Manali travel blog. Staying in Southern India, I was looking out to visit the northern peaks for quite sometime. And Manali was something of a dreamland for someone witnessing a part of the world’s highest mountain range.
The curvy roads that get slimmer as you move up to more deserted addresses. Quietness deafening (and frosty) at night but immediately lifts off when travelers from faraway places speak their warm stories before bed.
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This place wasn’t my first thought considering the touristy hype. Yet for a first timer, it was quite an experience. Here’s all about my Manali travel blog.
*This post contains affiliate link(s). We only promote products we trust and use.
- Manali Travel Blog The itinerary plan
- Manali Travel Blog Our 3 days journey
- Manali travel Blog Places we missed on
- Manali Budget Trip Overall expense
Manali Travel Blog: The itinerary plan
Keeping budget in mind while balancing experiences like river rafting and the drive over Rohtang Pass, we came down priorities – Manali and Bir Billings for our almost 6 days itinerary.
We gave Manali 3 days which I felt was fairly sufficient to have a touch of the place. Picking aside the big-time adventures and treks, it leaves out the real town with its Old Manali market, cheap thrift stores in Vashisht, bridges over tiny streams, and steaming Siddu.
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In the 3 days, neither did we miss on rafting in River Beas and trekking Jogini waterfalls, or spending a little more on a riverside cafe for an evening (it was expensive).
Factually speaking, we couldn’t let budget out of our sight mostly because we were visiting from Bangalore. Most visitors, who tend to be frequent, come from Chandigarh, Delhi, Punjab and Haryana.
“Hey, we’ve got vacation, let’s hit the road”… “where are we going?”… “How’s Manali? It’s a one-night drive anyhow”
If there’s a positive about Delhi, one can start to any northern part of India from Delhi. Visiting from the south, the budget is nothing short of a foreign trip. Flight expenses make a huge part of it. For first-timers with finite time, traveling gets expensive with sky-high touristy rates if we aren’t careful.
Manali Travel Blog: Our 3 days journey
Manali being the popular kid it is, a good move we took was prebooking our dormitory stay. I wished on trying cheaper remote hostels but we finally decided on sticking to the trusted comfort, Zostel.
Selling like hot cakes, we could only reserve one day at Zostel, Vashisht so we shifted to Zostel Old Manali for the other 2 days. Semi-sleeper buses to Manali are usually plentiful with more or less the same rate, yet we prebooked that as well.
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We hadn’t planned on transport but a rough sketch was to rent out bikes. However, things turned out different. They always do, don’t they?
Flight to Delhi from Bangalore: A 6-hour delay
Manali budget trip: The trip started off perfectly – bags packed and squeezed into the taxi, dropped off right next to the trolley array. Air tickets to Delhi, check! The small hitch was when we entered the domestic departure, the 11:30 a.m. flight was cancelled. Not delayed, cancelled – due to a cyclone.
The officers at the baggage check-in couldn’t assure seats at the next flight to Delhi. One dude who later became a good pal along the trip thought out a strategy. He politely approached the head (or someone who looked it) and agreed to the next early evening (5:00 pm) flight.
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For compensation, he also requested the premium lounge access for the time period. Tagging in along, we were in for a treat for the following 5 hours. The buffet, comfortable seats, and even a mini library saved us a little on lunch.
We weren’t so worried as we had our Manali sleeper bus late at night. But inevitably, it was a rat race from the airport to the bus stop. Delhi’s heat was a cherry on top. We did somehow make it 🙂
Day 1: Vashisht, Jogini Falls, and Thrift Shops
Most overnight semi-sleepers from Delhi take an average of 14 hours to Manali. Taking the late night bus, we reached Manali around noon. With
