Skiing in Manali

Where it happens

Skiing in Manali means Solang, the meadow 12 km north of town at 2,560 m, about 24 min by road. When the snow holds, short beginner slopes run down towards the car park with hire counters and instructors at the bottom; when it is deep, the ropeway up the slope gives a longer run. The state's mountaineering institute, based in Manali, runs its ski centre at Solang and its courses from there in season.

Be clear about what this is. Solang is not a resort with groomed pistes and lifts to the top; it is a meadow that gets snow, a few short slopes, hire by the hour and people learning to stop. For a first day on skis, for children, for the photographs, it is exactly right. For anyone who already skis, the interest is the institute's courses and, for the experienced with a guide, the higher ground.

Solang

town21 min from Manali

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Hire and instruction

Skis and boots are hired by the hour at the counters at the foot of the slope. Hire is typically ₹300–600 per hour, or ₹800–1,500 per hour with an instructor, checked in September 2026 against the local market and quoted on the day. An hour with an instructor is enough to stand, slide and stop; two hours is enough to enjoy it. Gloves, a waterproof jacket and trousers are hired at the roadside above Kothi and at the meadow; sunglasses are not optional on snow.

Courses

The Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports, the state's institute in Manali, runs basic and intermediate ski courses of several days at its Solang centre each winter, with instruction, equipment and lodging in the fee. Dates and prices are on the institute's own site, and the courses fill; write to them in autumn. It is the one way to learn properly here rather than by the hour.

Season

January and February, and only while the snow holds on the meadow — a warm week can strip it, and the slopes close until the next fall. Late December sometimes works. March rarely does. If the meadow is bare when you arrive, the snow is higher: Gulaba on the Rohtang road for playing in it, Sissu through the tunnel for the sight of it. Check the week before you come and keep the day flexible.

What it costs, all in

An hour of hire and an hour of instruction, the ropeway if it is running, a jacket and gloves from the roadside, and the taxi from Manali and back: budget the morning rather than the day. The Solang page has the meadow's other prices, and our stays on the Solang road put the slope twenty minutes from breakfast.

Plans that include this

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Day plan · FriendsRoad trip

Manali to Sissu — the day trip through the Atal Tunnel

The Manali–Sissu day trip through the Atal Tunnel: about an hour each way, no permit, open all year. Timings, what to see in Sissu, and lunch at Solang.

Best Jan–Jun · Sep–Dec

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Day plan · First visitClassic

One day in Manali — the first visit

A one-day Manali plan for a first visit: Hadimba's cedar-grove temple, the Manu shrine, the Vashisht hot springs and the walk to Jogini Falls — no car till two.

Best Mar–Jun · Sep–Dec

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Day plan · Slow travelTemples & heritage

Kullu from Manali — the district town, its temples and the river, in a day

A day in Kullu from Manali, 40 km down the valley: the Raghunath temple above the bazaar, the Dhalpur ground, the shawl weavers, the stone temple at Bajaura.

Best Mar–Jun · Sep–Nov

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1 night · 2 days · Slow travelCafés & food

Old Manali — two days of cafés, lanes and one forest walk

Two days in Old Manali without a car: long breakfasts on the lane, the Manu temple, the riverside lawns, the forest walk, the Hadimba grove and the hot springs.

Best Mar–Jun · Sep–Nov

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1 night · 2 days · CouplesTemples & heritage

Naggar and the left bank — two days below Manali

A night at Naggar below Manali: the castle from around 1460, the temples and the Roerich gallery; then lunch at the Jana Falls dhabas and a temple walk.

Best Mar–Jun · Sep–Dec

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1 night · 2 days · Slow travelWaterfalls

Waterfalls and short walks around Manali

A slow two-day Manali plan on foot: the Jogini falls above Vashisht, a rock shrine above Solang, Rehala Falls on the Rohtang road and Bhrigu Lake in season.

Best Apr–Jun · Sep–Oct

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