Snow peaks, monasteries and mountain roads

Manali: Solang Valley, Atal Tunnel & Sissu Day Trip

The classic Manali day out, done in a private car with a local driver who knows the permit rules and the traffic. Stop in Solang Valley, cross under the Pir Panjal through the Atal Tunnel and spend time in the wide, stark Lahaul valley at Sissu before heading back.

• Solang Valley’s meadows, ropeway and adventure sports
• Drive through the 9 km Atal Tunnel under the Rohtang ridge
• Sissu’s waterfall and Chandra river views in Lahaul

Kasol and Manikaran Full-Day Sightseeing Tour from Manali

A relaxed day in the Parvati Valley without the bus connections: drive down the Kullu valley to Bhuntar, then up the Parvati river to Kasol for a stroll and lunch, and on to Manikaran, where steam rises from hot springs beside a busy Sikh gurdwara and Hindu temples.

• Pine forests and riverside cafés of Kasol
• Manikaran Sahib gurdwara and its hot springs
• Scenic drive up the Parvati Valley via Bhuntar

Bir Billing: Tandem Paragliding from the Himalaya’s Top Launch Site

Bir Billing is India’s best-known paragliding site and has hosted Paragliding World Cup events. After a jeep ride up to the Billing launch meadow you fly tandem with an experienced pilot, riding thermals over pine ridges and tea gardens before landing in the fields at Bir.

• Take off from Billing at around 2,400 m
• Fly with a certified pilot over the Kangra valley
• Land in the Tibetan settlement village of Bir

Shimla: Toy Train Ride and City Tour with Guide

Shimla’s colonial summer-capital story and its famous little railway in one guided day. Ride a stretch of the Kalka–Shimla line, then tour the Viceregal Lodge (now the Indian Institute of Advanced Study), climb to the Hanuman temple on Jakhu hill and finish on the Ridge and Mall Road.

• Ride the UNESCO-listed Kalka–Shimla narrow-gauge railway
• Viceregal Lodge, Christ Church and the Ridge
• Jakhu Temple and a stroll along Mall Road

Hiking Day Tour to Triund from Dharamshala

Himachal’s most popular day hike, with a guide. The trail climbs through rhododendron and oak forest from Dharamkot or Gallu Devi to the open Triund ridge, where the granite wall of the Dhauladhar seems close enough to touch. Consistently one of the best-reviewed tours in Himachal.

• Around 9 km each way from McLeod Ganj / Dharamkot
• Triund ridge at about 2,850 m facing the Dhauladhar
• Views down to the Kangra valley

Guided Walk: India’s Own Mini Tibet at McLeod Ganj

McLeod Ganj has been home to the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration since the early 1960s. This guided walk explains how a small British hill cantonment became “Little Lhasa”, with stops at temples, monasteries, handicraft centres and the kora path.

• Tsuglagkhang, the Dalai Lama’s temple complex
• Tibetan Children’s Village, monasteries and prayer wheels
• The story of the Tibetan exile community since 1959

3 Days in Paradise: Shimla & Manali Tour from Delhi

A fast-paced taster of Himachal’s two most famous hill stations, with transport and planning handled for you. Expect long driving days on mountain roads — but also the Ridge in Shimla and snow views in Manali.

• Door-to-door transport from Delhi
• Shimla’s Ridge and Mall Road
• Manali, Solang Valley and the Kullu valley

Shimla: 8-Day Spiti Valley Tour via Kalpa, Kaza & Manali

The classic way to see Spiti: start in Shimla and follow the Sutlej through Kinnaur to Kalpa, cross into the high desert at Nako and Tabo, base yourself in Kaza for Key, Kibber and Langza, then exit over Kunzum La and the Atal Tunnel to Manali.

• The full Spiti circuit: Kinnaur, Kalpa, Tabo, Kaza, Manali
• Key, Dhankar and Tabo monasteries
• Gradual altitude gain for safer acclimatisation

Manali & Solang Valley

The Kullu valley’s adventure capital

At the head of the Kullu valley, Manali mixes deodar-forest temples, the old village lanes of Old Manali and Vashisht’s hot springs with the snow slopes, paragliding and skiing of Solang Valley just up the road. It is the base for the Atal Tunnel, Lahaul and the road to Ladakh.

Atal Tunnel & Rohtang Pass

Two ways over the Pir Panjal

The 9 km Atal Tunnel, opened in 2020, runs beneath the Pir Panjal range and links Manali with Lahaul all year. Above it, the 3,978 m Rohtang Pass is a snow playground in early summer — reached only with an online permit and a daily cap on vehicles.

Kasol & Parvati Valley

Cafés, pine forest and hot springs

The Parvati Valley branches off the Kullu valley at Bhuntar and climbs past Kasol’s riverside cafés and guesthouses to the gurdwara and hot springs of Manikaran, the hamlets of Chalal, Tosh and Malana, and the trek to the hot pools of Kheerganga.

Shimla

The summer capital of the Raj

Strung along a ridge at about 2,200 m, Shimla was the summer capital of British India and is now the state capital. Walk the pedestrian Mall Road and the Ridge, visit Christ Church and the Viceregal Lodge, climb Jakhu hill and take day trips to Kufri, Mashobra and Naldehra.

Kalka–Shimla Toy Train

UNESCO World Heritage on narrow gauge

Opened in 1903, the 96 km narrow-gauge line from Kalka to Shimla climbs about 1,400 m through more than 100 tunnels and over hundreds of bridges. Part of the UNESCO “Mountain Railways of India” since 2008, it is still the most romantic way to arrive in Shimla.

McLeod Ganj & Dharamshala

Little Lhasa under the Dhauladhar

Upper Dharamshala — McLeod Ganj — has been the home of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government-in-exile since the 1960s. Visit the Tsuglagkhang temple complex, walk the kora, eat momos and thukpa, and use Bhagsu and Dharamkot as a base for Triund and the Dhauladhar.