Hadimba Devi Temple
temple · 1 min from Manali
3 nights · 4 daysFirst visitClassicbalanced
Four days in Manali — the valley, the pass and the meadow
A four-day Manali itinerary: the temples on foot, a full day up to Rohtang Pass with the permit sorted, a slow day at Naggar Castle, then waterfall walks.
Four days is the first length at which Manali stops being a rush. The town gets a full day on foot, the pass gets the day it needs, the old capital at Naggar gets a slow afternoon, and the last day is walking — two waterfalls and the forest above the temple.
The shape matters. Rohtang Pass is 3,978 m, roughly an hour and a half up from town when the road is clear, and it takes a full day with the permit check, the queue and the cold. Putting it on day two means you are rested for it and have two easier days to recover. Naggar on day three is the low, quiet counterweight. Day four needs nothing but shoes.
This plan depends on the pass being open, which is roughly May to November, and on a permit booked before you arrive. Outside those months, or if the permit does not come through, the tunnel to Sissu takes the place of the pass — see the alternatives below.
Photos: Timothy Gonsalves (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Vinayaraj (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Biswarup Ganguly (CC BY 3.0) · Madhumita Das (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Itsarti (CC BY-SA 4.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
Who this is for
First visits with three nights, families with a car, and anyone who wants the one high day without turning the whole trip into driving. Not for the monsoon weeks: the pass road closes for hours after slides, and the day-four paths are mud.
Day by day
Day 1
The temples of Old Manali
A walking day inside town; save the car for tomorrow.
- 08:30Hadimba Devi TempleEarly, before the buses. Walk the loop through the cedars behind the temple.
- ↓ 7 min by road · 3 km10:30Manu TempleThe lane above Old Manali is steep; twenty minutes up on foot.
- ↓ a short walk12:00Old ManaliLunch, then the stone houses at the top of the village.
- ↓ 9 min by road · 5 km15:30Vashisht TempleThe hot-spring tanks inside the courtyard; a towel and modest swimwear.
- ↓ 6 min by road · 3 km18:00Mall RoadThe evening walk; buy tomorrow's warm layers here if you came without them.
Day 2
Up to Rohtang
A long day and a high one — the pass is 3,978 m. Permit booked in advance, breakfast before six, warm clothes whatever the town feels like.
- 07:00KothiThe last village before the climb; tea and the view down the gorge.
- ↓ 17 min by road · 9 km08:00GulabaThe permit check and, in the shoulder months, the snow line. If the road is shut above here, this is the day's high point.
- ↓ 24 min by road · 13 km09:00MarhiThe dhaba stop where the road levels out; the meadow behind it is the walk while the driver rests.
- ↓ 31 min by road · 17 km10:30Rohtang PassTwo hours at most — the air is thin and the wind is cold. Turn back by one so the queue down is behind you.
Day 3
Naggar and the old capital
A lower, slower day after the pass. The castle, the village below it, and a waterfall on the way home.
- 10:00Naggar CastleTea on the terrace, the timber-and-stone construction, the small temple in the courtyard.
- ↓ a short walk12:00NaggarWalk down through the orchards to the old temples rather than driving.
- ↓ 1 h 13 min by road · 43 km15:30Rehala FallsA roadside cascade below Marhi's road on the way back; ten minutes and a photograph.
Day 4
Waterfalls and the sanctuary
The last day is on foot — two walks that start within a short drive of the bus stand.
- 08:30Upper Jogini FallsThe path starts behind Vashisht village and climbs through orchards. Turn back at the lower fall if you are short of time.
- ↓ 18 min by road · 9 km13:00Anjani MahadevA shrine under a rock overhang above Solang; the walk in is the reason to go.
- ↓ 24 min by road · 12 km16:00Manali SanctuaryThe forest above town, from the gate near the Hadimba temple; an hour among old deodars before dark.
Getting there
Arrive the evening before day one if you can — an overnight bus from Delhi's ISBT Kashmere Gate reaches the Manali bus stand in the morning, which works too, as long as day one stays a walking day. From Chandigarh it is 264 km by road; from Bhuntar airport, 49 km and about an hour. Book the Rohtang permit online through the district administration's portal as soon as your dates are fixed; the daily number is capped.
Where to stay
Old Manali for the walking day and the evenings; the Solang road (Palchan, Kothi) if you have a car and want the pass drive to start twenty minutes shorter. Our stays list both, the cafés page shows breakfast before six, and the map shows each one against the Rohtang road; the treks page has Beas Kund and Hampta if you stay on. Ask the stay to fix the day-two taxi — a driver who has done the pass this week knows where the road is actually open.
Know before you go
- Rohtang permits are issued online, per vehicle, with a daily cap; apply the day your dates are fixed, not the day before.
- Leave by six for the pass. The check post at Gulaba is the bottleneck, and the queue down after one o'clock is the worst part of the day.
- Take warm clothes and a windproof layer even in June. The town is 2,050 m; the pass is nearly two kilometres higher and the wind never stops.
- Eat at Marhi on the way down, not the way up; the dhabas are empty at nine and full at two.
- Day three is deliberately slow. If the pass day went well, do not add Solang to it — keep the afternoon for the walk down through Naggar.
- The Jogini path is unmarked in places. Ask at the last house in Vashisht which way, and do not start it after three in winter.
- Carry cash. Card machines above Solang and at the pass stop working when the power does.
If plans change
If Rohtang is closed or the permit fails: day two becomes the Atal Tunnel to Sissu — 39 km and about an hour each way, no permit, open in every month — with the same early start and the same warm clothes.
If it rains on day four: swap the two walks for the Club House and the museum near the temple, and keep the sanctuary for a dry hour before dark.
If you have a fifth day: rest in Old Manali, or go down the valley to the Bijli Mahadev temple above Kullu — a real climb, half a day on its own.
Places on this route
Manu Temple, Old Manali
temple · 3 min from Manali
Naggar Castle
fort · 31 min from Manali
Old Manali
area · 5 min from Manali
Rohtang Pass
pass · 1 h 29 min from Manali
Jogini Falls
waterfall · 8 min from Manali
Vashisht Temple and hot springs
temple · 6 min from Manali
Anjani Mahadev
temple · 23 min from Manali
Gulaba
pass · 35 min from Manali
Mall Road, Manali
area · 3 min from Manali
Manali Sanctuary
park · 1 min from Manali
Rehala Falls
waterfall · 47 min from Manali
Kothi
town · 21 min from Manali
Marhi
town · 59 min from Manali
Other ways to do it
All Manali itineraries →
1 night · 2 days · First visitClassicManali in two days — the first time
A two-day Manali plan for a first visit: the temples and Old Manali on foot, then Solang in the morning and Naggar Castle after lunch. No permit, no pass.
Best Mar–Jun · Sep–Nov
See the plan →Day plan · First visitClassicOne 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
See the plan →
1 night · 2 days · Slow travelWaterfallsWaterfalls 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
See the plan →Questions people ask
When is Rohtang Pass open?
The pass road is open roughly from May to November and closed by snow the rest of the year; the exact dates move with the season and the Border Roads clearing schedule. Outside those months the Atal Tunnel to Sissu is the high drive instead, and it needs no permit and is open all year.
How do I get a Rohtang permit?
Permits are issued online by the Kullu district administration for a named vehicle on a given date, and the daily number is capped. Apply as soon as your dates are fixed, keep the printout or the screenshot for the check post at Gulaba, and if your dates slip, apply again rather than trying your luck at the barrier.
Is four days too long for Manali?
Not with this shape: one day in town, one high day, one slow day and one walking day, each different from the last. It is too long only if you spend it in one place; the valley rewards a different direction each morning, and four days is the first length that allows that.
Can children do the Rohtang day?
Older children usually enjoy it; small children feel the altitude and the cold and get bored in the queues. If you are travelling with under-fives, do Sissu through the tunnel instead — the same snow and mountains at a lower height, a shorter drive, and a village with tea at the end.
What does the four-day plan cost?
The variable costs are the taxi days — the pass day is the expensive one — and the stay. We list stays with their real nightly rates and show typical local prices for activities as bands, checked on a date, because operators quote on the day. The walking days cost nothing beyond lunch.