Hadimba Devi Temple
temple · 1 min from Manali
6 nights · 7 daysWorkationClassicrelaxed
A week's workation in Manali — work the days, use the ends
Seven days in Manali with a laptop: five weekdays at a desk in Old Manali with the forest, hot springs and grove in the breaks, then Solang and Naggar.
Manali works as a place to work from for the same reasons it works as a place to rest: the town is small, the sights are minutes away rather than hours, and the mornings and evenings are the best part of the day anyway. This plan keeps the five weekdays for the desk and spends their edges: a forest walk at lunch, the hot springs at five, the grove and the museum in a two-hour break. The weekend goes to the two drives that need a whole day.
The base is Old Manali, where the cafés have plugs and the guesthouses have desks, and where nothing in the plan is more than ten minutes from the laptop until Saturday.
Photos: Donvikro (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Nrr1729 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Michael Goodine (CC BY 4.0) · Vyacheslav Argenberg (CC BY 4.0) · Vyacheslav Argenberg (CC BY 4.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
Who this is for
Remote workers with a week and a laptop; couples where one is working; anyone who wants to live in the valley for a week rather than tour it. Not for anyone who needs a guaranteed connection for a full day of video calls — the power and the network drop in the town, and the plan assumes a morning off is survivable.
Day by day
Day 1
Arrive, settle, find the desk
The overnight bus arrives early; the first day is for the room, the café with the plug, and one walk.
- 09:00Old ManaliBreakfast on a roof, then the guesthouse; the cafés with reliable power and a corner to work in are on the lane.
- ↓ a short walk17:30Club HouseThe riverside lawns after the first day's work; tea by the Manalsu.
Day 2
Work; the forest at lunch
An hour under trees between calls.
- 13:00Manali SanctuaryThe deodar path from the gate a few minutes from the lane; an hour, back for the afternoon.
Day 3
Work; hot water at the end
Across the river when the laptop closes.
- 17:00Vashisht TempleThe hot baths as the day cools; the village lane and dinner after.
Day 4
Work; the grove and the museum at lunch
Two hours off at Dhungri, ten minutes from the desk.
- 12:30Hadimba Devi TempleThe cedar grove in the midday quiet; the loop behind the temple.
- ↓ a short walk13:30Museum of Himachal Culture and Folk ArtAn hour under a roof next door; the house models and masks.
Day 5
Work; the park at the end
The town's park by the river, then the Mall.
Day 6
The weekend — the meadow and the shrine
The first day off. Early, before the meadow fills.
- 08:00SolangThe meadow 12 km up the valley; the flying in season, the ropeway if it runs.
- 10:30Anjani MahadevThe walk to the shrine under the rock, about 46 min up at an easy pace.
Day 7
The weekend — down the valley for lunch
The old capital and a dhaba village; back for the last night.
- 10:30Naggar CastleThe castle terrace over the valley; the courtyards and the gallery above.
- ↓ 24 min by road · 13 km13:30Jana water fallsUp the side valley for a late lunch at the dhabas — siddu and trout — with the falls behind.
Getting there
The overnight bus from Delhi, 513 km, arrives early on the first day; from Chandigarh, 264 km and about 289 min. Bhuntar airport is 49 km and about 62 min away for a fly-in Sunday. The weekdays need no transport; the weekend needs a taxi for two half days.
Where to stay
Old Manali, in a guesthouse with a desk, a window and a generator or inverter — ask. Weekly rates are the norm and are negotiable outside May and June. Our stays page lists places we know with what they cost, and the cafés page shows which have the plugs and the power.
Know before you go
- Ask two things before booking the room: whether there is an inverter, and what the connection actually is. Power and network both drop in the town.
- A mobile hotspot from a second network is the backup; the town has coverage from more than one.
- Take the lunch walk every day. The sanctuary path is an hour from the door and it is why you came.
- The Vashisht baths at five are free and separate for men and women; a towel in the bag.
- Weekly rates for rooms and for the café's corner are normal; ask for them rather than paying by the day.
- Book the Saturday taxi on Friday evening at the union stand beside the bus stand; the rate is posted by the day.
- Paragliding at Solang is typically ₹3,000–5,000 for a tandem flight (as of Sep 2026), quoted on the day; fly early, ask for the receipt, check the harness.
If plans change
If the weekend wants snow: the tunnel to Sissu in place of Solang — an hour each way, no permit, white for half the year.
If the week is in the monsoon: the monsoon plan has the wet-weather version of the edges; the desk stays the same.
If you have two weeks: the second weekend is the Beas Kund trek or a night at Naggar.
Places on this route
Naggar Castle
fort · 31 min from Manali
Old Manali
area · 5 min from Manali
Solang
town · 21 min from Manali
Vashisht Temple and hot springs
temple · 6 min from Manali
Anjani Mahadev
temple · 23 min from Manali
Jana Falls
waterfall · 53 min from Manali
Mall Road, Manali
area · 3 min from Manali
Manali Sanctuary
park · 1 min from Manali
Club House, Manali
park · 4 min from Manali
Museum of Himachal Culture and Folk Art
museum · 5 min from Manali
Van Vihar
park · 3 min from Manali
Other ways to do it
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See the plan →Questions people ask
Is Manali good for a workation?
Yes, with two caveats. Power and network both drop in the town, so the room needs an inverter and you need a second network as a hotspot. And May and June are crowded and expensive, so the calm months — March to April and September to November — are the ones to work from. Old Manali has the cafés with plugs.
Where should I stay in Manali for remote work?
Old Manali, in a guesthouse with a desk, a window and an inverter, near the cafés on the lane that have reliable power and a corner to work in. Vashisht is the cheaper alternative with the hot baths at the door. Weekly rates are normal and negotiable outside the peak; ask for them.
Is the internet in Manali reliable enough for video calls?
Usually, not always. Fibre and mobile coverage reach the town and Old Manali from more than one network, and most cafés and guesthouses have a connection that carries a call; the drops come with the power, which goes for an hour at a time. Keep a hotspot on a second network and expect a morning off in a week.
How do I use the weekend on a Manali workation?
Give it the two drives that need a whole day: Solang and the shrine walk on the Saturday, early before the meadow fills, and Naggar Castle with lunch at the Jana Falls dhabas on the Sunday. Or the tunnel to Sissu for snow. The weekdays' edges — forest, hot springs, grove — are all within ten minutes of the desk.