[CorsaLove]

Guys, some help needed with my planned trip in August first week to Himachal. This is my birthday gift from my wife as I always wanted to go there in the near future. Now my dreams have come true!

Our itinerary is as follows:

2nd august 10.30 leave from Bangalore (By Spice jet)
Reach Delhi at 1.20
Board train from nizamuddin at 10.00 PM on the 2nd to kalka
Reach kalka in the morning at 4.30 on 3rd August.
Board train from kalka to shimla at 5.15 and reach shimla at 10.00 AM on 3rd August.
Check in the hotel and stay there till 5th morning.

I need your advice on Hotels here in Shimla, places to visit and something’s which are must see and do.

Check out from shimla at 10 AM on 5th morning and board a bus to manali. (Can some one give me more info on the buses from here? Are Himachal tourism buses ok or private ones?)

Reach manali in the evening (on 5th) and check in the hotel. Again Hotel info needed here and places to eat, visit, and see.

Leave from manali to Delhi on 8th august at 10 am and reach Delhi at 9 in the night. I think there are Himachal tourism Volvos here again. Please correct me if I’m wrong or any other better suggestion.

In Delhi, go to brother-in-law’s place which is a must and part of our travel plans and leave on 9th at 8 PM to nizamuddin to board Rajdhani for Bangalore.

I tried to do the same trip by Car with a couple friends, but they had to go out of India for another trip and I did not want to postpone it. I had almost collected all the information on the routes from HVKumar through go via Bhopal as it is my wife’s native but I think the road trip to MP will be done for sure during the Diwali holidays.

Please help me with your suggestions and advice on this and consider good places for a couple to stay and eat.

Waiting for you guys to respond!

[hvkumar]

I favour Himachal Tourism (HPTC) hotels in HP. In Shimla, there is a good one near the Lift, around 2 km from the Railway Station. Check out their web-site for online bookings. Prices are very reasonable and the property is well-maintained (Dec 07 update).

HPTDC runs conducted tours, which are the best bet for sightseeing in and around Shimla (Kufri, Chail).

The HPTDC bus from Shimla to Manali is good, preferred to HSRTC (ST buses). Day journey is good, you get some beautiful lanscapes, especially after Mandi. Don't take overnight buses.

At Manali also, I prefer HPTDC - they have lots of hottels. The closest to bus stand is the Hotel Kunzum (next door), although from location point of view, I like the Hadimba Cottages (which are 2 kms away from bus stand unfortunately, since you do not have a car).

The Volvo buses (both HSRTC and HPTDC) are good to travel to Delhi - choose from most conveneient timings in the evening. They are comfortable overnight journeys.

[bhp1]

well a trip to himachal would be worth remembering , there are a lot of hotels in shimla , but you have to ascertain your budget first.
5star- wildflower hall run by oberoi group,
the cecil also run by oberoi group,
3star- combermere, gulmohar,
apart from these luxury hotels , there are plenty of tourist lodges & private & govt. rest houses. most of the residential accomodation is around the mall road.
places to visit: mall road & ridge, this is the main attraction, one can only walk , no vehicles allowed.
jakhu temple, kufri tourist spot, viceregal lodge.
himachal tourism buses are ok but a little squeaky & slow.
himachal tourism volvos are good.

[tsk1979]

Book HPTDC online, and eat at their restaurants. Good hygenic food at affordable prices, and decent bar too in most hotels.

[sudev]

Save time. Since you are in Delhi on 2nd why no take Volvo overnighter from there to Manali itself? Personally I find Simla totally overcrowded and garbage strewn. (Putting on my fire proofs for any flame attacks) Though train from Klka to Simla is worth the journey. Be ready to take some pictures (see [IRFCA] Indian Railways Photo Gallery - IMG_5367 )

[guruji]

Check out the india mike forum for info: Himachal Pradesh - India Travel Forum | IndiaMike.com

[phamilyman]

Why Shimla, for the love of God? Its a concrete jungle in the middle of beautiful hills. Check other places near it. Manali's much better. And there's Rohtang too

[simply_sunny001]

Originally Posted by sudev

Save time. Since you are in Delhi on 2nd why no take Volvo overnighter from there to Manali itself? Personally I find Simla totally overcrowded and garbage strewn. (Putting on my fire proofs for any flame attacks) Though train from Klka to Simla is worth the journey. Be ready to take some pictures (see [IRFCA] Indian Railways Photo Gallery - IMG_5367 )

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Why Shimla, for the love of God? Its a concrete jungle in the middle of beautiful hills. Check other places near it. Manali's much better. And there's Rohtang too

Guys,

he's going there for the first time,it does make sense for him.

You have combed every part of shimla so dont like it(me too).

And of course train from Kalka to Shimla will be nice too.

Advise him to visit places in Shimla like the old Museum,kufri,mashobra etc.

Thanks

[suman]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

I favour Himachal Tourism (HPTC) hotels in HP.

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Book HPTDC online, and eat at their restaurants. Good hygenic food at affordable prices, and decent bar too in most hotels.

Ditto above. Visit their website - very informative HPTDC, Home Page , will help you plan your itinerary as well as give you on-line information about the Hotel availability.

I guess for a first timer, Shimla would be a must else I would have suggested that you go straight on to Manali & freak out over the natural beauty (in Shimla you'd be looking at the human variety mostly).

Take the Volvo buses from Delhi, I hear they're good though haven't used them myself

[married2speed]

Hi Corsa Love. HP is a good place to visit, but remember, transport can be a tad expensive. Do haggle a lot and you'll be just fine. With regards to your questions below, here are my 2 cents.

Reach Delhi at 1.20

Board train from nizamuddin at 10.00 PM on the 2nd to kalka

why not board the Kalka shatabdi from New Delhi, Departing at 5:30 in evening and reaching Chandigarh at 9. Overnight stay In chandigarh. Leave at 4 am to take the train at 5:15, or leave at 6am and reach shimla by 9.

Reach kalka in the morning at 4.30 on 3rd August.

Not a good idea. What if the train runs late. You'll miss your train at 5:15.

I need your advice on Hotels here in Shimla, places to visit and something’s which are must see and do.

Personally, I would recommend the wildflower. Amazing hotel and exceptional service, which is the associated with the Oberoi Group. Can take a package from the hotel, which would include sightseeing, rafting and horse riding along with some other recretional stuff and a free spa treatment as well.

Check out from shimla at 10 AM on 5th morning and board a bus to manali. (Can some one give me more info on the buses from here? Are Himachal tourism buses ok or private ones?)

.
Stick with the himachal tourism buses.

Reach manali in the evening (on 5th) and check in the hotel. Again Hotel info needed here and places to eat, visit, and see.

Manali heights is a good place
Places to visit are Dhongri temple, Manu temple, club house, tibetian monasteries, mountaineering institute, vashist hot water springs and temple, nehru kund and our very famous, rohtang.

tried to do the same trip by Car with a couple friends, but they had to go out of India for another trip and I did not want to postpone it.

I would suggest that you cover your trip via a car. See if you can borrow your brother in laws car from delhi. The reason I say this is
1. Shimla - you'll have guides running after you the minute you enter for sightseeing, hotel accomodation etc
2. HP - known for it's expensive cab fares and each time you have to go somewhere, you would have to take the cab, especially from the hotel to the mall road and nothing is not so near in shimla, which would mean a hole in your pocket. Fares would vary anything between 200-400-800 bucks depending on how well you negotiate. With the increased fuel rates, I have no ideas what the current situation is.
3. Manali again, same scenario.
4. No stop over at Dharamsala?

These are the few things that I can think of from the back of my mind. Should something else come across, I"ll drop in a line
Have a nice trip
Cheers!
S


Waiting for you guys to respond![/quote]

[wanderernomad]

I agree nothing in Shimla. Incase you are doing it solely for the train ride, try the Pathankot - jogindernagar train. It passes through some of the most amazing sights in Himachal. Plus you can visit Billing one of the best sites for Paragliding. Ofcourse going to Manali from Jogindernagar is less time consuming than going from Shimla. Plus at Jogindernagar there is also a cable car ride (i am not sure if it still operates, but can check) whcih traverses through some good jungle landscapes.

[rkbharat]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Why Shimla, for the love of God? Its a concrete jungle in the middle of beautiful hills. Check other places near it. Manali's much better. And there's Rohtang too

Sir ji, even though its concrete jungle, but it still charms me to see the snow fall sitting on the benches at the mall road.

And it could be fun for first timers.

Only thing that keeps me away from shimla is parking, specially on weekends when all PB and HR numbers occupies every nick and corner of parking.

[suman]

Originally Posted by rkbharat

Only thing that keeps me away from shimla is parking, specially on weekends when all PB and HR numbers occupies every nick and corner of parking.

Smartly drive up to Hotel Holiday Home (HPTDC), park on their premises, use their washroom, peep into their restaurant & then walk out of their compound & down to the lifts

A slightly long walk but very secure parking nonetheless!

[CorsaLove]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

I favour Himachal Tourism (HPTC) hotels in HP. In Shimla, there is a good one near the Lift, around 2 km from the Railway Station. Check out their web-site for online bookings. Prices are very reasonable and the property is well-maintained (Dec 07 update).

HPTDC runs conducted tours, which are the best bet for sightseeing in and around Shimla (Kufri, Chail).

Thanks Kumar sir. I'm trying to get my booking for the same as we speak.

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Book HPTDC online, and eat at their restaurants. Good hygenic food at affordable prices, and decent bar too in most hotels.

Just my thoughts. Thanks tsk Sir.

Originally Posted by sudev

Save time. Since you are in Delhi on 2nd why no take Volvo overnighter from there to Manali itself? Personally I find Simla totally overcrowded and garbage strewn. (Putting on my fire proofs for any flame attacks) Though train from Klka to Simla is worth the journey. Be ready to take some pictures (see [IRFCA] Indian Railways Photo Gallery - IMG_5367 )

Cause Shimla rings a bell in our ears and its just that we have never seen it before I'm ready with my Nikon also.

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Why Shimla, for the love of God? Its a concrete jungle in the middle of beautiful hills. Check other places near it. Manali's much better. And there's Rohtang too

Shimla - Please see above. Everything else also will be covered in the journey.

Originally Posted by simply_sunny001

Guys,

he's going there for the first time,it does make sense for him.

Thanks

Bullseye! you got it exactly right there simply_sunny! Thanks.

Originally Posted by suman

Ditto above. Visit their website - very informative HPTDC, Home Page , will help you plan your itinerary as well as give you on-line information about the Hotel availability.

Take the Volvo buses from Delhi, I hear they're good though haven't used them myself

Suman - All our train tickets are booked by my wife who gave me a surprise!! Cant change it now!!


Guys - Thanks for all your inputs and I look forward to more of your advice on places to eat, visit, not-to-miss things, prices on gifts, etc. I thank you all for taking the time and helping me and my wife with this. She is also following the tread very closely though not a member.

[msdivy]

Originally Posted by CorsaLove

....
Our itinerary is as follows:

2nd august 10.30 leave from Bangalore (By Spice jet)
Reach Delhi at 1.20
Board train from nizamuddin at 10.00 PM on the 2nd to kalka
Reach kalka in the morning at 4.30 on 3rd August.
Board train from kalka to shimla at 5.15 and reach shimla at 10.00 AM on 3rd August.
Check in the hotel and stay there till 5th morning.

Your itinery is almost similar to what me and my wife did couple of years back !

I need your advice on Hotels here in Shimla, places to visit and something’s which are must see and do.

We stayed in HPTDC Holiday Home near lift (lift is also a means of transport in Shimla - it easily cuts down few Km of drive in the narrow roads!). Every hotel will have list of places within Shimla and these can be covered in half a day. We also visited Kufri & Chail. More than these places it was the drive along the narrow road that was wonderful.

Check out from shimla at 10 AM on 5th morning and board a bus to manali. (Can some one give me more info on the buses from here? Are Himachal tourism buses ok or private ones?)

Go for Govt buses, since the drivers are experienced. Please note the road has many twists & turns and on bus this gets magnified. A couple couldn't take this and they got down just 15Km after Shimla. I think its like that till Mandi (half-way). If you have motion sickness, its adviced to book a cab.

Reach manali in the evening (on 5th) and check in the hotel. Again Hotel info needed here and places to eat, visit, and see.

Again there are plenty. If you stay near bus-stand you will have easy access. Places: Rohtang Pass, Manikaran and few within Manali (like Hidimba temple, buddhist temple, club house, etc).
We also went for rafting on the river Beas. This was at a place near Kulu.

Leave from manali to Delhi on 8th august at 10 am and reach Delhi at 9 in the night. I think there are Himachal tourism Volvos here again. Please correct me if I’m wrong or any other better suggestion.

HPTDC have overnight Volvo buses to Delhi. They also have sleeper coaches and they take couple of hours more.

You can book all the tours online or visit HPTDC office in Bangalore - its in front of Kapali theatre in Majestic. HP is a very tourist friendly state. Enjoy and do post pictures !!