Kulu Manali- Intro

Beside river Beas and the snow covered moutains in the backdrop

I got a chance to visit Kullu-Manali, one of the most famous summer retreats in India. Located in the hill state of Himachal Pradesh, this is one of those places which is a must visit for the young and adventure savvy. Their adventure activities in addition to the regular doses of trekking and mountaineering include skiing, ATV's, paragliding, river crossing and several others. 

The travel route we chose from Chennai was to take a train to Delhi (Nizamuddin Station) from Chennai Central. There are several train options, some of which may get you to Delhi sooner than 30hrs from departure. Manali is a further 15hrs travel (approx) from Delhi. There might be wiser travel options en route Chandigarh and others which you may opt depending on your budget.

The weather in Manali according to my I Phone was a max of 33 degrees and min of 13. Though one might assume that this is not really cool by hill station standards, the maximum temperature is witnessed only during daytime and temperature drop is evident between late evening and early morning hours. During winters there is heavy snow fall and several places might not be accessible. This makes summer and months extending up to September the ideal time to visit Manali.