Atal Tunnel
road · 43 min from Manali
2 nights · 3 daysSlow travelAutumnbalanced
Manali in November — three days between autumn and the first snow
Three days in Manali in November: the quiet town in low clear light, the pass in its last open days or the tunnel to a wintry Sissu, the last colour at Naggar.
November is Manali's hinge month. The first half is October's tail: clear skies, days around 17 °C, the poplars still gold at Naggar, the pass usually open until the middle of the month. The second half is the start of winter: nights near freezing, the pass shut after the first heavy snow, the ridge white, the tunnel road the only way over, and Sissu already deep in its season. Which November you get depends on the week.
This plan is written for either. The town on the first day in the low clear light. The pass on the second if it is open and the tunnel to Sissu if it is not, decided at breakfast. The left bank on the third for the last of the colour. Nothing needs booking except the pass permit, and only if the pass is still open.
Photos: Pbhuker007 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Vyacheslav Argenberg (CC BY 4.0) · Anshul24Sharma (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Itsarti (CC BY-SA 4.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
Who this is for
Anyone who wants the clear skies of autumn and does not mind the cold coming in; photographers; couples who want the valley quiet; anyone whose dates fall in the fortnight after Diwali. Not for anyone who needs the pass guaranteed — it is not, in November — or the treks, which have closed.
Day by day
Day 1
The grove and the old village in the low sun
Days around 17 °C, nights near freezing, the light low and clear; the town is quiet.
- 09:30Hadimba Devi TempleThe cedar grove in November light; no queue.
- ↓ 6 min by road · 2 km11:30Old ManaliHalf the cafés are still open, the orchards are bare, the lane is quiet; a long lunch in the sun.
- ↓ a short walk14:00Manu TempleUp through the village to the shrine at the top; the ridge behind it is white by now.
- ↓ 10 min by road · 5 km16:00Vashisht TempleThe hot baths as the afternoon cools fast; the best hour of the month.
Day 2
The pass in its last days, or the tunnel in its first winter
Early November the pass is often still open; after the first heavy snow it is the tunnel. Decide on the morning.
- 08:30GulabaThe meadow where the road leaves the forest; if the pass is open, the checkpost and on; if not, the first snow is here.
- ↓ 50 min by road · 29 km10:00Atal TunnelThe all-year way over the ridge; no permit. Through to Lahaul, which is already winter.
- ↓ 11 min by road · 10 km10:45SissuSnow on the roofs, the waterfall freezing at the edges, the village quiet; lunch at a dhaba and back by three.
Day 3
Down the valley for the last of the colour
The poplars at Naggar hold their colour into early November; by the end of the month the valley is bare and clear.
- 10:00Naggar CastleThe balconies over a valley going from gold to bare; tea on the terrace in the sun.
- ↓ 24 min by road · 13 km12:30Jana water fallsUp the side valley for lunch at the dhabas — siddu, trout — with the falls thinner and clearer than in summer.
Getting there
The overnight bus from Delhi, 513 km, is quiet in November and the plains are still fog-free in the early hours. From Chandigarh, 264 km and about 289 min on dry roads. Bhuntar airport, 49 km away, has good weather most of the month. A taxi for two half days; the pass day, if it happens, needs a full-day car with a permit.
Where to stay
Old Manali while the cafés are still open, which in early November is most of them; by the end of the month check that your guesthouse is one that stays open and has a heater. Naggar for the last night is lower and warmer. Our stays page shows what is open and what it costs.
Know before you go
- Check the pass on the morning of day two. The district administration announces the closure; the taxi stand knows before it does.
- If the pass is open, book the permit the evening before; November weekends are quiet and it will not sell out.
- Nights drop to freezing by the second half of the month; a real jacket, and a room with a heater.
- The Jogini path holds ice in the shade from late November; walk it at midday or leave it for spring.
- Naggar's colour is best in the first ten days; after that the valley is bare and the sky is the thing.
- Cash for the dhabas at Sissu and Jana; the machines drop with the power.
If plans change
If the pass is open and you want it: give it the whole of day two — Gulaba, tea at Marhi, the top — and do the tunnel to Sissu another time.
If it snows in the town: the sanctuary path and the grove in the snow, then the springs; drop the drive.
With a fourth day: the Solang meadow and the walk to Anjani Mahadev, before the road above Solang starts to close for mornings.
Places on this route
Hadimba Devi Temple
temple · 1 min from Manali
Manu Temple, Old Manali
temple · 3 min from Manali
Naggar Castle
fort · 31 min from Manali
Old Manali
area · 5 min from Manali
Vashisht Temple and hot springs
temple · 6 min from Manali
Gulaba
pass · 35 min from Manali
Jana Falls
waterfall · 53 min from Manali
Sissu
town · 54 min from Manali
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See the plan →Questions people ask
Is November a good time to visit Manali?
Yes, for clear skies and a quiet valley, with one caveat: it is the hinge between autumn and winter, and the two halves of the month are different trips. Early November has days around 17 °C, the pass usually open and the poplars gold; late November has nights at freezing, the pass shut and snow on the ridge.
Is Rohtang Pass open in November?
Usually until around the middle of the month, when the first heavy snow closes it for the winter; the district administration announces the date. Do not plan a November trip around the pass. The Atal Tunnel is open all year and puts Sissu, already in winter, an hour away with no permit.
Is there snow in Manali in November?
On the ridge, yes, from the first falls of the month; on the far side of the tunnel at Sissu, usually by the second half; in the town itself, rarely — the snow on the streets is a December thing. Gulaba on the pass road catches the first snow on the Manali side after the pass closes.
What is Manali like after Diwali?
Quiet. The autumn crowd has gone, the cafés in Old Manali are still mostly open, rooms are at off-season rates, and the sky is the clearest of the year. It is the fortnight this plan is written for — the last of the colour at Naggar, the pass if it is still open, the tunnel if it is not.