This Is How I Fell in Love With Old Manali, and You Will Too

"Travel makes one modest, you see what a tiny place ou occupy in the World."

On to another adventure with my close friends, I took the road for North India's one of the favored destination, Manali which is among the top tourism destinations in India that attracts crowds of vacationers every year. The hill station of Himachal pradesh is a great place to visit to escape the humid climate of the plains.

How to get here:

By Air:

You can reach this prominent hill station in Himachal by air. The nearest airport is Bhuntar, around 50 km from Manali.

By Train:

Being a hilly region, there is no railway station in Manali.

By Road:

Many vacationers prefer to travel by road to Kullu, especially from Delhi. Volvo buses are easily available from various stops in Delhi.

Day 1

Manali

One day spent in this entirely different world made me realise that I love mountains more than beaches. Crossing the bridge over gushing Manalsu River will take you to this paradise, and you will feel as if you have entered a different country altogether.

The relaxing vibe of Manali's cafes, puts the shear workload, that your muscles under-went in the previous few days, to relax mode.

Where to stay

I have always been a budget traveller and look for a comfortable place rather a lavish one.

Fortunately, Manali being a vacationer's paradise, they have immense number of places to stay for each budget.

My picks being the Hostels of Manali.

Day 2

Old Manali

Old Manali is famous for it's cafes and here are my top picks!

Day 3

Sethan

Ditching the cliched Solang, we decided to visit Sethan Village. A 1 hour 15 minutes drive from manali, starting point of famous Hampta pass trek (altitude 8850 ft. from sea level). Paradise for snow lovers. It is also famous for its Igloos. Nevertheless, it was a great decision made.

Moustache Manali

Situated near Manali club house, the hostel gives real feel to travellers. They got a friendly staff and smoth check-in process. I stayed here for a day.

Room rent: 200-400 per bunk bed (They have private rooms as well)

Zostel

Around 700-800 m from Moustache, in the old village area of Manali we have Zostel. Trust me, you wont find any better place than this in the entire area for your stay. From beautiful view to tasty food and game nights, the place is heaven for solo as well as group travellers. I stayed here for the next 2 days.

Room rent: 400-500 per bunk bed (They have private rooms as well)

Photo of Moustache Manali, Old Manali, Manali, Himachal Pradesh, India by Anuj Khandelwal

Rocky's Cafe

A must visit cafe for your daily breakfast. The cafe is situated at hill-side walking distance from our hostel. The cafe comes with loaded package of stunning view and tasty food. We had a scrumptious breakfast which we cherished wholeheartedly, we were joined by our host and the conversations floated about the travels we took and so on and so forth.

Drifters' Inn & Cafe- BAR Restaurant in Manu Temple Road Manali

This is another famous cafe in the area with beautiful interiors and ambience to enjoy the perfect vacay night. If you are a dog lover, than you are in for fun because they got two full grown playful dogs at the cafe.

There are other good cafes to try as well such as Lazy Dog, G.O.A.T, Evergreen Cafe, Cafe Kathmandu among others.

Manali was another amazing experience, it helped unfold my love for culture, tradition and village hospitality. People are friendly, great food along with beautiful views were highlight for my trip...

Itinerary

Night 1 - Overnight journey to Manali and halt for few hours.

Day 1 - Sightseeing Old Manali, Cafes and places

Day 2 - Visit Sethan

Day 3 - Rest and enjoy hospitality of the place

Day 4 - Return to Delhi

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