It’s no surprise that the Summers in Delhi can be are painful and you might just melt if you stay out for any longer. The sun is blazing and temperatures hitting 45 degrees, it becomes hard to step out of your house!
Remember, this is no backpacking trip. It is a family holiday but done on a backpackers budget, almost that is!
So as to avoid this scorching heat, I planned a vacation in the hills with my family last summer. Not just our family of 4 but also my uncles, aunts and their kids! We were a group of 16 people! Now if you are going alone you can take the bus there and stay in hostels as many of the others do. Buses from Delhi are cheap. Although it’s a long backbreaking 12-hour journey, still the views make it worth it!
Tip:- If you are taking the bus, make sure it’s an overnight bus so as to save time. Seated buses come around Rs. 500 ( Himachal roadways) or Rs. 1500($22) for a sleeper. Look on websites like MakeMyTrip or simply go to the ISBT bus station and ask them for a ticket to Shimla at the counter. Also, keep lots of candies and chips with you for the journey!
We hired our own mini-bus known as ‘traveller’ with seating capacity for 17. The bus driver was a friendly gentleman who seemed like he had the experience and knew what he was doing! We left early in the morning for Shimla first! At this point, we had no plan to go to Manali! We made a brief stopover at Brahmkunda, Kurukshetra.
We were then on our way back to Shimla. After some time, the scenery starts to kick in and you start seeing the mountains. An unprecedented smile comes onto your face when you see this,
And at last, after a long journey, we reached our destination – Shimla!
A tip that I would like to give every one of you is that never pre-book a hotel when you are going to any of the cities in India… Believe me, just go there and bargain with the manager of the hotel if you are looking for a private room. If you are looking for a hostel then pre-booking is advised! We reached there and then started looking for a hotel and finally found this amazing place for less than Rs. 2000($30) a night after driving a hard bargain. We had a couple of mountain view rooms and were able to get rollaway beds for free! The 16 of us fit in just 5 rooms! The rooms were nice and clean with daily room cleaning service.
Here is the view from my room,
Amazing, isn’t it!
After the long day, we decided to hit the hay and for the next day planned to go to the tourist hotspot – Mall Road.
Before we went to mall road, we made a decision that I still am proud of! We decided to go to a temple known as – Tara Devi temple. From what was visible, it seemed like a generic temple after climbing just a few flights of stairs. But it turns out to be one of the steepest treks I have ever undertaken! The way up top was mostly stairs with a few flat patches of the ground every now and then. But no more deceptive than the surkanda mata trek – but that’s a story for another day.
Once we reached the top, the views were just breathtaking. Everyone was just mesmerized by the sheer beauty of the temple and the views surrounding it!
Check out the views out for yourself,
Then it was time for mall road. Honestly, it was the most mesmerizing place I had ever seen in the mountains. The sheer size of buildings, the architecture and to top it all of, the backdrop of the snow-clad mountains! We ate a lot of food there and also watched a parade! We played a few games but this is the point we realized that this is the extent of it and there is nothing else to do here! We then decided and discussed with our driver about going to Manali.
But first here are the photos taken at the mall road and of the amazing church over there!
The cieling was basic but had the character,
The mall road – A bit of work was in progress at the beginning of it,
And we are sitting for the parade here,
So, this was it for the day. The next day we planned to spend in Shimla and leave for Manali that very night. It was to be a gruelling 8-hour journey so we decided to take it at night and to ensure complete rest to the driver, we kept the whole day free for him. We went to the mall road, did some shopping and were back in time to leave for Manali. And I kid you not, these overnight rides are harsh and requires another level of strength to get through! And now we were in Manali woohoo!!!
The first stop? Another temple! My parents are obsessed with visiting a temple on every single one of our holidays! But all these temples in the north of India are just mesmerizing and enjoyable with various activities nearby! We went to the Hadimba temple.
Side note here, Never and I mean NEVER, play those ‘break the pyramid in 3 balls’ games. That is the only tourist trap that I experienced here! You will feel like that yes you can break the pyramid with these massive basketballs and take home the prize but what you don’t know is breaking the pyramid isn’t enough! You have to get all the glasses off the table! This is the only place I felt cheated as I did break the pyramid but didn’t get all the balls off the table. The instructions are given to you once you are jubilated by your achievement; big disappointment follows.
Nevertheless, here are some of the pics I took here,
There’s this mountain like thingy near the temple and it caters for some great looking photos on top of it, like this one with my 3 cousins!
Oh! and the mesmerizing view of the Himalayas! how can we forget that?
Now time for the visit to mall road of Manali. It is a bit more happening in Manali and by happening I mean crowded. You can eat various delicacies of the hills and most importantly for all the ladies – you can shop till you drop!
The next was the reason why most of the people visit the mountains, Snow! We went to Solang valley although you can go further up to Rohtang pass where there is more snow!
When we reached here, the weather was good but it started raining just an hour later. It was a deal breaker as I was planning to do paragliding here but was unable to due to the rain! I had to wait another year to cross it off my bucket list.
Tip:- It’s India so you can and you should bargain for everything and anything here. Even the paragliding, yes! They usually quote a price of around Rs. 1200-1500 ($23) but you can bring them down to Rs. 600-900 ($15) if you drive a hard bargain. And yes, it’s that cheap in India!
Also did some skiing there,
I know, the snow is dirty here but the higher you go the better the snow gets!
Aren’t the views just breathtaking?
Make sure you drink lots of coffee and eat Maggie and eggs at the top! Sipping hot coffee alongside hot Maggie gives you the kick when amidst the snow!
The next day, we went to the Manali clubhouse. It’s a fun place for families as well as backpackers! You will enjoy your day here and the entry fee is just Rs.10! The activities are fairly priced. You can do go-karting and river crossing here at a nominal price. I don’t exactly remember the price but it was around Rs.600 which I believe is a bargain. And hey, you can play table tennis too here!
And this was our last day of what has been one heck of a trip and all of it came at less than Rs. 10000 ($150) per person! Yes, you read it right. It includes everything from the hotels, the food to the Minibus and the activities!
I hope you guys enjoyed reading this post and if you have any doubts or queries, just post them down in the comments. Please like and share.
“Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost”
Amazing recollection of the trip!