Manali is full of natural beauty and there are many places which are quite far off from the main Manali Valley , I would suggest atleast a 4 day trip to be planned to cover maximum of locations.

 

I travelled from New Delhi by a Volvo Bus and it took 15hrs to reach there. Though there is train connection also but it reaches to plains only and from there 7 hrs drive by bus or car to reach Manali Valley. But as far as my personal suggestion is I would recommend a all car journey till the end as it would save you from the Air conditioned Jail ( this is what I coined for a Volvo Bus after that 15 hr Journey ) and above all whole journey goes through the beautifull valleys before Manali which deserve atleast a 10min stop over to enjoy the beauty and it will give your legs rest a bit and would charge your eyes as well.

 

If travelling by Volvo then choose night journey and if travelling by car I would recommend only Day journey. One whole day for drive and night for rest and start your actual Manali trip from the next day after a full night rest.

 

Travelling by car would save your money being spent on Taxi’s there and would give you the freedom to choose how much time to be spent at which place. One can travel by their own car at all places except Rohtang pass where it is not allowed to go without a taxi  Authorised by Manali Taxi union.

 

Buy a booklet of places to be visited from Mall road Manali on reaching their.

 

Try to leave for far of places as early in morning as possible to save yourself from Traffic Jams , yes you would find Traffic jams there in Manali as well , they are not patented for Metro cities only. Keep the rest of day for your own excursions as fixed itenary’s are bound to change according to the mood of the traveler and the mood of the weather

 

Rohtang pass is 3 hrs away from the Manali valley or can say Mall road and same is for Manikaran Sahib Gurudwara.They would be covered on different days and Rohtang Pass deserves more time than Manikaran.

What Not To Be Missed And What Can Be Missed……….

Rohtang Pass

This is the most visited spot of Manali . It is some 3 Hrs away from Mall road so it is going to take almost a full day. While going there Many places comes in between like Rahla Naala, Nehru Kund, solang valley and Kothi village. Nehru Kund is waste of time , i dint even stopped my car their and this you will realise when your driver will say this is Nehru Kund. For more Click HERE..

Solang Valley is known for sports activities like Skiing and Paragliding. But for Paragliding you would find a much better location before solang valley ( tell your driver to stop there ) , it would provide much longer stay in air.

Rahla Naala

Is a water fall , deserves only some 10min stop over , though time could be increased as you would find a very nice eating joint there serving hot maggi which would suit best there. For more Click HERE.

Kothi Village

Is shooting location for Bollywood movies , a very good restaurant is their on the road if one wants to have a full meal on the way. for more click HERE.

Hidimba Devi Temple

Temple Surrounded by huge deodar trees , built in 16th century. Must have seen it many movies like Roja or the latest hit Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani. Do visit it , will give you a new insight to the culture of Manali and an aesthetic place never to be missed. For more click HERE.

Green Forest Cafe

If you love Dimsums then this is the best place to eat in India specially their chilly sauce will make it an unforgetable visit. Ask anybody way to Green Forest Cafe in whole Manali they will tell you , no need to confuse or if i suggest just walk down the back stairs of Hidimba Devi Temple and you have reached Green Forest Cafe. For more click HERE.

Looking for some Goan type shopping , punk style shopping then just walk past Green forest Cafe and after some 5min you will find a tent shop best suited for this type of shopping.

 

Manikaran Sahib Gurudwara

Some 3 Hrs away from Mall road. Known for its hot water springs and all time running langar. Leave as early as possible in the morning. For More Click HERE.

While going to Manikaran keep yourself ready for River Rafting which is the most sought after activity in Manali Valley. You may opt for river rafting while going to Manikaran or while coming back but do keep extra clothes for your self. For more Click HERE.

Kasol Valley

Kasol Valley, Just some 15min before Manikaran Sahib Gurudwara you will happen to land at this place. Keep some time for this place i would say atleast an Hour , and if your whole day is free after Manikaran Sahib Gurudwara and your are through with river rafting then this place could be an ideal place to rest and enjoy the delicacies of the world and enjoy shopping very nice stuff available here. For more click HERE.

Club House

Club House, a place for all those who are travelling with kids. This place would be a feast for kids as you would find many activities for kids. Rope swing , train ride , ice creams etc all for kids you will find here.

One must see roses of Manali and if you wish to be near to them then club house rose garden is must place. But dont pluck roses as it would charge you a penalty of Rs 100 per rose. For More click HERE.

 

Food Joints Not To Be missed …………………..

Johnsons Cafe and Lodge 

Love coffee whether hot or cold visit Johnsons cafe. Love to spend time with friends and hangout with the taste of best of wines and whisky visit Johnsons cafe. One of the oldest of restaurant and lodge of Manali is waiting for all the travellers to serve the best. A must stop is recommended , or you can dedicate one dinner or lunch of your trip to this place. For more Click HERE.

La Plaze

Located just 900 mts away from club house , surrounded by apple farms and river beas flowing just in front it. Serving the best of French food and wines. Soothing place to sit and a perfect ambience for a hangout. Prefer it for a lunch as it would give you the best view of the valley from there. For more click HERE.

Casa Bella Vista

Want to have best pizza of India visit this place. Located on the bank of river beas and serving you the best wood fired pizza available in India. It gives feasibility of stay also and you may inquire about room availabilty in advance. For more Click HERE.

I have mentioned four restaurants in this whole write up. you may prefer them day by day according to your location.

Glacier Resorts Manali 

A best of Hotel of Manali. Suited best for Couples and even to groups. Located very idealy near to Hidimba Devi Temple and Club House. Just walk away from Johnsons Cafe. For More click HERE. Want some more options for Hotels click HERE.

Note : There are many places also to visit in Manali like Tibetan monastery, Manali Sanctuary, many other temples etc. but due to my tight schedule i was not able to visit them so i have not mentioned about them here but these also are worth giving your visit though i was not lucky enough. If any of Fellow traveller visit some places which are not mentioned here they are most welcome to write their experience in the guest blog section of my greedy backpack.

Some Tips……

In most of the places you will find NO VAT. So enjoy.

If one is going by car then expenditure may vary according to the car being driven , but prefer a SUV.

Keep woollen clothes , if going in Summer, then also. Whether can change without any prior notice.

Mall Road is ideal place for shopping , but do bargain a lot and try to keep options open.

ATM of almost every Indian and Private Bank is available on Mall Road , so try to carry less cash.

Try to buy just room package ( food not included ) when opting for a Hotel. As due to weather conditions food gets cold very fast in buffet, so try to ordering food in room only or visit some restaurant.

 

 

Enjoy your Manali Trip……… Lets tour to india

 

 

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No trip is complete unless you have a nice place to stay. I was lucky that i had pre booked a hotel in Manali, i had just gone through the website of them and read some reviews on Trip advisor and it was easy for me to go for it.

Hotel Glacier Resorts , Manali

They had sent there cab to pick us from bus stand. some 10min away from bus stand and 5-6 min walking distance from Mall Road. Standing tall above all the Hotels.

My first impression for the hotel was quite impressive, as was expected on a hill station all wooden lobby, and which is most common is that hotel starts from the top floor which is opposite in plain areas.

 

 

I had booked a deluxe room and had asked for a view of the valley. I had no idea that there every room has a view of the valley as it is located on the top and gives a full view of the Manali valley from the up, Apple gardens standing in front adding some more paints to the view.

The day we arrived it was raining . And my idea of a room with view was right on stop. Just on entering the room first thing was to look for a view, and it was amazing. Whole Manali valley in front of me, clouds covering the whole valley like they had come down to welcome us and make our trip memorable and they were right on their task.

 

 

Some hours of our arrival spent in the balcony only enjoying the drizzle, watching water droplets acting as curtain to our room. This room fo mine had suddenly changed into heaven.

Next day was bright sunny day. And this day has its own beauty, i could see whole Manali bathed in sun light, the previous day it was raining and today it was all together a different world.

 

Hotel Glacier , i was confused a bit by the name of it. Generally hotel’s name is chosen by some of qualities and i was not able to see any glacier. But today on a bright sunny day, i could link it and they were right in naming it as ” Hotel Glacier “. A view of glaciers from every room , something which is the USP of this Hotel.

 

 

A whole line of glacier standing in front of you, beautiful gift from nature, a combination of green and white. What else i would expect from my resting place. A room with a view…..Hotel Glacier Resorts , Manali  giving me an open window to enjoy and appreciate the beauty of Nature.

 

I wouldnt have expected much more than this from my trip, I had my bucket list and all the destinations were right there on my list.

Main local tourist attractions were just walk away from this Hotel which was the best part and saved my lot of money which would have gone on taxi. exceptionally well in their services , neat and clean room with a very spacious bathroom and which i never wanted was not there ” Jacusi ” as i dint needed it. Food was too good and hygienic, served hot in room but with buffet i was not at all satisfied, and may be the temperature of Manali was playing his part in worsening the situation, no falt of Hotel.

A must choice atleast for me whenever i am going to visit again or i am booking tour of Manali for some client of mine.

 

Nature has bestowed his blessings to all places. But somehow i felt in this trip nature has been somewhat a bit partial also to some places. Manali has been blessed with Greenery that at some point you will have to look hard to find a brown spot, river flowing with its full flow and the mountains covered with Snow.

Though being fickle in mind nature plays game also here, sometime its dark clouds and in an hour its a lovely sunny day which pinches.

This nature of Manali has given it lot of beautiful things. And something which i noted most was the ROSES. For me it was like i have seen malnourished roses in my city New Delhi. In a my whole trip i had not seen a single bouquet shop in Manali, may be the whole sole reason was that every house had its own Rose garden so whats the need of gifting a rose bouquet to any, loss of bouquet industry.

From the day one i was suprised to see the size and density of the roses in manali. i had heard of valley of flowers but that is in uttrakhand and i was in Manali which is in Himachal pradesh, i was stunned and curious what valley of flowers would look like if Manali is like this.

 

 

I talked to my hotel staff… they told me that this time they are very less in number because of heavy snow otherwise they would have been double in number. Cant even imagine what scene that would have been.

 

 

I visited club house which has its own rose garden. First view on entering there was a board highlighting in big font ” Warning : Plucking of roses is Illegal and will cost a Rs 100 on a single rose “. This board had its meaning as it is necessary to save them otherwise no beauty would be left.

 

I had seen Bougainvillea plants in Delhi with full load of flowers on them, holding thousands of flowers on a single plant. But this was something different, yes it is a rose tree not a plant. I tried to count but it was futile effort as i knew i wont be able to count correctly as density was too high and it was best to enjoy rather than being too intellectual. Atleast some 200 roses on a single tree, and this was not alone, everywhere it was same just colour would be different.

In Delhi if a single rose is their at your home, all the neighbours start asking from where you bought this plant , and the next day question is stopped on its own as rose has fallen from its branch.

This blog of mine had nothing much to write as somethings cant be explained in words. The beauty which i witnessed in Manali was something which i would like live again and again.

Trust me i was dumbstruck at most of the times. Seriously it is hard to narrate my feelings, what i saw there and how beautiful it was.

Roses : Speechless , cant describe in words…. so enjoy the beauty through some of my pics may be could understand my situation.

 

Last day of the trip, slowly moving towards the end , but i was enjoying every bit of it. La Plaze visit was over and i had moved back to my next and last destination.

Casa Belle Vesta

Was lucky enough that La plaze auto rikshaw has dropped us to club house. Casa Belle Vesta was 10 min away from there. It was going to be a special place for me i knew this, i had visited this place the day before also but that time Green Forest Cafe had robbed the opportunity but i had kept Casa Belle Vesta for the next day and it was the time.

 

First view the way they had clamped the board was impressive.

Built like an Ethnic hilly region mansion, this building had appealed my senses. This place is known for its wood fired Pizza and as said by their staff they consider themselves as the best in India. I was ready to challenge them. Dilemma was to choose the place where i wanted to sit, as both indoor and outdoor sitting area were attracting me to the most. But going with the wind and feeling the winds of Manali for last time i decided to sit outside only.

 

For a second it seemed like artificial from far but on knocking them i came to know they were the real heavy Deodar wood placed as a table top, giving this place a contemporary look. Whole design has been the idea of the couple who owns this place though i was not able to meet them as they had gone out some reason and peeping much into detail was unnecessary as Pizza wont be cooked by them.

Next thing for me was to decide the Pizza. It was bit confusing for me, as they had so much of options to serve. I went for a simple one, Margherita with toppings of Onion,Capsicum and olives.

I was damn excited, as pizza was going to be cooked in front of me only. Yes i am right with my words, here they have this open air kitchen in which they prepare their Pizza and anybody who has ordered can see his dish being prepared. This was the time to relish, it was happening first time for me.

This cook was working there from the start of the Casa Bella Vesta. I was loving his style of work, they way his hands were sprinkling cheese and vegetables and in the beginning the way he tossed the pizza base in air to increase it size. It took him just 2-3 minute to be ready to give a suggestion ” Sir if you are going to click pictures then switch on your camera as your dish is going in oven “. He said thousands of clicks i have gone through, anybody who visits here for first time it is a must that he would be standing here with me.

My Pizza was in the wood fired chimney, but dont get confused fire was not underneath the floor, Pizza was placed just a feet away from the fire. It was going to take 8 minutes to be served directly in the plate. It was my mistake i should have recorded a video instead of taking pictures, as i witnessed how the pizza changed its look, though most off must have seen this in microwave oven even i had also but this was something unique.

Temperature inside the chimney was near to 370 degree celcius, hope this explained my situation why i dint clicked the wood being burnt inside as i was getting too cautious about my camera lens. It was too hot there but thanks to cool breeze of Manali i was able to cope up with the situation. 8 minutes were over and without any delay even of a second Pizza was out directly into the plate and was ready to be sprinkled with little bit of Oregano, but i luv oregano so i demanded bit extra of it.

Pizza was served to my table with a fresh pineapple juice which i added later on. Now was the time to take the first bite. Though i am trying to explain but the taste was something , which i would say was felt in my mouth even writing this blog. i can still remember its softness though being a thin crust pizza which is generally crispy in mouth. I have always been fan of Pizza hut but this time it had taken a back seat and i would say every time i would be comparing Pizza hut’s pizza with this Pizza in future and expect them to surprise me bringing a better Pizza than this one. Just a simple Cheese Margherita with very simplest of add on would turn out to be so good, i had never expected. How could i forget the fresh Pineapple juice. Most of the times tinned juices are served by the name of fresh juices even in 5 star hotels but at Casa Bella Vesta it was direct from the juicer freshly churned out.

This much of pleasure, such a nice place to sit and eating best of Pizza in India, yes till now i had accepted this that i had lost the challenge and they were right with every word of them, this pizza was the best in India atleast what i have eaten till now. This much of thing costed me only some Rs 250 which if i compare with any other restaurant or big chains of Pizza available in Delhi would be only a fraction of their amount they would have charged me.

It took an effort for me and my wife to finish this Pizza as it was too heavy also. Still we had some time to leave for the bus stand so we kept on sitting there. As usual time to click some more pictures.

Casa Bella Vesta is also a Lodge. One can find a very posh rooms or cottages there though being bit costly but every penny spent is worth the place. This building was almost a look alike of the main building in front, though the front one was only the Cafe and included a small store also showcasing designer clothes.

what to say of Lounge, the best of style, all wooden sitting area, once again all deodar wood heavy just raw table tops.Always has been a fan of ethnic look whether in clothes or jewellery or like this which i saw here in Casa Bella Vesta. Sitting here had its own plus point, here you will have the view of river flowing just road cross of the Casa Bella Vesta which was not in the scene when i sat outside, this thing i realised later but i would say that was much more fun and soothing for me.

Now the time was over, it was the time to say good bye to Manali and proceed for Delhi. We moved from there as we had to pick our luggage also from the Hotel.

Again it was going to be a 15 hr journey, not afraid of hours but its going to be again Volvo and i had to sit in a Air conditioned jail again. But no option.

Bye Manali… we will meet again.