Atal Tunnel
road · 43 min from Manali
2 nights · 3 daysCouplesClassicrelaxed
Manali in spring — three days of blossom below and snow above
Three days in Manali in March and April: the empty town, the hot springs, the tunnel to a Sissu still under snow, Naggar's orchards in blossom. No crowd.
Spring is Manali's best-kept season. From March into April the orchards below the town come into flower, the valley floor is green, the high meadows are still under snow, Rohtang is shut and the tunnel is open. So Sissu is white while Naggar is in blossom, an hour apart. The June crowd has not arrived, the guesthouses are cheap, and the walks are dry.
This plan takes the three days in that order: the town while it is empty, the tunnel to a valley still in winter, and the left bank while the orchards flower. Nothing here needs a permit, and the only thing that might close is the road above Solang for a morning after a late snowfall.
Photos: Sanu N (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Akshat Sharma (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Anshul24Sharma (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Donvikro (CC BY-SA 4.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
Who this is for
Couples and anyone who wants the valley to themselves; photographers, for whom the blossom-below-snow-above fortnight is the year's best; people with flexible dates who can choose March or April over May. Not for anyone who wants the pass, which is shut, or the flying and rafting at full tilt, which begin later.
Day by day
Day 1
The grove, the park, the hot water
The town in blossom weather — days around 17 °C in March, 21 °C in April — and nobody about.
- 09:00Hadimba Devi TempleThe cedar grove without a queue; spring is the emptiest season at the temple.
- ↓ 6 min by road · 2 km11:00Van ViharThe deodar park by the Beas, which is rising with the first melt; a bench in the sun.
- ↓ 6 min by road · 3 km15:30Vashisht TempleThe hot baths while the afternoon is still cool; the village orchards are in flower above.
Day 2
Through the tunnel to a valley still in winter
The pass is shut until May; the tunnel puts the snow an hour away.
- 08:30Nehru KundTen minutes at the spring; the valley ahead is green below and white above.
- ↓ 36 min by road · 22 km09:15Atal Tunnel8.8 km under the ridge; no permit, open all year; the change at the north portal is sharpest in spring.
- ↓ 11 min by road · 10 km10:00SissuStill under snow in March, often in April: the meadow, the lake, the roofs. Lunch at a dhaba, back through the tunnel by two.
Day 3
Blossom on the left bank
Naggar's orchards flower in April; the castle terrace looks over all of it.
- 10:00Naggar CastleThe rajas' castle from around 1460; tea on the terrace above orchards in flower.
- ↓ a short walk12:00NaggarDown through the blossom to the temples and lunch in the village.
- ↓ 8 min by road · 4 km14:30Gaurishankar templeOn the way back up the valley, a walk of about 31 min up to a hill temple with the valley below; about 19 min down.
Getting there
The overnight bus from Delhi, 513 km, runs half-empty in spring; the drive from Chandigarh is 264 km and about 289 min on dry roads with no traffic to speak of. Bhuntar airport, 49 km away, has its best weather of the year. A taxi for two half days covers days two and three.
Where to stay
Old Manali, which reopens through March as the cafés come back and is at its quietest in April; or Naggar for the last night, under the castle among the flowering orchards. Our stays page shows what is open and what it costs — spring rates are the year's lowest outside the monsoon.
Know before you go
- Leave later in the morning on the tunnel day if it snowed overnight; the road above Solang is cleared after each fall.
- Sissu holds snow into April; Solang usually does not. If you want snow underfoot, it is the tunnel, not the meadow.
- The orchards at Naggar flower in April; in early March the blossom is lower down the valley, around Kullu and Patlikuhl.
- The Jogini path is dry and the water is full in spring — swap the Gaurishankar walk for it if you have already seen Naggar.
- A fleece and a shell: days are mild, evenings are cold, and Sissu is winter.
- Cash for the dhabas at Sissu and the temple lanes; the machines drop with the power.
If plans change
If the tunnel road is shut for the morning: Solang and the walk to Anjani Mahadev, then the tunnel after lunch when the plough has been through.
If you want a walk on day one: Jogini Falls from Vashisht, about 46 min up, is at its best in spring.
With a fourth day: the sanctuary path before breakfast and nothing after — the slow plan is the shape.
Places on this route
Hadimba Devi Temple
temple · 1 min from Manali
Naggar Castle
fort · 31 min from Manali
Vashisht Temple and hot springs
temple · 6 min from Manali
Sissu
town · 54 min from Manali
Nehru Kund
hotspring · 8 min from Manali
Van Vihar
park · 3 min from Manali
Gaurishankar temple walk, Dasal
temple · 24 min from Manali
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See the plan →Questions people ask
Is March or April a good time to visit Manali?
One of the best, and the least booked. Days are around 17 °C in March and 21 °C in April, nights are cold but above freezing, the orchards flower, the high meadows are still white, and the summer crowd has not come. The pass is shut, but the tunnel puts snow at Sissu an hour away.
Is there snow in Manali in March?
Not in the town, which is green and mild by March; on the far side of the tunnel at Sissu, yes, usually into April, and on the pass road above Gulaba, which is closed. Solang's meadow is brown by March in most years. For snow in spring, take the tunnel.
Is Rohtang Pass open in April?
No. The pass opens around May once the winter's snow is cut through, and stays shut until then; the district administration announces the date each year. In March and April the Atal Tunnel is the only way over the ridge, and it needs no permit.
What is Manali like in spring compared with June?
Quieter, cheaper and greener, with snow still on the high ground. June has the pass open and everything running at full tilt, and the crowd and the prices to match. Spring has the town to yourself, the orchards in flower and the tunnel to Sissu; it lacks only the pass and the flying at its busiest.