If you are travelling in north-east India, I recommend Manali as a great place to go. I’ve been in McLeod Ganj (upper Dharamshala) now for two and a half months, including during the monsoon. While I love living here, and it’s got a great atmosphere, there’s no denying that it’s rather dirty, you get honked at by cars all the time when you walk the narrow streets, and it’s pretty busy, especially at weekends. And in the monsoon the rainfall is some of the highest in India.
So, when we were given a week off from school to coincide with the Dalai Lama’s recent teachings, five of us at Tibet Charity decided to go to Manali for a few days. We’d heard it had beautiful mountain scenery, was a good source of woollen fabrics, and (a big drawcard for me) was home to some yaks.
We took a taxi from McLeod Ganj to Rewalsar for the first night (about 4 hours). Rewalsar is an hour off the main road to Manali. It’s a lovely little lake surrounded by hills. The main feature of the town is the enormous statue of Padmasambhava (Guru Rimpoche), one of the Indian sages and teachers who brought Buddhism to Tibet in the 8th century. He spent some time meditating in a cave far above the town. You can visit the statue (very impressive) and the cave (which Guru Rimpoche wouldn’t recognise any more..)
The lake, by the way, is teaming with fish, and fishing is forbidden, so maybe keen fishermen should avoid this spot – it might be too frustrating. We stayed in a nice little lakeside hotel, the Lotus Lake, and ate at the nearby Kora Café. As we arrived on a Monday, we had no trouble finding a hotel.
The next day, having visited the statue and cave, we set off for Manali, in the same taxi. Soon we were in the Kullu Valley, a narrow gorge which followed the Beas River. It reminded me of the Manawatu Gorge in New Zealand, except for the addition of monkeys, many dhabas (eating places), cows meandering along the road, donkeys, busloads of colourful Indian tourists, shrines by the roadside, wandering holy men, and lots of evidence of habitation and crops high up in the steep hills.
Just after Aut we went through a very long tunnel which wound through the hills, and then emerged again beside the river, which we followed all the way to Manali.
Manali is a small town which is the last main stop on the road to Ladakh. The high season is from July to September, and now it’s coming to an end. Soon the road to Ladakh will be closed by snow and tourism in Manali will be minimal.
Visiting in early October has some advantages. We got heavily discounted rooms in the Dragon Guest House in Old Manali (clean, very friendly, quiet at night, nice restaurant), and quite a few good shopping bargains, as the shopkeepers were starting to close up for the winter and move to Rajasthan or Goa.
It was also very quiet, which we liked. The weather was perfect – not a drop of rain for the three days we were there, which we really appreciated after living through the monsoon in McLo.
New Manali is where the main shopping area and markets are. It’s well designed, with no cars allowed in the main market area, so it’s pleasant to walk around, and there are plenty of places to sit. Right next to town is a big stretch of forest which you can enter for five rupees. The Himalayan pines are huge and it’s a lovely tranquil place to walk. There’s also a children’s play area and a rather scungy little pond with decrepit paddle boats near the river.
If you’re looking for pashminas and Kullu shawls, the town is full of good shops and it’s worth checking out several, as prices vary. There’s also a good government-run Tribes of India shop selling ethnic crafts from all over the country. It’s near the taxi stand. A good place to eat in town is Chopsticks restaurant.
Old Manali is up the hill from the main town – about 45 minutes easy walk. Judging from the merchandise in the shops, it’s a popular hangout for dope smoking tourists and party animals, but when we were there it was very quiet, and I was only offered one joint.
Some good places to eat in Old Manali: Café 1947 (good pizza). Dylan’s – real coffee, nice muesli for breakfast, delicious chocolate chip cookies fresh from the oven, and interesting Bob Dylan memorabilia on the walls. The restaurant at the Dragon Guesthouse is also good.
It’s also a good place for walks. Follow the left bank of the river and walk through the trees as far as the village of Goshal, with some lovely old houses and an impressively carved new wooden temple. A bit further along at the village of Shanag (4.5 km) you can cross the river.
The Manu temple is ten minutes’ walk up the hill from Old Manali, and the Hadimba temple (16th century) is in the forest up the hill, just over the bridge. Past the Hadimba temple you walk for a couple of minutes up to where there are two yaks which you can ride (for a fee) and many angora rabbits which you can hug (for a fee), as well as some not very exciting craft stalls and a few dhabas. Say hi to Rocky the handsome yak for me.
There are other things you can do around Manali like rafting and paragliding, but we didn’t try these.
All in all, a good few days holiday. And when we got back to McLo, it was misty and raining…
