How to reach Kullu — the airport at Bhuntar, the buses, and the road up the valley

The short answer

Fly to Bhuntar if the weather is kind and you are lucky with the flight; otherwise take a bus. Kullu sits on the main valley highway, so every bus going to Manali passes through it, and the bus stand is in the bazaar rather than on the edge of town.

By air

Kullu–Manali Airport is at Bhuntar, 11 km and about 17 minutes below the town. One runway between hills beside the river, a small terminal, a handful of flights a day. They cancel in fog and in monsoon cloud, and they are the first thing to go when the weather turns. A taxi into the town is typically ₹600–1,000 as of September 2026; buses from the junction run all day and cost a fraction of that.

By bus

The valley's buses are the way most people actually arrive. Overnight services run from Delhi towards Kullu and Manali, day buses come up from Chandigarh — 225 km and about 254 minutes of driving — and from Mandi, 69 km and 98 minutes down the gorge. From Shimla it is 200 km and roughly 325 minutes over the hill roads. Everything stops in the Kullu bazaar.

By road

The highway follows the Beas: Mandi, the Pandoh gorge, Aut, Bhuntar, Kullu, then on up to Manali, 40 km and about 49 minutes above the town. The gorge section is slow and slide-prone in the monsoon, which is when a four-hour drive becomes a six-hour one. There is no useful shortcut and no reason to drive it at night.

By rail

There is no railway to the valley. Joginder Nagar, 124 km and about 207 minutes away, is the nearest railhead and sits at the end of a narrow-gauge line that is a lovely journey and a poor connection. Chandigarh's station plus a bus is the practical combination.

Getting around once you are here

Buses up and down the valley all day; taxis from the bazaar for the things buses do not reach, like the road-end at Chansari for the ridge temple, typically ₹1,200–2,000 return with waiting as of September 2026. Raison and the riverside camps are 15 km and 20 minutes up the highway. For what to do once you have arrived, the one-day plan and the two-day plan are the two shapes that work.

Plans that include this

All Kullu itineraries →

Day plan · First visittemples-heritage

One day in Kullu — the Raghunath temple, the bazaar, the ground at Dhalpur and the hill temple above the town

A day in Kullu town: the Raghunath temple at Sultanpur, the shawl bazaar, the Dhalpur fair ground and the carved hill temple at Bhekhli, with measured times.

Best Mar–Jun · Sep–Nov

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Day plan · walkersWalks & treks

Bijli Mahadev in a day from Kullu — the road to Chansari, the climb to the ridge and a late lunch in the bazaar

Bijli Mahadev from Kullu in a day: 15 km to the road-end at Chansari, a 2.8 km climb of about 96 minutes, an hour on the ridge and a late lunch in the town.

Best Mar–Jun · Sep–Nov

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1 night · 2 days · First visittemples-heritage

Two days in Kullu — the ridge temple on the first morning, the town, the river and the stone temple at Bajaura on the second

Two days in Kullu: the climb to Bijli Mahadev on the first morning, then Dhalpur, rafting at Pirdi and the stone temple at Bajaura, with measured road times.

Best Mar–Jun · Sep–Nov

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1 night · 2 days · FriendsAdventure

Two days on the Beas from Kullu — rafting at Pirdi, a night on the gravel at Raison and the confluence at Bhuntar

Two days on the Beas: a rafting run from Pirdi below Kullu, a night on the gravel bank at Raison and the Parvati confluence at Bhuntar, with prices and times.

Best Apr–Jun · Sep–Oct

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1 night · 2 days · Couplesslow-travel

The left bank in two days from Kullu — Raison on the river, the castle at Naggar and the waterfall above Jana

Two slow days on Kullu's left bank: the river at Raison, the castle at Naggar, and the waterfall and dhabas above Jana, with measured road times and prices.

Best Mar–Jun · Sep–Nov

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2 nights · 3 days · festivalfestivals

Three days at Kullu's Dussehra — the ground before it fills, the chariot on the first day, and the ridge on the morning after

Three days at Kullu's Dussehra: the maidan and temple before the fair starts, the chariot on the first day, and the climb to Bijli Mahadev on the morning after.

Best Oct

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