Nestled in the Himalayan foothills at around 2000 m (6000 ft), the little town of Manali is one of 3 trekking hotspots in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh (the other two trekking hubs being Shimla and Dharamsala/McLeod Ganj) - and yes, they all serve Western food, pizza, coffee etc:-) There’s plenty of good treks around Manali and into the surrounding area, with incredible mountain scenery, mountain lakes, high altitude passes etc. The full nine yards of trekking!
In fact, there are so many trekking options around the Manali area that it can be a bit confusing to choose where to go. But first thing you need to know is that the treks out of Manali are either day trips or camping trips. There are not really any reliable guest houses on the trekking trails, so unless you are lucky and get to crash in a farmers house or goat herders hut, you’d better bring a bit of camping gear.
Before we have a look at the treks around Manali, take a look at this map (GoogleMaps) showing the terrain. Just look at those valleys and mountains! Manali is right there in the upper half of Kullu Valley, just before the Himalayas really take to the sky!
MAP TREKKING POINTS: (1) Manali in Kullu Valley, (2) Bhrigu Lake, (3) Beas Kund, (4) Rohtang Pass, (5) Parvati Valley, (6) Jagatsukh and “Chander Tal” lake (the small one), (7) Hamta Pass, (8) Chander Tal Lake (the famous one), (9) Pin-Parvati Pass. Click HERE to zoom in and pan around on this map!
Note that the map points dotted in here are not exact. Good maps of the area are hard to come by. You can still use the old maps with ridge lines (rather than contour lines). Get them here:
- Map of Kullu Valley, Parbati Valley, Central Lahul
- Map of Kalpa-Kinnaur, Gya, Spiti, Shimla
- Map of Chamba, Dhauladhar Passes, Pangi Valley
and copy the maps from there. (That would be my option.)Treks around Manali
If you have a map, nothing can stop you from just heading off and exploring the area on short treks, returning same night. Don’t be lazy! It’s a beautiful area around Manali, so do some exploration! Also good as warm-ups for longer treks. But the real trekking around Manali only starts when you are ready to take a couple of nights out in the open! So get that tent and sleeping bag, and there’ll be nothing between you and the stunning mountain area! Here are some of the best places to go around Manali:
1. Short treks around Manali, some well known points of interest around Manali would be the: Vashist Hot Water Springs, just 3 km out of Manali, across the Beas river is this idyllic village with natural sulfur springs. The Nehru Kund, a natural little water spring, 6 km from Manali. You can also stroll down the valley to Jagatsukh village 6 km down along the river. The Solang Valley, 14 km from Manali, has ski slopes in winter and is a popular picnic spot in summer. Nice views all year round! And the Rahala Waterfalls, 16 km out of Manali, about 2500 m (8000 ft)
2. Bhrigu Lake, 3-4 days trekking from around Manali, you’ll be going up to an altitude of 4250 m (14,000 ft) to this stunning mountain lake and its holy waters.
3. Beas Kund, a holy, glacial lake at 3700 m (12,000 ft), the origin of the Beas River. This is one of the most popular and beautiful treks out of Manali. Also an ideal place for acclimatization for higher altitudes and as a base camp for climbing the nearby Shitidhar and Friendship Peaks, both about 5300 m / 17,300 ft. Expect snow here until April.
4. Rohtang Pass, (a.k.a. Rohtang La / Rohtang Jot) drivable by road from Manali, this 4000 meter (13,000 ft) mountain pass is pretty impressive… but not open all year around. The Rohtang La usually opens up in May and stays that way until September/October or so.
| 5. Parvati Valley, lush and green valley with a couple of small resort villages, Kasol and Manikaran, the last one being famous for its hot springs and, unfortunately, infamous for drugs and crime. It is possible to do a one-day trek from Malana Village (near Manikaran) over the Chanderkhani Pass to Nagar (on the road to Manali), but it will be a long day, ascending from 2650 m to 3650 m to 1450 m. Malana is a quite obscure little village, you may not want to stay here if you are too sensitive! | Is Malana / Parvati Valley safe to trek? Good question! Do a Google search for “Parvati Valley crime” and you will find stories about tourists disappearing and even getting killed! Likely related to drug use and perhaps not relevant if you are trekking through the area. But beyond Manikaran, I’ll advise you not to trek alone under any circumstances. |
7. Hamta Pass, very scenic trek over the 4250 m / 14,000 ft Hamta Pass. From Manali you can either end it at Chatru (road connected village with some accommodation) or continue into the Lahaul Spiti area. In fact, this was allegedly the way to enter Lahaul/Spiti before the road was built.
| 8. Chander Tal, a.k.a. the Moon Lake. Very beautiful, “magical” spot at around 4250 m / 14,000 ft. Out of Manali, you can take a 4WD or jump on a bus(!) to Batal and then trek up to the lake. Or drive to Kunzum Pass and trek down to the lake! Should be possible to reach in one day, but since you’ll probably not be able to get back same day, make sure you are acclimatized for 4000 meters before going from around Manali, at 2000 meters. You’ll also need to cross the Rohtang La (#4), usually closed due to snow from September to May. If you are in private/rented jeep, there’s also a rough road going all the way to the lake. |  Driving down the Kunzum Pass close to Chander Tal. Click image to order as poster! |
| 9. Pin-Parvati (Parbati) Pass, this is a really interesting and long trek. Expect to take about 2 hard weeks for this one! But worth every effort! After crossing the 5300 m (17,400 ft) pass (west-to-east), you’ll be in the Spiti Valley with a completely different landscape and an ancient Buddhist culture. They have some out-of-this-world monasteries here: Tabo, Ki gompa, Dhankar and Kibber village. And the good thing is: You don’t have to walk back. Spiti Valley has a reasonable good road and you can actually catch a bus taking you back to the Manali area! |  Rock / earth pillars in Spiti Valley, east side of the Pin-Parvati Pass. Click image to order as poster! |
| I have personally stayed and trekked several weeks in this Manali area. And specially spent time in the Spiti Valley. Would love to go back again, and I think my choice (out of Manali) would be first the Beas Kund trek (#3) and then the Bhrigu Lake trek (#2). Spend some time in both places for acclimatisation. And then the big one, the Pin-Parvati pass (#9)! That would be my dream trek around the Manali area, taking about one month to complete (I don’t like to rush it). Some day… Pre- vs. post-monsoon? I’d think early post-monsoon (July-August) would be best, as the snow shouldn’t give too much problems that time of year. If you are doing any of these (or other) treks around Manali, let me know how it went! Use the blog comment option right here below. Thanks... |  "The Bible" when it comes to exploring the Kinnaur & Spiti region. For those of us who are inflicted with the travel bug. |
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