This blog is the second part of the Manali series. You can read Part 1 here. This one is more like a list of things that I did and places I visited.
Places I visited
To find places, my go-to approaches were AllTrails, Google Maps, or asking people (locals or travellers). We only planned single-day trips. We either searched for places to eat nearby before we went or we packed our own lunch/snacks for remote-ish places.
1. Manu Temple - Old Manali - Kharma Valley trek
This trip started as a simple Old Manali and Manu Temple visit, but on the way we found cozy and calm cafes, more temples and a valley for a small trek. The original plan got extended and we ended up visiting Kharma Valley. You will find villagers on the way so it's not that far or scary. A nice spot to click pictures and just listen to the Manalsu River flowing nearby.
- Manu Temple
- Another temple named Devi Bandhar we found on our way. This temple had a very old but fully decorated home nearby and planters made out of big tires. Cool place.
- Kharma Valley
2. Vashishtha Temple and Jogini Falls trek
This was more of a planned trip. After breakfast, we decided to visit these two places on foot from our stay. We had bought some snacks and 2L water per person. We first reached Vashishtha Temple on foot. There's a path in Vashishtha village that goes to the temple through beautiful houses and trees. We took an hour-long break there and explored the temple area.
From there, we went to Jogini Falls on foot. Any local there will help you with the directions. It is completely beginner-friendly. There were many cafes on the way, beautiful jungle areas, temples, and river spots. We could only go up to the little fall. It was the biggest waterfall I saw. I also managed to see a rainbow forming at the bottom of the fall. There's another viewpoint up until the big fall but the path there is a bit steep so I'd suggest avoiding it on a rainy day. Indeed a beautiful place to visit during your stay in or around Manali.
A special highlight about this trek was the boards/signs placed for spreading awareness about not littering.
3. Klath hot water springs
There's a village called Klath near Manali. Any bus going to Kullu will drop you here. It was advertised as a private hot water spring. But it is a tiny temperature-controlled swimming pool. We went to swim there but it was too small to have a proper swim. Some people just go for a relaxing bath. The water was not pristine but I guess other places might be better maintained than the one we went to. These pools are close to a river and dhabas/cafes. It's a nice spot to click pictures and spend some time.
I'd skip this unless you have nothing else to do.
4. Lama Dugh hike
TL;DR: Worth going. If you go, bring water, food, and some biscuits for dogs. Prepare for any weather like cold, wind, and rain. Don't start too late (after 8-9 am in the morning is fine).
This trek deserves its own post but I'll just summarise it here in a few lines. This was a day-long hike. We packed our lunch and had plenty of water with us. Additionally, we had an umbrella in case it rained.
The first time we went, we found a few hungry dogs (friendly but huge) and didn't find any people early in the morning. So we got scared and fed our lunch to them. Since we didn't have a proper meal left, we came back halfway.
The second time we went with our neighbours and some spare food for the dogs. This time we went a bit later (after 10:00 am) and we saw a few groups. They had already fed the dogs this time. Haha.
It was so difficult but worth it. It is a 1km incline with a total 11km walk around a mountain. We didn't finish the circle but came back on the same path due to the sudden shift in weather. It turned cloudy, windy and mildly rainy so we thought it'd be wise to come back. If it seems too difficult, I'd recommend going at least until the plain near the Lion King rock. It has stunning views of trees, mountains and plains. We saw a few horses and mules grazing there. It was a pretty sight. It looked like a nice camping site too. We saw some setup for fire and cooking. Our hosts were saying that if you go there before March, you can find some snow too.
It is a calm, less crowded, clean trek. I highly recommend going here if you can hike.
5. Van Vihar walks
There are around 3 jungle areas inside Manali city. They are kind of cordoned-off jungle areas where vehicles and vendors/sellers are not allowed. They are simply just for walking. If you are unable to go on treks, hikes etc, I'd suggest you visit one of these, have a nice walk and a small picnic. These places are well maintained and the tourist crowd avoids them due to them being "less popular" by social media standards.
- Manali Nature Park. This one takes you from Old Manali to Mall Road on foot.
- Dhungri Van Vihar. This still has a few vendors on the side of the entrance, but there's less crowd inside.
6. Rohtang Pass day tour
We booked a bus tour for this one as we were going for the first time so we wanted to explore first and later go again on our own. We could only go for the bus tour due to time constraints this time.
The bus route was breathtaking. So scary tbh. But definitely worth going. I specifically enjoyed the ride more than the Rohtang Pass area. I witnessed snow here for the first time, which was nice. The only gripes I have here are people throwing trash and horse shit on the snow.
We went back through Koksar valley. The beauty of that path left me speechless. Areas near Manali were already so pretty but trust me this was even prettier. The mountains, rivers and stones were so unique. Some of the mountains looked like terracotta mountains. And we found plenty of natural waterfalls coming out of them. This is the place where I'd go again if I get a chance. Maybe to live for a few days.
7. Buddhist Monastery
A nice and calm place to spend some time. There are enough places to sit to escape the crowd. There's a separate meditation room too if you like to sit there. We spent some time here, saw paintings about various stories of Buddha, and enjoyed the calm.
8. Museum of Himachal Culture & Folk Art
It's a small museum showcasing Himachal heritage with various traditional objects and building models. If you are into museums, you can go. Otherwise it can be skipped. If you are an artist, there are many references for drawing and concept art.
Cafes and Restaurants
1. Ginni's Food
A small and cozy place with limited items but such great food. It was our go-to place to have lunch/snacks whenever we went to Mall Road. The couple who runs the place is so friendly and nice to talk to. We always had long chats when we went there. I was anyway looking for Himachal-style kachori and this was the only place that was making it.
Must-try items are Siddu, Kachauri, and Parantha (any parantha). They have the most delicious chutneys with it. The best thing about this place is the taste of homemade food with hygiene. Highly recommend eating here if you can.
2. Rama's Dhaba near Old Manali
We had a thali here. So fulfilling and so tasty. If you want to try local home food, you must have thali here. The dals and sabji tasted so different from what we have here in the city. Luckily I was able to have the popular "pahado ki kaali dal" here. I still wish I could have food here haha. Also, Momos and Siddu seemed very popular on each table here, in case you want to try that too.
3. Date night places in Old Manali
Art Cafe and Silver Spoon Restaurant - Both are nice and cozy places for a date night. They had very talented musicians playing the night I visited which was the cherry on top. We had pizza and a Mediterranean platter at Art Cafe, and pizza and a burger at Silver Spoon. Food tasted good at both places. My favorite was the burger at Silver Spoon. The prices are more reasonable at Art Cafe than the restaurant. Recommended places to chill and have a nice dinner after a long day of trekking.
We mostly cooked at home during our stay so I don't have many recommendations for restaurants. A few more memorable dishes I had were Thenthuk noodles at Noodles Restaurant and pakora & chai at Manali Sweets.
Our main goal was not to cover everything but to explore places at our own pace and spend more time at those places. We were able to achieve it I guess.
This concludes the Manali series. I will probably add links to pictures in the future. Peace!