx again styler and dilliwala for ur valuable inputs.

Hi ,
I followed the DEL-Ambala - Banur - Kharar- Ropar route to by pass Chandigarh . This road is now been widened as 4 lane from the present status of approx 1/2 lane ( due to road widening going on ) so avoid this strech for next 2 months atleast as i got struck up in jam here( due to an accident) that lasted for half an hour .
After 2 months this route will be fantastic and there will absolutely be no reason to touch Chandigarh.
A good halt in between is VISCO resort in Mandi , it took 10 hrs of leisure drive for me to reach there . Manali is approx 90kms ahead of this place .

Thanks for your posts, gents - useful info.

Yes, I second pankaj on Visco resorts, it's a great hotel.

The roads are just getting better and better- soon it'll be a breeze getting to HP from Delhi. There's even evidence of lane driving in some areas!

Hi!

I am new to Indiamike. I am planning to visit Manali and areas around Manali on 11th June. I have my wife and two kids, 6 and 4 years old with me. I shall be driving from Delhi in Maruti Swift Dzire (Diesel). I would request the following info and guidance.

1. Someone told me that on Chandigarh-Bilaspur stretch, some parts of the road are really bad. Is it true. If yes, which part and how many kilometres of road is bad.

2. Is there any problem is going to Rohtang pass and beyond for about 30-40 kms from Gramphu towards Kaza in Swift Dzire.

3. Plan to spend 2-3 days in Tirthan valley also. Is it necessary to book accomodation in advance in Tirthan valley or one can go and choose. Has anyone had any experience with Natures Lap resort, http://natureslapresort.com about 9 Kms from Banjar and Riverside Resort, http://www.tirthanvalley.co.in at Deori, before Gushaini. Which are other good resorts (Not Banjara Retreat) in the area and do they negotiate. What is the nest price I can hope for from them.

Thanks in advance for the info.

I agreed with stycher route chosen by him is marvelous recently i drove by honda city - my expierance is like this-
I went to Manali 14 year back just after my marriage. I have many wonderful memories of that period, that time whole of Manali was covered with ice. We went to Solang valley which was covered with ice up to several feet, which was amazing.

This year it was our Ivory marriage anniversary on 24th of Jan, I made plan to visit there once again, this time our two kids accompanied us. I booked inventory with club mahindra. That is snow peak resort village Prini Manali for three nights, initially I got booking only for two nights because of non availability, but at last moment, third night was also confirmed. Other wise there was off season at Manali. You can get 50 to 60% discount in all hotels & resorts during this time.

I like self driving; I started my journey around 3 pm on 22 Jan. I took route as follow- Delhi (my home is on border of Delhi on NH; Narela) Panipat –Karnal-Ambala-Banur-Kharar-Roper – Kiratpur Sahib- Swarghat-Bilaspur-Sunder Nagar-Mandi-Pandoh-Aut-Bhunter-Kullu Bypass-Nagar –Pirni (it is 3 km before Manali, my resort is in this village) it is 532 km from my place.

There are few key points in my route-


There is over bridge on Panipat now, so whole of Panipat take only 5 minute to cross previously it took up to one hour for 8 km during rush hours.
I did not go Chandigarh to avoid mess of it. After Ambala there is two route one goes to Chandigarh, other continue with NH 1 to Jalander, I proceed on NH1, after 12 km from Ambala there is toll bridge, just 50 mts before that (you can see toll bridge from here) there is right turn it will carry you to banur after taking 18 km, here is crossing one road goes to Rajpura, other toward Chandigarh third one toward Kharar (that is straight).I took this road at Kharar I hits on NH 21 which took me to Roper.
At Bhunter there is two roads one go thorough Kullu, other bypass it. you should not follow first one this is narrow road & having heavy traffic , for second one you required to cross river through a Iron bridge then with in 5 minute you will reach to the other corner of Kullu.
Here again there are two routes first one is Main manali road for that you have to cross over bridge, Main manali road is wider, straighter but it contain slightly more traffic, Other road is Nagar road, for it you should go straight don’t climb on over bridge this road is also good, no traffic but it is slightly zigzag. but by this route you can visit Nagar here is scenic beauty, three more places to visit here one is Rorick art gallery it is worth to visit it, second on is Castle it is favorite in bollywood for shooting you can enjoy a sips of coffee in balcony of it & watch the scenic beauty of Nagar, third one is 13 km from Nagar that is Jaana water fall this road is very scenic, although narrow but you can drive quite easily. At fall you park your car then there is trekking of 10 mts on hill to watch triple water fall. Here you can enjoy local himachali food it contain red rice, rajma, kadi, poodina chatni, & makki ki roti it is nice food. From nagar to manali is around 18 km, that is straight road
I took my first break at Swarghat, here is hotel of Himachal Tourism, I reached here around 9 pm, my wife wanted to stay here for night to avoid night driving, accommodation was comfortable, and food is also good. But you can go up to bilaspur here much more type of accommodation are available.

Next morning I started journey about 8 am & took second break for lunch at Aut & reached to my resort at 2 pm.
On first day, we went to Manali market, Hidimba temple &Club house. At manali market, opposite bus stand there are two eateries chopstick & Mountain View. Both are very good, we took chicken sizzler & crispy chicken honey at Mountain View both are mouth watering preparations, you should try it. Other good eateries are Johnson café near mall & Apple blossom at Old Manali.

Second day we went Solang Valley, snow point, & Dundi. Although ice is quite less because there was no recent snow fall but we enjoy a lot, few adventure sports are at solang valley. These should be tried.

On third day first we had few adventure sports like rock climbing, rappelling,

& river crossing just near resort, for this trainer was called by in-charge of fun zone club mahindra, these was chargeable 250/- per sport per person. After that we went to Nagger & Janna water fall.

On forth day we had again local tour of manali like Vashist sulfur spring, Manu Temple at Old Manali.

On 26 after flag hoisting we drove back at 10.30 am. & we reached Delhi border at 9.30 pm

Hi experts,
I am going Jaipur to Manali in 2nd week of June. What would be the best route now to follow. The traditional one or the one which Styler recomended. I mean what is the present situation as flyovers are added.
Thanx guys. Ur suggestions are valuable.

great information, thanks naresh

Hi Everyone,

Great to see all this information assimilated together!

I need your help in planning my trip. I am planning to drive down from Delhi to Manali and then back in a week around Mid July with my wife.

Right now it seems that the route suggested by Styler is the best one to opt for.

Any latest updates on the road conditions. I have a few concerns listed below
(1) I have slightly tinted glasses on my car..maybe 30%..any idea if this is an issue? If yes where all do I need to be watchfull.

(2) I will be driving in Swift VXi, since the car has a low ground clearance. Are there any areas where I could experience problem.

(3) What are the places around Manali, where it is advisable to take my car. For places like rohtang, I will prefer a taxi.

(4) Doing the total journey in a day seems to be too much. I would like to break it somewhere and spend the night there. Any suggestions where we could stop? Ahy hotels which are neat clean and safe. Most important they have proper car parking.

(5)Should I expect rain somewhere, Is that a cause of concern?

(6) Depending on the current route conditions, is it recommended to take some other route. It's ok to take a longer route. But I would not want to take a road which doens't have a railing or boulders on the side, to stop a car from falling and most important I would like to skip any kind of traffic.


I know I have a lot of questions, Hopefully all you experienced guys would be able to help me out.

Regards,
BT

First things first - to get to Manali you have to drive.......up!

1) Never heard of such an issue. Anyone else have different info?

2) Yes - EVERYWHERE there's even a slightly raised bit/portion! Just be very careful when you see one, cross it dead slow.

3) Manali town and Solang are no problem.

4) Swarghat is good. There's HPTDC and another hotel. Don't worry about parking on the road in the hills.
Even Chandigarh is fine. That's where I halted last year.

5) Yes, and not really. Unless it's so heavy that you can't see, then stop for a while.

6) There will always be some roads in the hills where there are no railings etc, so if that's an issue you'll have to stay at home.

Dilliwala,

Great! Thanks for the prompt response.

1) Abt the tinted glasses, i heard its a problem in Chandigarh/Punjab

2) Thanks

3) When you said Manali, does this include all tourist spots including Naggar etc.

4)Chandigarh seems to be too early. Which one do you recommend? Swarghat or Bilaspur? Do you recommend just dropping in in the hotel, or is it better to reserve before hand.

5) Wanted to know if the area is prone to landslides.

6) Some roads are ok? Just wanted to comapre the roads to Ladakh(leh etc). I was there last yr same time. the roads are very narrow and without railings. It seemed a lill risky.


Two More Questions please

Q - Styler or someone who has been there recently. Can you tell me the recent road condition? If there is some part of the route to be avoided

Q - How long is the swirling hill journey? I head its just 100kms? From which place can I expect the road to be hilly/swirling?

Great to have you experienced guys around

Thanks & Regards,
BT

I will suggest to go with 2 drivers as it is 13 hours of driving...

Bindastraveller,

Will try to give you "fresh-out-of-oven" info since I was in manali between 10th-20th June:

(1) Tainted glasses will not be a problem in Manali but can be a problem in Chandigarh. In case you are bypassing Chandigarh altogether, I think it can be managed. If you want to be very safe, get them removed since Haryana policemen are known to be difficult.

(2) No problem. I drove the entire journey in Honda city which has a lower ground clearance. Even in Rohtang journey, you will see a lot of Alto's. But is is advisable to hire a taxi for Rohtang. Rest will be a breeze.

(3) Everywhere except Rohtang.

(4) In terms of Hotel, Lake View Bilaspur is a better choice. But it is too much of a distance from Delhi to be covered in a single stretch (if you can cover Bilaspur in a single stretch, you are better off not taking any night halt since distance from Bilaspur to Manali is only four hours). IMHO, Delhi to Manali in a single stretch is very much do-able if you do not have small kids (less than 4 years) or elder's or people with special needs. If you are a reasonably ok driver and enjoy driving, it is not that much of a strain if you take 2-3 breaks. If you leave Delhi early (5 am or 3 am) you will reach Manali towards evening and will have while night to rest. Anyway, if you plan a night halt, it is advisable to do advance booking.

(5)Pls expect lots of rain. drive slow and with caution. check for worn out tyres, take raincoat / umbrella's/rubber sandals. You wll not be able to do paragliding if it rains, but river rafting is fun in mild shower.

(6) Do'nt fall for alternate route (there is one from Chandigarh via Baddi, it is in a mess). Take the regular Kiratpur road. Take the route suggested by Styler and avoid Chandigarh altogether. Just one suggestion, there are two ways from Kullu to manali- the main route which is the National Highway and another route which runs on the right bank of Beas via Naggar. Take the second route...it is more beautiful and has very less traffic and the road condition is also much-much better.

If you compare the journey with Leh, there is NO winding / swirling stretch. The road is not even as hilly as Dehradun-Mussorie or Nainatal roads. Relax....as I mentioned earlier it will be a breeze...