Mesmerizing Manali

Tripoto
Day 1

Nestled in the lap of the Himalayas and the heart of the mighty Beas river, the quaint little town of Manali was my dream destination since long. So when my husband planned a three day visit to Manali on our first honeymoon, my joy knew no bounds. Accordingly, we booked a two nights- three days tour package from the Royal Regency hotel, a fabulous hotel located in Manali with awesome service and exquisite interiors.
So finally after a night long journey of about 12 hours from Delhi in an AC volvo bus, we reached the beautiful town of Manali. Since we visited in the month of December, we experienced the beauty of the snow- clad mountains and the minimum  temperature was -4 to -12 degrees. On reaching the hotel, we found out that they had arranged a private car for our first day sight seeing tour.
So after freshening up at the hotel,  we set off for a local sightseeing tour of Manali. We visited the famous Hidimba Devi Temple, an ancient cave temple supposedly believed to be dedicated to Hadimba Devi,  wife of Bhima.  We also explored the beautiful cedar forest surrounding the temple. After visiting the temple, we went to Mall Road,  the main market area of Manali where we walked through the streets exploring varieties of shops and stores. You can look out for certain Govt. Shops in Mall road where varieties of handmade shawls, coats, sweaters, footwear and jewelleries are available at a much cheaper rate.

Photo of Mesmerizing Manali by Dr. Priyanka Goswami
Photo of Mesmerizing Manali by Dr. Priyanka Goswami
Photo of Mesmerizing Manali by Dr. Priyanka Goswami
Photo of Mesmerizing Manali by Dr. Priyanka Goswami
Day 2

Our next day in Manali started with an early morning trip to Solang Valley- a beautiful picturesque place atop the Kullu Valley which is the perfect paradise for enjoying the beauty of the majestic snow-capped Himalayas and also best for adventure seekers as it is famous for offering various activities like paragliding,  skiing,  parachuting, horse riding etc. I had my first skiing experience there which was awesome.  Each activity cost around 500-1000 bucks and a guide was also available. There was also a ropeway cable car ride available for 500 bucks per person from where the entire valley appeared to be clad in a white blanket of snow and the view from the top of the mountain was mesmerizing .  
After spending an entire adventurous and fun filled day in Solang valley,  we finaly returned to our hotel.

Photo of Solang Valley, Burwa, Himachal Pradesh, India by Dr. Priyanka Goswami
Photo of Solang Valley, Burwa, Himachal Pradesh, India by Dr. Priyanka Goswami
Photo of Solang Valley, Burwa, Himachal Pradesh, India by Dr. Priyanka Goswami
Photo of Solang Valley, Burwa, Himachal Pradesh, India by Dr. Priyanka Goswami
Photo of Solang Valley, Burwa, Himachal Pradesh, India by Dr. Priyanka Goswami
Photo of Solang Valley, Burwa, Himachal Pradesh, India by Dr. Priyanka Goswami
Photo of Solang Valley, Burwa, Himachal Pradesh, India by Dr. Priyanka Goswami
Day 3

Since it was our third and last day in Himachal Pradesh,  we wanted to make use the most of it.  So after breakfast at the hotel,  we started an early morning journey in the private car arranged by the hotel towards Kullu-the beautiful picturesque twin town of  Manali. Our driver cum tour guide first took us to the Dhakpo Shedrupling Monastery also known as the Kais Monastery located in Kais village,  a one hour ride from Manali. The atmosphere of the monastery had a peaceful and serene aura about it coupled with the resonating sounds of chants  and hymns by the lamas living there.
After offering our prayers and having basked in the tranquility of the monastery,  we finally set off for our next destination- Pirdi, a small village situated in the Kullu-Manali highway and near the bank of the river Beas, which is considered the oldest and the most amazing river rafting spot. On reaching there,  we had a guide who gave us safety jackets and we embarked on the most thrilling, amazing and crazy rafting ride on the mighty Beas river. There were chills down my spine along with gushing adrenaline as our raft lurched and rocked forward with water splashing on us . After an awesome ride of almost 8 kms, we finally reached the bank safely and thanked our guide profusely. Thereafter we started our journey back to our hotel. 
We spent our last evening at Manali leisurely walking through the streets of Mall Road and finally boarded our bus back to Delhi with a heavy heart and a hope to visit the majestic hills again.

Photo of Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, India by Dr. Priyanka Goswami
Photo of Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, India by Dr. Priyanka Goswami
Photo of Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, India by Dr. Priyanka Goswami
Photo of Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, India by Dr. Priyanka Goswami