Solang Valley

Solang valley is one of the prime locations for adventure sports when you are at Manali. Though this place is famous for it ski activities during the winter during ourSolang valley is one of the prime locations for adventure sports when you are at Manali. Though this place is famous for it ski activities during the winter during our visit in the month of June there was no snow cover. However the adventure enthusiasts could reap some fun as there was paragliding apart from the government initiative cable cars. 

Paragliding had three courses of varying length. The longest option was from a hill top and looked really interesting. The best part about this course was one could also get to experience the cable car as the ride up to the hill top had to be using the same. Unfortunately for us, the climate change wouldn't permit us to take the long course so we had to content ourselves with the medium option which I bet was no less fun for a first timer. 

The cable car however was a big disappointment. In my search online I read the Gondala (Cable Car) had a 500meter rise in its 1.3 km course. This sounded fancy more so because cable cars is something that has been showcased in our movies from the early 80's and I had great expectations from it. This was not something worth paying Rs.500, also there was no scope for negotiation as it was run by the government functionary. However as a tourist this is something you might want to do especially if your group consists of people who are there for leisure more than adventure and also in case you want to catch a glimpse of the beautiful view from the mountain top.

Other than this you can find a small carnival of sorts for kids along with rock climbing courses, ejection bungee and other similar activities that you find in usual adventure zones. To sum it all up, this is a must visit location in case you visit Manali as it offers a complete package for tourists across demography and interests. visit in the month of June there was no snow cover. However the adventure enthusiasts could reap some fun as there was paragliding apart from the government initiative cable cars.