What to pack for Manali, by season
The one rule
Manali is at 2,050 m and the places you go for the day are higher — Solang at 2,560 m, Sissu at 3,120 m, Rohtang at 3,978 m. Whatever the town's weather, the day out is colder, and the evening is colder than the afternoon. Pack in layers, in every season, and you will be right.
Photos: Bleezebub (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Timothy Gonsalves (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Kunalsvnit (CC BY-SA 4.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
Spring and autumn — March to April, October to November
Days between 17 °C and 22 °C, nights from a few degrees above freezing down towards it by late November. A fleece, a light shell, a warm layer for the evening, trousers rather than shorts, and shoes with grip for the walks. A hat and sunscreen for the meadow and the snow that is still lying at Sissu in spring. This is the easiest packing of the year.
Summer — May to June
Warm days around 25 °C to 26 °C, nights around 9 °C to 13 °C, and the pass and the meadow cooler again. T-shirts for the day, a fleece and a shell for the evening and the drives up, shoes with grip for Jogini, a hat and sunscreen, and a small day bag. The Mall sells anything you forget. If a trek is in the plan, the outfit's list adds a head torch, warm night layers and rain gear.
Monsoon — July to September
The two wettest months by a distance: 201.5 mm in July and 217 mm in August, in long steady spells, easing fast through September. A proper rain jacket rather than a shell, a cover for the bag, shoes that dry, a spare pair of everything that touches the ground, and something to read. Days are still warm at around 25 °C; the cold is the damp. Leeches are not a problem here; slippery paths are.
Winter — December to February
Days around 10 °C to 13 °C in the town and nights at or below freezing; Sissu and the Solang road much colder in the snow. This is real cold kit: a down or heavy synthetic jacket, thermal base layers, warm trousers, waterproof boots, gloves, a hat that covers the ears, and sunglasses — snow glare is fierce. Snowsuits, boots and gloves for a day are hired at the roadside above Kothi and at Solang; your own warm layers underneath are not, and a jacket that fits is worth bringing.
What to hire, what to bring
Hire by the day or hour: snowsuits, boots and gloves; ski gear at Solang; sleeping bags, jackets and poles from the trekking outfits in Old Manali and on the Mall. Bring: shoes that are broken in, a jacket that fits, any medicine you take, a power bank for the drives, cash for the temple lanes and above Solang where the card machines drop with the power. The Manali guide has the month-by-month; the best time article has the reasoning.
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What should I pack for Manali in summer?
Days reach about 26 °C in June but nights drop to around 13 °C, and the pass and Solang are colder still, so a fleece and a light shell go with the T-shirts. Shoes with grip for the Jogini walk, a hat and sunscreen for the meadow, a small bag for the day trips. The Mall sells the rest.
What should I pack for Manali in winter?
Real cold kit: nights are at or below freezing in December and January and Sissu is at 3,120 m. A down or heavy synthetic jacket, thermal base layers, warm trousers, waterproof boots, gloves, a hat, and sunglasses for the snow. Snowsuits and boots for a day are hired above Kothi; warm layers are not.
Do I need rain gear for Manali?
In July and August, without question — 201.5 mm falls in July and 217 mm in August, and the rain comes in long steady spells. A proper rain jacket, a cover for the bag, and shoes that dry. In the other months a light shell is enough for the afternoon shower. Umbrellas are sold in every lane if you forget.
What can I hire in Manali instead of packing?
Snowsuits, boots and gloves for a day in the snow, at the roadside above Kothi and at Solang, by the day. Ski gear at Solang by the hour. Trekking gear — sleeping bags, jackets, poles — from the trekking outfits in Old Manali and on the Mall. What you cannot hire is a jacket that fits and shoes that are broken in.