Then the climbing started. Somewhere around midnight, the bus began winding up through the Kullu Valley. I woke at 3 AM to pine forests outside the window and a temperature drop I could feel through the glass. By 5 AM we were in Manali, and I stepped off the bus into 12°C mountain air that smelled like cedar and diesel and possibility.
Checked into a guesthouse in Old Manali — INR 800/night, basic but clean, with a balcony facing the Manalsu stream. The sound of rushing water. I slept until noon.
Old Manali is 3 km uphill from Mall Road, and it's a different world. The main lane is lined with cafes named things like Lazy Dog, Drifters, and Bob Dylan's. Israeli bakeries serve shakshuka next to Himachali dhabas serving rajma chawal. Backpackers sit in hammock chairs reading Kerouac. It's a cliche, but it's a functioning cliche.
Breakfast at Lazy Dog — banana pancakes and coffee. INR 200. The pancakes were exactly what you'd expect from a place called Lazy Dog. Which is to say: good.
Walked through the village behind Old Manali — apple orchards, stone houses, a small temple with prayer flags. The path eventually climbs toward Jogini Falls. I didn't make it to the falls today — saved that for later.
Afternoon at Hadimba Temple. The 1553 cave temple sits in a cedar forest, its four-story pagoda roof unlike any temple architecture I'd seen. Free entry. The carved wooden doorway is extraordinary — animals, dancers, and Hindu deities in wood that's survived 470 years. Watched for monkeys. They watched back.
Dinner at Drifters — live acoustic music, dal makhani, two beers. INR 500. Walked back to the guesthouse under more stars than I'd seen in years.
Hired a taxi for the day — INR 2,000 for the Solang Valley circuit. Solang is 14 km from Manali, an adventure sports hub that looks like a ski resort had a baby with a carnival.
Paragliding. INR 2,500 for a tandem flight. The launch was terrifying. The flight was eight minutes of absolute silence above the valley, the Beas River a silver thread below. Landing was graceless. Would do it 100 times more.
Zorbing (rolling downhill in an inflatable ball): INR 500. Lasted 90 seconds. Felt like 90 years. Fun in a vertigo-inducing way.
The cable car to the hilltop: INR 600. Panoramic views of snow-capped peaks. Worth it for the photos.
Back in Manali by 4 PM. Crash-napped. Evening walk along the Beas River — the water is glacier-fed, ice-blue, and roaring. I sat on a rock and didn't think about anything for an hour.
The big one. Rohtang Pass at 3,978 meters. Applied for the permit online two days ago (rohtangpermits.nic.in, INR 550/person). Only 1,200 vehicles per day — apply early.
Left at 7 AM. The drive up took 3.5 hours — the road is decent until the last 20 km, then it's potholes and military trucks. Altitude started hitting at 3,500m — a dull headache, slight breathlessness.
At the top: snow. In May. The pass was white in every direction. Rented snow boots and a jumpsuit (INR 400) from one of the dozens of vendors at the top. Made a snowball. Threw it at nothing. Felt unreasonably happy.
The views of the Lahaul Valley on the other side are staggering — brown and barren, completely different from the green Kullu side. It's like the mountain draws a line between two worlds.
Back in Manali by 5 PM, exhausted. Drank ginger-lemon-honey at a cafe. Slept by 8 PM.
Slept until 10 AM. My body needed a break from activity.
Lunch at a dhaba on Mall Road — rajma chawal and roti. INR 120. Simple and exactly right.
Afternoon at Vashisht hot springs — natural sulfur springs in a temple complex, 3 km from Manali. Free entry. The water is genuinely hot and slightly sulfurous. Shared the pool with local families and three other backpackers. The ancient temple above the springs is worth the visit on its own.
Couldn't sleep that night. Walked to the Beas River at 3 AM. An Israeli backpacker named Yoav was sitting on the same rocks, smoking and staring at the water. We talked for two hours about nothing and everything — military service, the Himalayas, why people travel, what home means when you've been away too long.
The Beas at 3 AM sounds different than at 3 PM. Louder, somehow. Or maybe the world is just quieter.
Morning trek to Jogini Falls from Vashisht. 3 km uphill through forest — 1.5 hours up, 45 minutes down. Moderate difficulty if you're reasonably fit. Wore proper shoes (essential — the trail gets rocky). The falls cascade 150 feet into a natural pool. September-October is when they're at full flow; in May, still impressive.
Afternoon drive through the Atal Tunnel — the world's longest highway tunnel above 10,000 feet. 9.02 km, completed in 2020. Free to drive through. Emerged on the other side into the Lahaul-Spiti Valley. Stopped at Sissu village for chai and the Sissu waterfall. The landscape on this side is lunar — dry, vast, ancient.
Drove back through the tunnel. The transition from Lahaul's barren mountains to Manali's green valley happens in exactly 9 kilometers. It's like two different planets connected by a concrete tube.
Banana pancakes again at Lazy Dog. Packed my bag. Walked through Old Manali one last time, past the cafes and the stream and the apple orchards.
Took the 5 PM Volvo bus back to Delhi. Fourteen hours in a bus seat. I didn't mind. My head was still in the mountains.
I went back five months later. And I'll go back again.
The classic Himachal route pairs Manali with Shimla, the colonial hill station.
Manali is the starting point for the legendary highway to Leh-Ladakh.
Manali isn't the prettiest mountain town (Kasol is prettier). It isn't the most culturally rich (Dharamsala wins that). It isn't the most adventurous (Leh-Ladakh has it beat). But it's the most complete — adventure, hippie culture, natural beauty, hot springs, and that indefinable mountain energy that makes you question every decision you've made at sea level.
For more practical details, check out our complete guide to Manali.
The Beas at 3 AM is still flowing. The pancakes at Lazy Dog are still INR 200. And Rohtang Pass still doesn't care about your problems.
That's exactly why you go.
