LTC trip from Delhi to Shimla

tech426

Hi ..

Me and my friends (about 12 people) are planning for a trip from kerala to shimla through ltc package. We only decided the train to reach delhi. From calicut on 7th October we will start in Rajadhani express and reach there on 9th october evening. From there we didn't decide yet. Don't know how to plan our trip from there (Delhi) to shimla. What are places we can visit in shimla ? How many days required to see the places in shimla and if possible in Manali also. If any body have visited shimla and avaled the ltc package please help.. !!

( As it is LTC package, we can travel in train only, as we can claim it )

__________________
http://imyideas.blogspot.com Government employees News
http://citycricketers.wordpress.com Kerala IPL Team Fans

rajered

HPTDC organises LTC/LTA sightseeing tours.
Contacty. General Manager(Transport), Shimla:Tel.No.0177-2830712 Tel/Fax:2831507,E-mail: tpthptdc@hptdc.in

tech426

Let me Check those Numbers !

delhiwala

No need to go through HPTDC. Book Any train from Delhi to Kalka and then book the toy train from Kalka to Shimla.

From Shimla to Manali you'll have to use bus/taxi only.

If you decide to return from Manali then take a bus to Ambala and then you may book train from there. Or you may take Manali - Delhi Volvo and then take Train from Delhi.

__________________
Travel only with thy equals or thy betters; if there are none, travel alone. - The Dhammapada

vasuki

From Delhi check if you are reaching in time to catch the Howarh Kalka mail departing old Delhi station at 9.40 pm. Further you can catch the Shiwalik Express from Kalka to Shimla. Local sightseeing can be arranged by the HPTDC by their day sightseeing tours. Shimla - Manali has to be done by road. HPTDC will surely will be operating a coach during this time. Manali sightseeing tours will be taken care by HPTDC again and Manali - Delhi journey can be done by HPTDC VOLVO. There are other VOLVOs also available on this route.

In case you are not able to catch the Howarh Kalka mail then travel to Shimla by VOLVO of state transport leaving at 9 & 10 pm, HPTDC VOLVO at 8.30 pm and Haryana state transport VOLVO leaving at 11.20 pm. Out of these you will not be able to pre-book the Haryana VOLVO.

Shimla office of HPTDC can arrange all neccessary reservations for VOLVOs and hotels (if required). Just mail them at shimla@hptdc.in Also browse through this forum and Himachal Pradesh forum for more details. Another site to visit is www.hptdc.in

__________________
Three goodies for Indian roads-
Good horn, Good brake, Good luck!

Himachal Travel Blog

tech426

Hey thanks for your great help. ! So i am hoping to avail train journey from delhi to kalka and from kalka to shimla. ! From there will look for volvo bus for travel to manali.

Can anybody help me to organize the travel. ie how many days in shimla and how many days to stay in manali etc. will 4 days in both manali and shimla be enough for both journey and sigt seeing ??

vasuki

Ideally 2 days in Shimla and 4 days in Manali should be ideal. Else Manali can be covered in 3 days. Manali - Delhi Volvo leaves in the afternoon/evening. So you get that day for local Manali sightseeing. Shimla - Manali is not a VOLVO ride but a Deluxe bus of HPTDC.

tech426

From your comments i cleared some of my doubts and please help me to solve some more queries..

We decided to stay at shimla for 2 nights looking for stay in Grand Hotel. (?)

Is it better to hire a taxi from there (Shimla) for sight seeing? plz advice me about the taxi rate and any good taxi service, their no etc for two days.

Then will leave to Manali by bus. Please suggest some good budget hotels at manali. we will stay there for 3 nights and plannig for the local sight seeing throuh taxi.

Then we want to come back to delhi through chandisgarh. which one will be better to come back to delhi taxi or bus? please help me in these queries..

1. Current taxi rates in Shimla and Manali.
2. Good budget hotesl in Manali and chandisgarh.
3. Any good tour package provider in Shimla and Manali.

Thanks !!

http://imyideas.blogspot.com/2008/10...tion-form.html

vasuki

I am not sure if private taxis are covered under LTC. You can hire a vehicle from HPTDC as this is a govt. vehicle but I think they do not offer the vehicles for a single day. You can hire the HPTDC vehicles from Shimla to Manali and then drop it at Chandigarh. Check with the shimla office of HPTDC for exact rates for different vehicles.

Else, there are taxi unions at Shimla and Manali and you can hire the cars from them. A typical Kufri - Naldehra tour can cost upto 1800 per day in one Sumo / Qualis in Shimla. Not sure about Manali rates.

In Shimla the budget hotels are Hotel White / Blue Diamond / Tirupati. In Manali, Nandani Palace, Satkar Regency and many more. Just google around. HPTDC hotel Beas is also a decent budget hotel and details are on the HPTDC site.

In Chandigarh, Hotel White, City Heart hotels (google for city heart) City Plaza - 7 are some of the budget hotels.

Few travel operators are there on the Mall road in Shimla but can you claim LTC from private operators?

KABAARY

Not correct. You can claim the economy class air fare of the national carrier by the shortest route to the destination.

There is no explicit prohibition against the same. The only condition is that the exemption claim should not exceed the limits prescribed. Refer Rule 2B of the Income Tax Rules.

There can be complications as in this instant case where one has to necessarily resort to numerous connections to reach Shimla from Calicut....that would require a bit of an elaborate explanation on my part....in any case, I am not quite an expert on personal taxation matters - corporate tax is more my forte if at all....

vasuki

I am assuming that the OP is a govt.employee and as per Himachal state govt rules, LTC through private taxis is not allowed. One can travel by train, by bus, private or govt. or by air as per entitlement but private vehicles are strictly prohibited. Even by a govt. car there is a certain limit for which one can make a claim. Govt. rules are mostly the same in all states.

rajered

Did you speak with HPTDC? They organise LTC / LTA tours.

tech426

Sorry for the late reply.

I contacted HPTC . They are saying that after we reach shimla, they will arrange the trip to see shimla, manali and other beautiful places out there.

We are planning for a slight modification in the travel.We want to visit Amritsar also. So can we go directly from manali to amritsar and come bsack to Chandigarh then proceed to delhi?

One more question if we have to omit one place between Amritsar and Chandigarh due to lack of time which one we can selct?

Proposed Itenarary of our plan is like this..


Oct 2. Calicut to Delhi
Oct 4. Delhi , Night Stay
Oct 5. Morning Delhi to Kalka then Kalka to shimla
Oct 6,7 Stay at Shimla
Oct 8 Morning start to Manali
Oct 8,9,10 manali stay
Oct 11. Morning Proceed to Amritsar Ngt stay
Oct 12 . Amritsar sight seeing. Night depart to Chandigarh
Oct 13. Chandigarh sight seeing. Night depart to Delhi
Oct 14. Delhi Sight seeing
Oct 15. Delhi
Oct 16. Morning Depart to Calicut.

Will it work? Plz give some suggestions for improving this itenaray.? or can we cover some more places ?

bonded

There are direct buses from Manali to Amritsar and Chandigarh.

If you are pressed for time I would suggest you to skip Amritsar and go to Chandigarh. From Chandigarh you can go to Ernakulam by Train 2654 leaving Chandigarh at 09:00 and reaching Ernakulam at 14:05