Things to do in Manali — 20 that are worth the drive, and what each costs
How this list is built
Every "things to do in Manali" list on the internet has the same twenty entries in a different order. This one is sorted by distance from the bus stand, because that is how you actually plan a day: what is on foot, what is a half day, what needs the whole day and a permit. The minutes are our own road routing from the bus stand; the prices are typical local bands with the date we checked, never a booking — you pay on the ground. Each entry links to its own page, and most of them sit inside one of our copyable itineraries.
Photos: Itsarti (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Nrr1729 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · AthulBiju94 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Kunalsvnit (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Vinayaraj (CC BY-SA 4.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
On foot from the town
1. The Hadimba temple and its grove
A minute from the bus stand by road and fifteen on foot: the sixteenth-century pagoda of stacked timber roofs in a grove of old deodars, dedicated to Hidimbi of the Mahabharata. The grove is the reason to come; the queue for the sanctum is long between ten and four in season, so go before nine or in the last hour before dusk. Nothing to pay. The Hadimba page has the detail.
2. The Museum of Himachal Culture and Folk Art
Two minutes from the temple gate, a small private museum of house models, masks, costumes and tools that makes the temple's building readable and the festivals make sense. An hour; a small entry fee; better before the temple than after. The museum.
3. The Manali Sanctuary path
The forest gate is a minute from the bus stand near Old Manali. An hour under old deodar and fir on a shaded path with no exposure, or a whole morning on the track above; the best short walk in Manali for anyone who does not want a climb. Small entry fee at the gate. The sanctuary.
4. Old Manali and the Manu temple
The village across the Manalsu stream, 2 km up: cafés on the lane, guesthouses in orchards, and the temple to the sage Manu at the top, the shrine the town is named for. This is where the slow day happens — a breakfast that lasts till eleven, the lane, the climb to the temple, the orchards above. Old Manali · Manu Temple.
5. Van Vihar and the Mall in the evening
The deodar park by the river, 3 min from the bus stand, for an hour of shade and a pond with pedal boats for children; then the pedestrian Mall from five, when the shops light up and the town walks. Kullu shawls and caps are the valley's own craft; buy from a shop that weaves. Van Vihar · Mall Road.
Across the river — a half day
6. The hot springs at Vashisht
About 3 km up the far bank, 6 min by taxi: a timber temple to the sage Vashishtha and two free public baths beside it, one for men and one for women, fed by the sulphur spring. Take a towel and a change; bathe early or late. Vashisht.
7. The walk to Jogini Falls
From the top of Vashisht village, about 46 min up through orchards and pine to the tall upper fall, with a lower fall and pool on the way; about 19 min down. No guide, no ticket, shoes with grip. The best short walk in the valley, dry from March to June and September to November. Jogini Falls.
Up the valley — the Solang road
8. Nehru Kund and the Kothi gorge
Two roadside stops on the way north. The cold spring at Bahang, 5 km and about 8 min from town, where the valley first opens ahead. And the bridge at Kothi, about 11 km and 21 min up, where the young Beas has cut a slot so deep you hear it before you see it. Ten minutes each, nothing to pay. Nehru Kund · Kothi.
9. Solang — the meadow, the flying, the ropeway
The valley's playground, 12 km and about 24 min from the bus stand. Tandem paragliding from the ridge, typically ₹3,000–5,000 as of September 2026 and quoted on the day; a ropeway up the slope, typically ₹500–800 return; ponies and zorbing in season; short ski slopes in January and February when the snow holds. Go by eight, before the car park fills. Solang · the paragliding guide.
10. The walk to Anjani Mahadev
From the road above the Solang meadow, about 46 min up to a Shiva shrine under a rock wall where a waterfall freezes into a natural lingam in winter; about 21 min down. The quiet end of a Solang day, and the reason to do the meadow first. Anjani Mahadev.
11. Through the Atal Tunnel to Sissu
The 8.8 km tunnel under the Rohtang ridge, open every month, no permit: about 43 min to the south portal and roughly an hour to Sissu. Sissu is the first village of Lahaul, at 3,120 m, with a waterfall across the valley and a lake below the road. Snow for half the year, a different country in the length of one drive, and the best day out from Manali in any month. Atal Tunnel · Sissu · the day trip.
Up the pass road — in season
12. Gulaba, and the snow
The meadow on the Rohtang road where the forest ends, about 19 km and 35 min from town: the permit checkpost and the first big view. From December to March it is the nearest reliable snow on the Manali side, with sledges and snowsuits for hire at the roadside. The Bhrigu Lake trek starts here. Gulaba.
13. Rehala Falls and Marhi
The roadside waterfall in the deodars above Kothi, about 26 km and 47 min from town, loudest with snowmelt in May and June; and Marhi, the dhaba hamlet at about 32 km where every bus stops for tea before the hairpins. Both are stops on the pass day; both are under snow from December to April. Rehala Falls · Marhi.
14. Rohtang Pass
3,978 m, 49 km and about an hour and a half of driving each way on a clear road, more with the queue. Open roughly May to November, one permit per vehicle from the district administration with a daily cap. Height and the view down both sides of the divide rather than a place; the tunnel is the better first day, the pass the second visit. Rohtang Pass · pass or tunnel?.
Down the valley — the left bank
15. Naggar Castle and the Roerich gallery
About 19 km down the quiet bank, half an hour by taxi: the rajas' castle from around 1460, timber and stone, with courtyards and balconies over the whole valley, a small ticket, and the painter Nicholas Roerich's estate and gallery above it. A half day, or a full one with the village temples below. Naggar Castle.
16. Lunch at Jana Falls
Up a side valley east of Naggar, about 32 km and 53 min from Manali in all: a waterfall a short walk from the road end, and a village whose dhabas the whole district drives up to. Siddu with ghee, trout from the stream, red rice, the local sours. The second half of the Naggar day. Jana Falls.
The treks
17. Beas Kund
Three days from Dhundi above Solang, about 34 min from town by road, up a single valley to the small lake under the glaciers where the Beas begins. About 240 min of walking up from the road head, around 104 min down, with a night or two at the meadows. Late May to mid-October, with an outfit from Manali. Beas Kund · the five-day plan.
18. Bhrigu Lake
Two to three days from Gulaba to a glacial lake at 4,235 m on the ridge east of the pass, with a night at the meadows for the altitude. Higher and faster than Beas Kund; September and early October are the clear weeks. Bhrigu Lake · the four-day plan.
Below Kullu
19. Rafting on the Beas
Not in Manali itself, where the river is a torrent, but on the Beas below Kullu, about 40 km and 49 min down the valley. Put-in at Pirdi, two stretches, typically ₹500–1,500 per person as of September 2026 with the raft, guide, jacket and jeep back included. March to June and September to November; closed in the monsoon. The rafting guide.
And one to save
20. Nothing, for a day
The thing the packed lists never include. Manali is best when you stop moving: a rest day in Old Manali with the forest path before breakfast and the hot springs at five. The slow five-day plan is built round it, and every plan on the itineraries page can be copied into your own trips and changed.
What it adds up to
On foot from the town: five things and two days. Across the river and up the Solang road: another two days. The pass, in season and with a permit, a day of its own. Naggar and Jana a day. The treks three days each. That is why the honest answer to "how many days" is two for the town and one drive, four for the full set, and a week with a trek — and why the Manali guide sends most first visits to the tunnel before the pass.
Plans that include this
All Manali itineraries →
Day plan · FriendsRoad trip
Day plan · First visitClassic
Day plan · Slow travelTemples & heritage
1 night · 2 days · Slow travelCafés & food
1 night · 2 days · CouplesTemples & heritage
1 night · 2 days · Slow travelWaterfallsQuestions people ask
What are the top things to do in Manali for a first visit?
The Hadimba temple in its cedar grove, the old village across the stream, the hot springs at Vashisht, the meadow at Solang, and the tunnel to Sissu on the far side of the ridge. Five things, three days, no permit. Rohtang Pass is the sixth for anyone in season with a permit and a spare day.
What can you do in Manali for free?
Most of it. The temples, the old village, the hot baths at Vashisht, the walks to Jogini Falls and Anjani Mahadev, the forest path in the sanctuary, the Mall in the evening, the gorge at Kothi and the spring at Nehru Kund all cost nothing. What costs money is the flying, the ropeway, the pass permit and the taxi.
How many days do you need to see Manali?
Two nights for the town and one drive out; three or four to add the tunnel, Naggar and a slow day; a week if a trek is in the plan. The mistake is one night with Rohtang in the middle. Our itineraries page has a plan for every length, and each can be copied into your own trips.
Is there anything to do in Manali when the pass is closed?
Everything except the pass. The Atal Tunnel keeps Sissu an hour away in every month, with snow on the far side from December into spring. Solang, Gulaba and the tunnel road carry the snow on the Manali side; the temples, the hot springs, the walks and the castle at Naggar are open all year.