[Jash2709]

Does anyone have any idea about the road conditions in Himachal right now? I am planning to do a road trip from Chandigarh to Jibhi, Himachal or if things work out, Kaza too, coming mid September. Is it safe? What are the current conditions?

Thank you for the help.

[aseem23]

Originally Posted by Jash2709

Does anyone have any idea about the road conditions in Himachal right now? I am planning to do a road trip from Chandigarh to Jibhi, Himachal or if things work out, Kaza too, coming mid September. Is it safe? What are the current conditions?

Thank you for the help.

Hey, It is better to stay at home or plan a trip to some other place this summer as landslides are still happening, and September is expected to bring more rain. You can plan your Himachal trip next year when it is safe.

[nityaya]

Hello.

I am planning a trip to Himachal from 15th to 25th of March 2024. I have planned a rough itinerary as below;

Mangalore to Chandigarh - Flight
Chandigarh - Take a self drive car
Chandigarh - Dalhousie
Dalhousie - Dharamsala
Dharamsala - Manali
Manali - Shimla
Shimla - Chandigarh (Return Vehicle)
Chandigarh - Mangalore - Flight

There will be 3 of us. Need help regarding must see places, Hotels/resorts to stay ( Budget Rs 5000 - 10000 per night), Good self drive car hire places, etc. Daughter is keen on snow activities. Tripadvisor forum says probability of snow near Manali, Solang. Itinerary is flexible. Had planned the other way round i.e from Chandigarh to Shimla and finally back to Chandigarh from Dalhousie, but felt that longest drive of 7 hours can be done with the first stage itself and then gradually all short drives.

[arsh9191]

Originally Posted by nityaya

Hello.

I am planning a trip to Himachal from 15th to 25th of March 2024. I have planned a rough itinerary as below;

Mangalore to Chandigarh - Flight
Chandigarh - Take a self drive car
Chandigarh - Dalhousie
Dalhousie - Dharamsala
Dharamsala - Manali
Manali - Shimla
Shimla - Chandigarh (Return Vehicle)
Chandigarh - Mangalore - Flight

There will be 3 of us. Need help regarding must see places, Hotels/resorts to stay ( Budget Rs 5000 - 10000 per night), Good self drive car hire places, etc. Daughter is keen on snow activities. Tripadvisor forum says probability of snow near Manali, Solang. Itinerary is flexible. Had planned the other way round i.e from Chandigarh to Shimla and finally back to Chandigarh from Dalhousie, but felt that longest drive of 7 hours can be done with the first stage itself and then gradually all short drives.

Hi,

Did you complete this trip ? what is your view on the road conditions and time taken to travel between the cities.

I am planning a trip in 3rd week of May to cover Dharamshala, Manali and Shimla. The below is the tentative itinerary:

Day 1 - Gurgaon to Chandigarh
Day 2 - Chandigarh to Dharamshala
Day 3 - Dharamshala
Day 4 - Dharamshala to Manali
Day 5 & 6 - in Manali - plan to do day trips to Manikaran and Sissu from Manali
Day 7 - Manali to mashobra
Day 8 - In Mashobra
Day 9 - Drive to grugaon.

Any suggestions from other members who have taken this route ? I will be traveling with my wife and dog.

[nityaya]

Hi. Yes we completed the trip with one change. We dropped Dalhousie from our itinerary. We went from Chandigarh to Dharamshala first. From Dharamshala to Shimla. Shimla to Manali. And finally Manali to Chandigarh.

The link for the route taken from Chandigarh to Dharamshala is given below;

https://maps.app.goo.gl/TvazLU5WLsMzMVNTA

There is road construction work going on from Kangra onwards and the progress is very slow. Overall route is ok.

The route we took from Dharamshala to Shimla is shared below;

https://maps.app.goo.gl/svVeLShYh1ja5tfU7

If you are going to Manali from Dharamshala then you will not be going via this route. Just for your information there is lot of road works going on and the travel is tiring.

Shimla to Manali route

https://maps.app.goo.gl/XUE8t1deKaQyfAtGA

For this route I would suggest you to consult with different taxi drivers and reconfirm the best road to take. Google took us through Beri-Navgaon road which was too narrow and condition also not that good. Average speed i could maintain was 20-30 kph. Crossing Mandi also takes a lot of time. You get 4 lane in between and also some very long tunnels. When we were traveling there was a huge block before Pandoh Dam and we were stuck in slow moving traffic for 2 hours. We had booked The Allure grand for 2 days and Span resort for 2 days. Allure is after your Mall road junction towards Solang Valley and enroute there are 2-3 sections which were washed out last year and are yet to be repaired completely. 30 - 45 minutes each time was the minimum to cross this patch. Sissu had opened for 4 wheel drive vehicles just a few days before we reached Manali. We had planned to go to Solang Valley and from there to Atal tunnel and Sissu. But in Solang valley there is no proper parking and all tourist and private vehicles park alongside the road and this caused a huge traffic jam where again we got stuck for almost 1 1/2 hours. I cannot imagine the situation during peak tourist season. Ultimately we parked our car and trekked towards the activity areas. Atal tunnel was dropped. If you do plan to visit Solang valley I would suggest you to leave by 8.00 am so that you will not get much traffic.

Again Manali to Chandigarh is 4 lane most of part and is a comfortable drive.

Do let me know if you have any more queries.

[beast2503]

Originally Posted by nityaya

Hi. Yes we completed the trip with one change. We dropped Dalhousie from our itinerary. We went from Chandigarh to Dharamshala first. From Dharamshala to Shimla. Shimla to Manali. And finally Manali to Chandigarh.

I am planning a trip from Delhi to Kullu next week. I wanted to check how was the route from Manali to Chandigarh especially near Mandi. I heard from some people that there was road closure for 2 hours on a daily basis at a particular time in the morning due to some construction work. Did you encounter that? If not, what was your total time taken from Manali to Chandigarh and did you travel during the day or night?

[gyanbaba]

Originally Posted by beast2503

I heard from some people that there was road closure for 2 hours on a daily basis at a particular time in the morning due to some construction work. Did you encounter that?

The route between Mandi - Pandoh is closed 1-3 times a day. The closure timings may change. Recently, I was caught between 8:00 am - 9:30 am, just before the Pandoh Dam. Another time, it was 3:30 - 4:30 pm. The other closure points are like temporary ones - One near Kainchi Mod and another one is near Aut Tunnel.

My best bet is to check any closure plan on Facebook Pages of Mandi Police or Kullu Police before planning the journey.

Just before the 'Rainy Havoc' last year, I was able to do Manali to Delhi in less than 10 hours, and only 5.5 hours to Chandigarh. It was unbelievable for me: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...che-macan.html (Manali to Gurgaon in a Porsche Macan)

The broken roads are fixed in all places and well-tarred except a few points.

I hope, I was able to clarify your queries.

[Altrozed]

Originally Posted by beast2503

I am planning a trip from Delhi to Kullu next week. I wanted to check how was the route from Manali to Chandigarh especially near Mandi. I heard from some people that there was road closure for 2 hours on a daily basis at a particular time in the morning due to some construction work. Did you encounter that? If not, what was your total time taken from Manali to Chandigarh and did you travel during the day or night?

Manali to Chandigarh is easy drive. Lot of construction activities going on and few tunnels are yet to be opened.
Mandi- SunderNagar sees a lot of traffic as the bypass works are not yet done.
There was no closure of roads anywhere nor restricted new Pandoh Dam.

Manali Chandigarh can be done in approx 6 hours with 1-2 breaks

[nityaya]

Originally Posted by beast2503

I am planning a trip from Delhi to Kullu next week. I wanted to check how was the route from Manali to Chandigarh especially near Mandi. I heard from some people that there was road closure for 2 hours on a daily basis at a particular time in the morning due to some construction work. Did you encounter that? If not, what was your total time taken from Manali to Chandigarh and did you travel during the day or night?

Hi. We got stuck for 2 hours for a very silly reason while coming from Manali to Chandigarh. There was a small patch of tarring done on one corner of the road about 5 kms before Pandoh dam and at that point there was a bottleneck for traffic from both sides. And as usually happens some vehicle try to go straight to the bottleneck and create unnecessary jams and delays. Secondly it was holi the day we were travelling and near Kiratpur Sahib there was some festival going on and lot of tractors were on the highway so police diverted us from Chamrauli and with google maps we finally joined the highway through dirt tracks. Our total time was almost 8 hours. We started around 1.00 pm from Span resort, Manali and reached Lemon tree Chandigarh by 9.00, so both day and night driving for us.
We did not face any road closures, only lot of traffic while crossing Mandi and Pandoh dam.

[Aviator_guy]

I want to plan a short 4-5 days to HP from Bangalore in May month. This would be my first time to HP. Tentative plan is to fly to Delhi, then overnight train to Pathankot and from there hire a taxi. How are Dharamshala, Dalhousie? Any other places nearby? I'm also open to go via another city like Chandigarh from Delhi (or fly straight from Bangalore to Chandigarh) if any other recommendations for places in HP which are within 3-4 hours drive from there.

I want to avoid long road travel hence keeping Manali etc out of the plan for now. Not keen on Shimla as well. We are a family with two 14 yrs kids. Want to have a chill holiday with view of the snow peaks, serene environment and want to experience local food and culture.

Appreciate your suggestions.

[airbus]

Originally Posted by Aviator_guy

I'm also open to go via another city like Chandigarh from Delhi (or fly straight from Bangalore to Chandigarh

I have a similar plan to visit Dharamshala and Shimla in mid-April for a week. We plan to fly to Chandigarh and take the Kalka - Shimla narrow-gauge train. Initially, we considered visiting Dharamshala first, but the narrow-gauge train timings seem more suitable for traveling from Kalka to Shimla.

You can also check an option I was exploring earlier: flying to Delhi and taking the NDLS - AMB Andaura Vande Bharat Express, then a taxi to Dharamshala.

What are my options for traveling from Shimla to Dharamshala? Is there a self-drive option where I can pick up a vehicle in Shimla and drop it off in Dharamshala?

[lifeinpune]

We are a family of three based out of Bangalore: a couple and a 7-year-old. We are considering a 7-8 day Himachal trip. I would love some input from people who are knowledgeable/experienced in traveling in this part of the world. Thinking of flying to Chandigarh and hiring a cab from there. We are looking to visit Kullu, Manali, and Shimla/Kufri.