Things to do in Manali, from Hadimba to the Atal Tunnel

This is one part of our Manali guide.

TL;DR summary

• Rohtang permit: ₹550 a car. ₹500 permit plus ₹50 congestion charge on the official portal. Permits are released at 10:00 and 16:00, two days ahead.
• Atal Tunnel: 9.02 km. Do not stop, park or take photos inside. Sissu is about 40 km from Manali, 1 to 1.5 hours.
• Hadimba temple: Free, 8 am to 6 pm. About 2 km uphill from the Mall, 20 to 30 minutes on foot. Go at opening to miss the queue.
• Adventure ban: 15 Jul to 15 Sep 2026. Kullu district's order bans rafting, paragliding, river crossing and bungee.
• Taxi, per car: ₹1,299 to ₹12,500. Runs from local sightseeing to Rohtang. These are starting quotes, not a fixed tariff.
• Green tax: ₹200 a car. Charged on cars not registered in Himachal. Valid for 7 days. Apply on the official portal.

Manali sights compared: distance, cost, time needed and best hour

The things to do in Manali split into what you can walk to from the Mall, what needs a taxi up the valley and what is a day trip. This guide follows that split, because it is how a day here works. Manali sits at 2,050 m on the Beas. It suits first visits, couples, families and anyone on a long stay who wants shops and cafes near the mountain roads. It suits you less in May and June, when 10,000 to 12,000 tourist vehicles a day can be on the roads.

Most places to visit in Manali need no booking, with a few exceptions.

What to book before you go to Manali: Rohtang and the seasonal bans

Rohtang Pass needs a vehicle permit from the official portal, rohtangpermits.hp.gov.in. A car, jeep or MUV pays ₹500 plus a ₹50 congestion charge, and a bus pays ₹500 plus ₹100. The portal caps the day at 800 petrol and 400 diesel vehicles, released in two batches at 10:00 and 16:00, and you can apply only for the next two days. A permit covers one day, there and back, and cannot be cancelled. You need ID, a pollution certificate, a vehicle under 10 years old and a printout.

The Atal Tunnel needs no tourist permit, but it has rules and a record of winter closures. Separately, Kullu district banned rafting, paragliding, river crossing and bungee jumping from 15 July to 15 September 2026. The same dates were announced in 2019, so we’d treat mid-July to mid-September as shut.

How many days in Manali, getting around and what is shut

How many days. Three nights and four days is the comfortable first visit: one day on foot, one for Solang and Sissu, one for Naggar, and a spare because roads close. If you came on the night bus, count the arrival day as lost and spend it on check-in, a rest and the Mall after dark. The itinerary sets this out day by day.

On foot and by auto. Hadimba, its museum and the Ghatotkacha shrine sit together. Old Manali is about 3 km from the Mall, on the same bank of the Beas. Vashisht is also about 3 km, across the river. Autos charge about ₹100 to ₹150 to either. Local buses cost ₹20 to ₹100 on short runs and serve Solang and Naggar; timetables shift, so reconfirm at the stand.

Taxi. Starting prices per car are ₹1,299 to ₹4,499 for local sightseeing, ₹1,999 to ₹4,499 for Solang, ₹2,999 to ₹5,999 for the tunnel and Sissu, and ₹3,999 to ₹12,500 for Rohtang. These are quotes, not a fixed tariff, so ask two drivers. The same price can cover a 4-hour or an 8 to 9 hour tour, so agree the hours first.

Scooter. A scooty runs ₹500 to ₹800 a day and a Royal Enfield Classic 350 ₹1,200 to ₹1,500, with deposits of ₹1,000 to ₹15,000. You need a valid licence and a photo ID. Two-wheelers are barred at Rohtang, and the tunnel road may go 4x4 only after heavy snow.

Your own car. A car registered outside Himachal pays the green tax to enter Manali: ₹200 for a light vehicle, valid for 7 days. Apply on the official portal up to 9 days ahead and carry a printout. A Himachal-plated taxi does not pay it. Tempo travellers cannot use Hadimba Temple Road or Old Manali Road from Rambagh Chowk unless passengers hold confirmed hotel bookings.

By season. Rohtang opened in mid-May 2026. It was open to permit holders on 4 October 2026, but early snow shut it on 9 October 2025, so check before you commit. The Lahaul side of the tunnel sees closures from November to March. Kullu Dussehra runs 21 to 27 October 2026, so expect full hotels on the Kullu side. For month by month detail, see best time to visit.

Places to visit in Manali on foot: Hadimba, the Mall and Old Manali

The Mall and Old Manali are on the right (west) bank of the Beas. None of this needs a vehicle. Distances are from the Mall.

Walk up to Hadimba Temple: free, 2 km uphill from the Mall

Hadimba temple in snow, January 2020. Photo: Chennai Passangai, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

• Cost: free
• From the Mall: about 2 km uphill, 20 to 30 minutes on foot
• Time: 30 to 60 minutes
• Best hour: opening at 8 am, or around 4 pm

Do this one first. The temple is a wooden pagoda built in 1553, 24 m tall, standing over a rock in a cedar forest, and the paved walk up is the easiest start to a Manali day. It is open about 8 am to 6 pm. Go early or late, because midday on summer weekends means long queues, and Navaratri and the Dhungari fair are heavier still. The approach is lined with yak photo operators, Himachali dress stalls and souvenir shops, and on a busy day it feels like a fair. We’d put up with that, since the temple is free and is the one stop that works on an arrival day. Just walk past the photo stalls.

Add the Hadimba museum and Ghatotkacha shrine next door

Both are beside the temple, and the shrine is the better use of five minutes. It is free and 70 m from the temple. The Museum of Himachal Culture and Folk Art is open 9 am to 7 pm and costs about ₹30. Allow 25 to 40 minutes, and do it only if the day has room.

Walk Mall Road, Manali’s main market street

Mall Road, Manali’s main market street. Photo: Ivishalbhutani, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Walk it once, in the evening, because that is where the cash machines and the choice of dinner are. The Mall is the vehicle-free main stretch of shops and food stalls, open about 9 or 10 am to 9 or 10 pm. Street food costs ₹50 to ₹200 and a restaurant meal ₹300 to ₹800 a head, and there are SBI, HDFC and PNB ATMs. Expect it to feel functional and busy rather than charming. The shawl shops are priced for first-time tourists, and May, June and Christmas week are very crowded, so watch your pockets. The Himalayan Nyingmapa monastery in central Manali is free and takes 20 to 30 minutes.

Walk to Old Manali and the Manu Temple: lanes, river and a meal

The Manu temple at the top of Old Manali. Photo: Birte Fritsch, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

• Cost: free; auto ₹100 to ₹150, or ₹130 in an AC sedan from the bus stand
• From the Mall: about 3 km, 20 to 30 minutes on foot
• Time: 2 hours or more
• Best hour: evening

Go for a walk and a meal, not for sights. In Old Manali you wander the lanes, sit by the river and climb to the Manu temple at the top of the village. The temple is free and open roughly 6 am to 5 or 6 pm. The lanes up to it are steep cobbles, there are no washrooms, and photography inside is restricted. Cars stop at the village edge and the inner lanes are on foot, so carry less. It is easiest in the evening, when the lanes empty out.

On 26 August 2025 the Manalsu nullah overflowed and swept away the bridge on the Club House to Palchan road, the vehicle link to the village. A steel Bailey bridge replaced it about three months later, so cars reach Manu Temple Road again. The side lanes are still on foot, so ask your host where the car should drop you.

Things to do in Vashisht: hot springs and Jogini Falls

Vashisht is on the left (east) bank, across the river from the Mall and Old Manali. The two villages are about 30 minutes apart on foot.

Vashisht hot springs: free baths, best on a weekday morning

The temple at Vashisht. The hot spring baths are inside the complex. Photo: Sharvipul, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

• Cost: free; auto ₹100 to ₹150, taxi ₹200 to ₹300
• From the Mall: about 3 km (4 km from the bus stand), 30 to 40 minutes on foot
• Time: 1 to 2 hours
• Best hour: early morning, on a weekday

It is worth it after a day on your feet. The village temple has free hot-spring baths in separate sections for men and women. The temple is open about 7 am to 9 pm, and bathing runs about 7 am to 1 pm and 2 pm to 9 pm, though the windows shift, so check on the spot. The pools are basic stone, so bring a towel. May and June weekends are busy. Facilities are not always clean, and the springs are not a cure despite the claims. The lanes are steep, so older visitors may find them hard going. We’d go on a weekday for the smaller crowd.

Jogini Falls day walk: free, no driver, 1.5 to 2.5 hours

Jogini Falls, above Vashisht. Photo: Aditya verma, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

• Cost: free
• From the Mall: about 5 km to Vashisht and the trailhead, then 3 km on foot
• Time: 1.5 to 2.5 hours round trip
• Best hour: start by 8 or 9 am on a weekday; March to June, September to November

If you only do one walk in Manali, do this one, because it needs no driver and costs nothing. The trail climbs from Vashisht to a waterfall with an active temple beside it, 30 to 45 minutes up and 20 to 30 coming down. The last stretch is steeper and rocky, and nothing is sold in the final kilometre, so carry water and wear shoes with grip. After heavy rain the falls are dangerous, so we’d keep it for a dry morning, and not for a late arrival or a day with two long drives. Small children and anyone with mobility problems should skip it. Longer walks such as Arjun Gufa, Lama Dugh, Bhrigu Lake and Hampta Pass are in the treks guide.

North of Manali: Solang Valley, the Atal Tunnel, Sissu and Rohtang

Paragliding over Solang Valley in September. Photo: Dimukho, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Everything here goes north on one road, so pick one per day.

Solang Valley: go early and pick one activity

The upper ropeway station at Solang in December 2015. Photo: Bleezebub, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

• Cost: parking ₹50 to ₹100; ropeway ₹450 to ₹750
• From the Mall: 13 to 14 km, 30 to 40 minutes
• Time: half a day
• Best hour: before 10 am; skiing December to February

Go early for the view and pick one activity, not three queues. Solang is a meadow at about 2,560 m, and crowds peak from 10 am to 1 pm, with weekends heavier, so leave by 7 am. The ropeway ran ₹500 to ₹700 round trip in May 2026, 10 minutes each way, so check the fare at the counter before you queue. Paragliding runs about ₹1,300 for a short fly and about ₹3,500 for a high tandem, the rate a Kullu committee set in 2022. Book at the official counter, not with roadside agents. Paragliding caused 16 deaths and 9 injuries between 2018 and January 2025.

Atal Tunnel and Sissu: the best full day when the road is open

The waterfall at Sissu, on the Lahaul side of the tunnel.

The Atal Tunnel portal. Photo: Jagseer S Sidhu, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

• Cost: taxi ₹2,999 to ₹5,999 a car; shared taxi about ₹800
• From the Mall: about 40 km, 1 to 1.5 hours
• Time: a full day
• Best hour: reach Sissu before 10 am; avoid snow days

The Atal Tunnel is 9.02 km long at 3,000 to 3,100 m, with speeds of 30 to 80 km/h, and it puts Keylong 71 km from Manali. It is a road, not a sight, so do not stop, park, walk or photograph inside. Vehicle owners entering Lahaul and Spiti must apply for an e-pass on the official e-Aagman portal, so check whether a Sissu run counts. In your own car, check the portal the evening before; a taxi driver will know. Sissu, at 3,120 m, has a waterfall, a lake and a helipad by the Chandra river.

Winter makes it a gamble. The road was blocked on 23 and 27 January 2026, and on 30 January it opened only to Lahaul residents in 4x4 vehicles with chains. In mid-March 2026 over 1,000 vehicles were stranded near the tunnel for about 20 hours. We’d decide each winter morning whether to go.

Rohtang Pass permit or electric bus: costs and when to go

Rohtang Pass in summer.

• Cost: ₹550 permit for a car; taxi ₹3,999 to ₹12,500; electric bus ₹500
• From the Mall: 51 km, 3,978 m
• Time: 10 to 14 hours door to door
• Best hour: a clear weekday, mid-May to October

It is worth it only on a clear weekday, and it takes the whole day, so it replaces Solang or Sissu. A jam can stretch one way to 8 hours. The portal lists no closed day, but many drivers still treat Tuesday as a maintenance day, and closures can come by district order. We’d not plan it for a Tuesday, and we’d check the portal the evening before.

If you would rather not drive, the HRTC electric bus resumed on 23 May 2026 at ₹500 a passenger, or ₹700 for a longer circuit. It needs no permit and leaves between 7 am and 10 am. Ask at the HRTC Manali stand before relying on it in late October, when the season is ending.

Left bank of the Beas from Manali: Jagatsukh, Naggar and Jana

The left-bank road runs from Manali through Aleo and Jagatsukh to Naggar and Kullu. NHAI took it over in January 2023, and there were large potholes and waterlogging at Khakhnal, Archandi and Aleo in May 2025. Expect slow stretches and ask your driver about the road that week. Jagatsukh, about 7 km from Manali, is a village you pass through, with homestays.

Naggar Castle and Roerich gallery: the easy day trip

Naggar Castle, built of stone and timber. Photo: Schwiki, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

• Cost: castle ₹30; taxi ₹450 to ₹1,200 one way
• From the Mall: 20 to 22 km, 45 to 60 minutes
• Time: half a day
• Best hour: before 4 pm; the gallery is closed on Mondays

This is the easy day trip, and it still works when Sissu is shut. The castle is run as an HPTDC heritage hotel and opens roughly 9 am to 5 pm. The Roerich gallery is a 20 to 30 minute walk uphill from it.

Jana waterfall near Naggar: add it to a Naggar day

Add it to a Naggar day if you have a driver, and do not give it a day of its own. The waterfall is about 30 feet high, about 12 km beyond Naggar and 32 km from Manali, free to see, though parking may cost. Allow 2 to 3 hours with the walk. May to October is best, and swimming is not recommended.

Further day trips and offbeat places near Manali

Sethan village from Manali: a quiet weekday drive

Sethan in March 2023, still under snow. Photo: Catherine Lunaa, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Go on a weekday, for the quiet. Sethan is a village on the Hamta road, 12 to 15 km via Prini, 40 to 60 minutes in summer and 1 to 2 hours after snow. A taxi costs ₹1,200 to ₹2,000 one way. The entry charge is quoted three ways, from ₹100 a person to ₹500 a vehicle, so carry ₹500 and ask at the Prini check post. There is no fuel, ATM or mobile network in the village, so fill up in Manali. After fresh snow the road stays shut until cleared.

Kasol and Manikaran from Manali: not a day trip

From Manali it is about 75 km, back down 50 km to Bhuntar and then 30 km up the valley, 6 to 8 hours mostly in the car. If you are coming from Delhi for Kasol, get off the Manali bus at Bhuntar rather than riding to Manali and back. How to reach Manali shows the trunk road. Manikaran, 4 km beyond Kasol, has hot springs of 64 to 80 C and a gurdwara.

Kullu Dussehra, 21 to 27 October 2026: 40 km from Manali

Go only if the dates match your stay. Kullu is 40 km from Manali, and Kullu Dussehra runs 21 to 27 October 2026 at Dhalpur maidan, with 347 deities invited, though dates sometimes appear as 20 to 26 October. Kullu hotels fill by early October, so many visitors stay in Manali or Naggar.

Manali for a long stay: evening plans and weekend trips

Forest near Manali.

After work, the options are the ones that open late. The Mall is lit in the evening and food stalls run from late afternoon. Vashisht is open to 9 pm, though evening bathing is busier than the morning. Old Manali’s lanes empty out in the evening. Hadimba closes at about 6 pm, so it only fits if you finish early.

Keep for the weekend what takes a driver. Roughly by effort: Naggar and the Roerich gallery (not Monday), a half day at Solang, then Jana, Sethan or Sissu, with Rohtang last and Kasol only as an overnight. If you can take a weekday off, use it for the road trips, since the worst times on the Rohtang and Solang roads are Friday evening, Saturday late morning and Sunday afternoon. Jio and Airtel work in Old Manali but vary by building, so ask your host for a speed test before booking. Rohtang has no dependable signal and UPI can fail on weak data, so carry cash above town. For where to base, see where to stay in Manali.

What to skip in Manali, and how to spend one day

We’d skip Van Vihar (₹50, 45 minutes), the Mall’s shawl shops, a Rohtang taxi on a weekend in May or June, and Kasol on a short trip. The yak photo stalls at Hadimba and the snow gear hire at Rohtang are optional; say no and nothing is lost.

With one day, start at Hadimba at 8 am and see the Ghatotkacha shrine. Walk to Old Manali for lunch and the Manu temple, cross to Vashisht for a soak, and finish on the Mall after dark. With a car and a clear day, go to Solang first, leaving by 7 am, and do Hadimba and Old Manali in the afternoon. If Rohtang is the reason you came, give it the whole day.

Frequently asked questions about things to do in Manali