Most Himachal trips are one of two loops. Shimla and Manali take six nights from Chandigarh or Delhi, with the Atal Tunnel or Rohtang as the high point. Amritsar, Dharamshala and Dalhousie take about the same, starting at the Golden Temple and ending in the Chamba hills. With nine nights you can do most of both. Spiti is a separate, tougher trip for later. You can reach Himachal by overnight Volvo from Delhi, by train to Kalka or Pathankot, or by flying to Chandigarh or Amritsar. We plan the route, hotels, a car and driver, Rohtang permits and the day-wise plan.
Himachal packages at a glance
| Package | Nights | What it covers | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manali short break | 3N / 4D | Manali, Solang, the Atal Tunnel to Sissu | A long weekend from Delhi |
| Shimla and Manali | 6N / 7D | Shimla, Kufri, Kullu, Manali, Atal Tunnel or Rohtang | Families, honeymooners, first visit |
| Amritsar, Dharamshala and Dalhousie | 6N / 7D | Golden Temple, Wagah, McLeodganj, Dalhousie, Khajjiar | Families who want darshan and the hills |
| The full circuit | 9N / 10D | Shimla, Manali, Dharamshala, Dalhousie and Amritsar | A long summer or Diwali holiday |
The full day-wise plan for Shimla and Manali 6N/7D is on its own page. The other formats are built from it, adding or dropping days, and any of them can be changed to suit you.
Which places to include
Himachal’s roads are slow, so the real decision is what to leave out. A rough guide:
- Shimla. The Mall, the Ridge, Jakhu temple and Kufri. Two nights is enough. The Kalka–Shimla toy train, a UNESCO World Heritage line, is slow but worth it once.
- Manali. Hadimba temple, Old Manali, Vashisht, Solang valley, and the Atal Tunnel or Rohtang Pass. Three nights.
- Dharamshala and McLeodganj. The Dalai Lama’s temple complex, Bhagsu, the cricket stadium and the Tibetan quarter. Two nights.
- Dalhousie and Khajjiar. Quiet, colonial-era hill station and a meadow ringed by deodars. Two nights; good with grandparents, because nothing is steep or rushed.
- Amritsar. Not in Himachal, but the natural start or end of a Dharamshala trip: the Golden Temple, Jallianwala Bagh and the Wagah border ceremony. One or two nights.
- Spiti. High, dry and remote, reached through Kinnaur or over the Kunzum pass. Rough roads and high altitude. Plan it as its own trip of eight nights or more, not an add-on.
Atal Tunnel and the Rohtang permit
Most people now go through the Atal Tunnel rather than over Rohtang. The tunnel, opened in October 2020, is 9.02 km long, and its south portal is about 25 km from Manali. On the other side are Sissu and the Lahaul valley, with snow for much of the year. It’s a half-day trip from Manali.
Rohtang Pass itself needs a permit for each vehicle, issued online on the Kullu administration’s Rohtang permit portal. There are separate permits for taxis and for private cars, and only a limited number are issued each day, so they run out in May and June. The pass is open from about mid-May until the first heavy snow. Our driver applies for the permit. If none are left, we do the tunnel and Sissu instead.
Best time to go, and the monsoon
March to June and mid-September to November are the best months. December to February brings snow to Manali and sometimes Shimla, with roads shut beyond Solang or Sissu after heavy falls. Christmas and New Year are the most crowded weeks of the winter.
Avoid July and August. Himachal’s monsoons have been very destructive in recent years. In 2023 the Kullu–Manali highway was badly damaged. In 2025 the state counted losses of over ₹4,000 crore between 20 June and 7 September, and in August the Beas flooded near Manali, washing away a stretch of highway and submerging the Raison toll plaza. In 2026, 75 people had died by 12 August, and more than 200 roads were blocked at one point that week. If you must travel then, keep spare days and expect detours.
Good to know: The road from Chandigarh to Manali through Mandi and Kullu is the one most often cut by landslides. Check the road status the night before you drive, and don’t plan a flight out of Chandigarh on the same day you leave Manali.
Getting there: Volvo, train or flight
- Volvo bus from Delhi. HRTC’s AC Volvo buses to Manali and Shimla leave from ISBT Kashmere Gate, mostly in the evening, and arrive the next morning. Manali is 12 to 14 hours. Book on HRTC’s online booking site or with us.
- Train. From Delhi, trains to Kalka connect with the toy train to Shimla. From Mumbai, the Golden Temple Mail runs to Amritsar, and Pathankot is the railhead for Dharamshala and Dalhousie.
- Flight. Chandigarh and Amritsar have direct flights from Mumbai and Delhi. Kullu (Bhuntar), Shimla and Kangra (Gaggal, for Dharamshala) have small airports with only a few flights, and bad weather disrupts them more often.
Amritsar: the Golden Temple and Wagah
Go to the Golden Temple twice if you can: once early in the morning and once at night, when the Palki Sahib ceremony carries the Guru Granth Sahib to rest. Cover your head, leave shoes at the free shoe counter and eat at the langar. The Beating Retreat ceremony at the Attari–Wagah border is held every evening before sunset. The BSF shifts the time with the seasons, most recently by 30 minutes from 16 October 2026, so we confirm it on the day and leave Amritsar early. Carry ID and as little as possible, because there are security checks and big crowds at the gate.
Questions travellers ask before booking
Can we see snow in Manali in April or May?
Not in Manali town, but usually yes at Sissu beyond the Atal Tunnel or at Rohtang once it opens. Snow is more certain in late March and April than in June.
Is Himachal good for elderly parents?
Yes, with fewer hotel changes. Dalhousie, Dharamshala and Shimla are gentle; Manali is fine too. Long, winding drives are the tiring part, so we keep driving days short and arrange medicine for motion sickness. Rohtang is high and cold, so a stop at Sissu is often the better choice for seniors.
Is this good for a honeymoon?
Shimla and Manali is the classic honeymoon route from Mumbai and Pune, and a good one. Ask us for a Manali hotel outside the town centre, by the river or in Old Manali, and add a night so the trip isn’t all driving.
Can we go from Manali on to Leh?
Yes, roughly June to September, when the Manali–Leh highway is open. See our Leh Ladakh packages for the road trip.
Checked November 2026. Rohtang permit types are from the Kullu district’s permit portal; Atal Tunnel details from reports of its October 2020 opening; monsoon figures from PTI and state data reported in 2023, 2025 and August 2026; the Wagah timing change from a UNI report of October 2026; bus information from HRTC listings. Permit quotas, ceremony times and road status change through the year, and we confirm them again when we send your quote.