Manali

Advantages: Best place for first Himalayan winter snow, Excellent Snow Sports, Brilliant Scenic Beauty, Affordable Hotels, Well Connected
Disadvantages: Lack of enough tourist information, Exhorbitantly priced in Summers at least for Indians

...that we would zoom towards Manali - The Valley of Gods. Manali is 400 kms from Chandigarh 650 kms from Delhi - the Capital City of India. We did this entire way and back over three nights at a resort in a petite car called Santro, from Hyundai stable. The hotel, Whispering Rocks, was kind enough to throw in the fourth night for free but for a call from the Office. The thought that "one needs to earn for future such getaways", got us back, but not ...
...My previous visit to Manali was around 6 years back and it was predominantly to test the waters for a possible entry in the Himalayan Motocross. The event is now called Raid De Himalayas and I am still an aspirant. :-) Maybe this year. But yes what did satisfy me on this trip was that I beat my own record of driving down to Delhi from Manali by almost two hours. Well, I did gained curses from wife who was back broken by the time we got home, but ... Read review

Advantages: Spectacular Scenery, a real adventure in a four wheel drive.
Disadvantages: Heart stopping moments on tricky mountain roads. Altitude sickness.

...The Manali - Leh highway winds itself through some of the highest mountain passes in the world and takes you through some truely unforgettable scenery. Once over the 4000m Rohtang pass an hour and a half out of Manali, the landscape changes from steep Alpine slopes covered in conifers, to a stark high altitude desert. Treeless and barren, you could be forgiven for thinking that your four-wheel drive has transported you to another planet. The road winds upwards over successive mountain passes, zig-zagging across the high Himalayan slopes, in between jagged snow capped peaks rising above 7000 metres. Below you, fast flowing rivers cascade through steep gorges, carving pathways through the mountainous terrain. The road is narrow, heavily potholed and needs constant repair. There is a constant danger of landslides and all along... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Spectacular Scenery, a real adventure in a four wheel drive.
Disadvantages: Heart stopping moments on tricky mountain roads. Altitude sickness.

...The Manali - Leh highway winds itself through some of the highest mountain passes in the world and takes you through some truely unforgettable scenery. Once over the 4000m Rohtang pass an hour and a half out of Manali, the landscape changes from steep Alpine slopes covered in conifers, to a stark high altitude desert. Treeless and barren, you could be forgiven for thinking that your four-wheel drive has transported you to another planet. The road winds upwards over successive mountain passes, zig-zagging across the high Himalayan slopes, in between jagged snow capped peaks rising above 7000 metres. Below you, fast flowing rivers cascade through steep gorges, carving pathways through the mountainous terrain. The road is narrow, heavily potholed and needs constant repair. There is a constant danger of landslides and all along... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: A very different side of India, great trekking
Disadvantages: Short season, not cheap to get to

.... On the way back to Delhi the plane flies too high over the mountains to get much of a view so it doesn't matter where you sit. The flights from Delhi are expensive and I'm told they can get very busy in the peak season. The price marked on our tickets was around $360 which is very expensive for a one hour flight. Planes from Delhi only go early in the morning - it's something to do with the air over the mountains being more 'stable' and less turbulent first thing in the day before the mountains start to heat up. If there are any climatic issues at all the flights won't go because the airlines just won't risk it. For this reason, you shouldn't plan on flying straight back to Delhi and out again the same day as the chance of flights being interrupted is quite high. ** By Road The route into Leh from the south is along the Manali-Leh highway... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful