Luxury Manali Tours

Manali sits deep in the Beas river valley, a working base for the high passes and adventure country above it.

Snow-covered mountains above a small town in the Manali valley, Himachal Pradesh

Overview

Manali At A Glance

Manali follows the Beas river into the mountains, with pine forest closing in on both sides. The cedar-wood Hidimba Devi temple, built in 1553, still stands in a grove near the old town. The road toward the high passes climbs further still, and a private driver can time the drive for clear morning light before afternoon cloud rolls in. Old Manali keeps a slower pace than the newer town below it.

Where To Stay: The Himalayan, Manali, Span Resort & Spa, Manali
Continue To: Dalhousie, Dharamshala, Kasauli

What To See

What To See In Manali

Manali's real highlights are what a private guide builds each day around.

spiritual

Hadimba Temple

A four-tiered wooden pagoda shrine of 1553 in a deodar grove above Manali, dedicated to the demoness Hidimba of the Mahabharata.

The tall wooden pagoda-roofed Hadimba Devi Temple stands among deodar cedars in Manali.

Nature / Wildlife

Solang Valley

A wide green valley about thirteen kilometres from Manali, ringed by snow peaks — the hub for paragliding, the ropeway and winter snow.

Adventure · Half day

Solang Valley Adventure

A half-day of paragliding, the ropeway and other rides at Solang Valley, the adventure hub near Manali.

A tandem paraglider in flight over a green Himalayan valley near Solang.

Adventure · 2 hours

Beas River Rafting

A white-water rafting run on the Beas below Manali, roughly Pirdi to Jhiri, grade II to III, best from April to June.

A raft of helmeted paddlers rides whitewater on a fast Himalayan river.

How To Travel

Journeys Through Manali

Every journey comes with a private guide and driver for each day on the road. Full details live on each journey's own page.

Snow-covered peaks tower over deep forested slopes with pines in the foreground in Kullu.

11 Nights

Slow Himachal

Dalhousie · Dharamshala · Manali · Shimla

Layered blue Himalayan ridges recede toward a distant snow-covered range near Manali.

8 Nights

Himachal in Depth

Dharamshala · Manali · Shimla

Snow-covered Himalayan peaks rise behind a foreground of evergreen fir trees near Manali.

7 Nights

Himachal Honeymoon

Dharamshala · Manali · Shimla

A snow-topped mountain range rises above forested foothills with houses scattered below.

6 Nights

Wellness in the Hills

Dharamshala · Manali · Shimla

Shimla's hill-station skyline of stacked buildings sits below a mountain under a blue sky.

6 Nights

Toy Train & the Colonial Hills

Manali · Shimla

A wide green Manali valley opens toward cloud-wrapped mountains in Himachal Pradesh.

5 Nights

First-Timer's Himachal

Manali · Shimla

Where To Stay

Where To Stay In Manali

Stays are chosen for the setting and the service, then matched to the pace of your route.

resort · luxury

The Himalayan, Manali

★★★★★

The Himalayan sits on a slope at Hadimba Road in Manali, built to look like a Gothic castle in stone and dark timber. It is the work of a single owner-architect over many years, full of carved wood, stained glass, turrets and a private art gallery. The rooms are individual, warm and richly finished, and the orchard rooms look straight up at the Dhauladhar peaks. There is a spa, a heated pool and gardens among the apple and cherry trees. The Hadimba temple and its cedar grove are a short walk. Old Manali and the Mall are a few minutes by car. It is the most characterful luxury stay in the Kullu valley, and the one to book for a Manali leg with a sense of place.

Span Resort & Spa on the banks of the Beas river near Manali.

resort · premium

Span Resort & Spa, Manali

★★★★

Span Resort sits on the bank of the Beas, on the road between Manali and Naggar, about fifteen kilometres from the town. The cottages are set in lawns and orchards along the river, and the sound of the water carries into the rooms. It has been run by the same family for decades, and it shows in the gardening and the service. There is a spa, an indoor pool, a fishing beat on the river, and a bonfire most evenings. It is a little way out of Manali, which trades the town's bustle for quiet and river frontage. The resort arranges the drives to Solang, the Atal Tunnel and Naggar. It is the premium choice for a Manali stay that puts the river and the calm first.

years crafting private India journeys

30,000+

travellers guided end to end

4.5

from 15 reviews on Trustpilot