[Krishroy]

Originally Posted by Ranabegins

I am planning to go on a road trip for a period of 7 days in Himachal Pradesh. I am not looking for a offbeat vacation and want to do the normal tourist circuit.
I understand it is going to be crowded but if I have to visit Manali I can only do it in May/June as this is the only time I can get a weeks leave from work.
So can someone please advice me a circuit? i will be starting from New Delhi at 12.30 AM on 26th (Sunday) and have to be back by midnight on 1st June in Delhi.

You may visit Manali, Narkand, Sangla. These are good tourist spots and not that offbeat too.

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by Ranabegins

I am planning to go on a road trip for a period of 7 days in Himachal Pradesh. I am not looking for a offbeat vacation and want to do the normal tourist

Regular circuit is Chandigarh- Chail/ Shimla/ Kufri/ Manali/ Rohtang and back. But you will end up spending a day or two at each location and a lot of travelling. If you really want to enjoy, do only one route- either towards Manali/ Rohtang and maybe Keylong or the other side Chail/ Shimla/ Narkanda and probably Sangla/ Kalpa if you are ok with little extra traveling. There are some very nice resorts in natural settings (usually expensive) or some regular touristy hotels/ resorts in budget. Best will be to do little more homework and then post specific queries.

[saurabh89]

How is the road condition from Shimla to Chitkul at the moment? Planning to travel from 5th till 9th June 2019.

[SJM1214]

We are planning to drive Delhi to Chamba. Google maps suggested route is Delhi-Karnal-Ludhiana-Jalandhar-Pathankot-Chamba, which is the best route. However, we have enough time and want to drive in the mountains. Is it advisable to do Delhi-Mandi-Bir-Palampur-Dahrmshala-Chamba? How is the road condition on this route?

[abhikb]

Originally Posted by saurabh89

How is the road condition from Shimla to Chitkul at the moment? Planning to travel from 5th till 9th June 2019.

Roads from Shimla till Reckong Peo don't pose much of an issue. However, Reckong Peo to Chitkul is maintained by PWD which is pathetic all the time. No match for the work done by BRO. But still manageable.

[hs_maverick]

Originally Posted by abhikb

Roads from Shimla till Reckong Peo don't pose much of an issue. However, Reckong Peo to Chitkul is maintained by PWD which is pathetic all the time. No match for the work done by BRO. But still manageable.

Any idea about the road conditions from Shimla to Chitkul in October first week.
Can it be covered in Jeep Compass (D) 4x2?

[abhikb]

Originally Posted by hs_maverick

Any idea about the road conditions from Shimla to Chitkul in October first week.
Can it be covered in Jeep Compass (D) 4x2?

Weather in the mountains has been unpredictable this year. Normally the temperature starts dropping after September. But still in October first week the drive can be managed. Would suggest you to keep a check on weather forecast.

But as I mentioned earlier, the roads from Shimla to Reckong peo won’t bother much, however Reckong peo to Chitkul roads are pathetic. Potholes are the way.

As far as your car is concerned, the first word mentioned by you is Jeep so you don’t have to bother much. Moreover, you will be surprised to see locals using MS 800 and Alto at those places for commuting.

Thanks and all the best

[hs_maverick]

Originally Posted by abhikb

Weather in the mountains has been unpredictable this year. Normally the temperature starts dropping after September. But still in October first week the drive can be managed. Would suggest you to keep a check on weather forecast.

But as I mentioned earlier, the roads from Shimla to Reckong peo won’t bother much, however Reckong peo to Chitkul roads are pathetic. Potholes are the way.

As far as your car is concerned, the first word mentioned by you is Jeep so you don’t have to bother much. Moreover, you will be surprised to see locals using MS 800 and Alto at those places for commuting.

Thanks and all the best

Thanks for the update. I was also like to know how the roads to Manali/Kasol are from Delhi? Recently there have been numerous landslides and have also heard about some construction work going on.

[Sandeep500]

Originally Posted by abhikb

Weather in the mountains has been unpredictable this year. Normally the temperature starts dropping after September. But still in October first week the drive can be managed. Would suggest you to keep a check on weather forecast.

But as I mentioned earlier, the roads from Shimla to Reckong peo won’t bother much, however Reckong peo to Chitkul roads are pathetic. Potholes are the way.

As far as your car is concerned, the first word mentioned by you is Jeep so you don’t have to bother much. Moreover, you will be surprised to see locals using MS 800 and Alto at those places for commuting.

Thanks and all the best

I think MS800 and Alto are very capable and competent in hilly area because of their size, reliability and sevice network of maruti.And added bonus is in case of being stuck 2,3 persons can lift them from any side and the car is ready to go again

[hs_maverick]

So finally I am planning the trip as follow -

1st Oct - Delhi to Chandigarh (Leave delhi by 5-6 PM after office )
2nd Oct - Chandigarh to Sarahan
3rd Oct - Sarahan to Kalpa
4th Oct - Kalpa
5th Oct - Kalpa - Sangla - Chitkul - Kalpa
6th Oct - Kalpa to Fagu/Kufri/Chail
7th Oct - Back to Delhi.

Do I need to make some changes to make a it a little comfortable? Will plan Sangla & Chitkul only after judging the road conditions once we are in Kalpa.

Any suggestions from fellow bhpians are most welcome.

[hothatchaway]

Originally Posted by hs_maverick

So finally I am planning the trip as follow -

1st Oct - Delhi to Chandigarh (Leave delhi by 5-6 PM after office )
2nd Oct - Chandigarh to Sarahan
3rd Oct - Sarahan to Kalpa
4th Oct - Kalpa
5th Oct - Kalpa - Sangla - Chitkul - Kalpa
6th Oct - Kalpa to Fagu/Kufri/Chail
7th Oct - Back to Delhi.

Do I need to make some changes to make a it a little comfortable? Will plan Sangla & Chitkul only after judging the road conditions once we are in Kalpa.

Any suggestions from fellow bhpians are most welcome.

If you take the trouble of driving to chitkul I suggest an overnight stay at least. There is a zostel there as well as several guesthouses and tents. It should not be crowded at this time of the year and you will love the place.

The road is pretty bad though all the way to sangla and beyond

[forcooler]

Hi,

I'm looking for a bit of idyllic time in Shimla in December last week (23rd to 29th or so). The idea is to land at Chandigarh, get a self drive car and make Shimla/Kufri as base. Spend a couple of days seeing Shimla and closer points around and the rest just exploring scenic locations/drive a little further.

Chitkul or Jalori/Shoja were on my list until i found out they'll be likely snowed out then.

I see Tirthan and Pabbar routes mentioned on some threads. Any other places that can be recommended based on experience?

[UD_328i]

Hi all! I hope everyone is keeping well (and sane!) during this unprecedented time. It's been over 6 months now since I have been hunkered down at home and travelling seems like a far fetched dream. I have been thinking of taking a leisurely road trip through Himachal and wanted your views on what to expect and if it is worth it at all. Here's the (rough) itinerary and I welcome your thoughts on it:



All distances and time are based on a quick google maps search.

I have travelled in Himachal before and I am not particularly excited about any of the mountain towns which are on the list. What I am excited about is the driving! See the idea is to not have more that 4-5 hours of drive each day in the twisty mountains and enough rest and halts between the drives. I have a few questions and I'd love to get this forum's thoughts:

Attachment 2060802

1. Road conditions - This is particularly important. I would very much appreciate some updated information on the road conditions. I am not planning to drive an SUV and would be taking my BMW 328i which, frankly, maybe isn't the most suited car for our mountain roads. But then the whole idea is to be able to enjoy driving my car. If you think it would not be a good idea to be taking these roads in this car, I'd welcome your honest feedback.

2. Road side assistance - I have seen online (here: https://lbb.in/mumbai/roadside-assistance-pan-india/) and a few companies offer road side assistance covering all of Himachal Pradesh. Some even promise to reach you anywhere within the hour (that might be a bit far fetched). Given that I am planning to take this trip alone, I think it is important to have a reliable source for getting assistance in case of a breakdown. Would anyone have any real world experience of availing road side assistance in Himachal? And would you recommend it? Please also keep in mind that my car is rear wheel drive (so can't be towed from the front) and runs on run flat tyres (not ideal).

3. Fuel (petrol) - In the past I have sometimes faced issues with availability of fuel in mountain towns (especially petrol). While I don't think that should be an issue here given these are main towns, I'd welcome any advice on this. Is it advisable to keep a jerry can? Also, ideally, I'd like to tank up with speed/ premium fuel with the higher octane level (recommended for the 328i).

4. Routes (for better roads/ tarmac?) - My plan for the road trip is to just follow google maps. While this has usually served me well, please let me know if there are preferred, tried and tested routes which may be better.

5. Corona - While I am planning to take all precautions (stay isolated, minimise interaction, always wear a face mask (not while alone in the car), wash hands as frequently as possible), I'd love to hear from people's experiences of taking road trips during this time. Any practical on ground advice would be super helpful.

These are just some of the things that came to my mind. Please please please feel free to share any other tips, best practices, recommendations that this (highly enlightened) group I am sure has to offer.

Thank you very much!

[Rachit.K.Dogra]

Originally Posted by UD_328i

These are just some of the things that came to my mind. Please please please feel free to share any other tips, best practices, recommendations that this (highly enlightened) group I am sure has to offer.
Thank you very much!

Just sharing my experience of travelling to Himachal in General recently. I had to travel to my hometown Palampur last week for some family emergency.

1) Expect traffic to be by and large normal to Pre-Covid levels on highways, barring maybe as many trucks and inter state buses.
2) Road conditions in Himachal vary from fairly good to acceptable with only a few difficult patches, but I don't think any that cannot be done in the 3er with some caution.
3) Regular Petrol should not be a challenge.
4) While coming back, I did see 6-7 police cars parked half a KM apart from each other at Himachal Entry Points. They had a few cars stopped too. I have heard, they are checking for ID Proofs, but not really sure. While entering Himachal, I had taken a very peculiar narrow village kind of road because of my destination and there was no checking there. While coming back I came from the regular highway and saw the police cars. I think a prior Hotel Reservation should be really helpful here.

Best of Luck!!

Rachit

[rdst_1]

Originally Posted by UD_328i

Hi all! I hope everyone is keeping well (and sane!) during this unprecedented time. It's been over 6 months now since I have been hunkered down at home and travelling seems like a far fetched dream. I have been thinking of taking a leisurely road trip through Himachal and wanted your views on what to expect and if it is worth it at all. Here's the (rough) itinerary and I welcome your thoughts on it:

Attachment 2060814

All distances and time are based on a quick google maps search.

I have travelled in Himachal before and I am not particularly excited about any of the mountain towns which are on the list. What I am excited about is the driving! See the idea is to not have more that 4-5 hours of drive each day in the twisty mountains and enough rest and halts between the drives. I have a few questions and I'd love to get this forum's thoughts:

Your route choice are pretty good for the 328i. However, if you could choose a more appropriate vehicle, then we can suggest better, more picturesque, backroads which although, might be doable in the 328i,but I wouldn't take the car on those routes. For example, I would've suggested to not stop at Shimla, but to go on to Narkanda or the likes and then you can follow an alternate route directly to Manali via Shoja and Banjar. I did the Shimla-Mandi drive last year in October and then a drive to Manali via Mandi from my place and they were pretty boring drives to be honest. Having said all that, I am unaware of the current road conditions of those backroads and hence your choices are much more safer with regards to road conditions. There is another BHPian-earthian who was planning a trip in late september with a possible TeamBHP meet in Manali as well. Maybe you can ping him as well.

Edit - No need to come back from Dalhousie to Mandi unless you just want to increase the drive time. Even then, I would suggest to come back only till Kangra and take that route back to Chandigarh instead. Otherwise, you can take the route via Punjab.