CityDekho
Old Manali

Old Manali

village · Himachal Pradesh

Old Manali is the laid-back, bohemian counterpart to Manali town — a riverside cluster of guesthouses, cafes and orchards above the Manalsu stream.

State
Himachal Pradesh
Type
Village
Best season
Summer
Things to do
2+

Old Manali is the laid-back, bohemian counterpart to Manali town — a riverside cluster of guesthouses, cafes and orchards above the Manalsu stream. While Manali proper is a busy hill-station hub, Old Manali draws backpackers and long-stay travellers with its slower pace, music cafes and mountain-village feel. It works as both a chilled base and an adventure springboard, with the Hampta Pass, Solang Valley and Jogini Falls within easy reach. Cobbled lanes lined with German bakeries, hostels and gear shops make it a favourite first stop for those heading deeper into Himachal or up to Spiti and Leh.

When to go

March to June for pleasant weather, October to November for clear autumn days. Winter brings snow and a cosy cafe scene.

Why visit

A bohemian riverside village with cafes, hostels and easy access to big Himalayan adventures, minus the crowds of main Manali. Great for backpackers, long stays and trip springboards.

Cultural notes

Manali sits in the Kullu Valley, rich in Himachali temple traditions like the Hadimba and Manu temples, overlaid with a long-running international traveller culture in the old village.

How to reach

Nearest airport: Bhuntar (50 km). Overnight Volvo buses run from Delhi and Chandigarh to Manali; Old Manali is a short cab/auto ride from the main bus stand.

3 days in Old Manali

Take the whole plan, or add any single stop.

Day 1

Day 1

Manu Maharishi temple

Manu Maharishi temple

Day 1

Old Manali café lanes

Old Manali café lanes

Day 1

Hadimba cedar temple & Van Vihar

Hadimba cedar temple & Van Vihar

Day 2

Day 2

Jogini waterfall hike via Vashisht

Jogini waterfall hike via Vashisht

Day 2

Vashisht hot-spring temple

Vashisht hot-spring temple

Day 2

Riverside sunset

Riverside sunset

Day 3

Day 3

Solang valley activities

Solang valley activities

Day 3

Atal Tunnel crossing

Atal Tunnel crossing

Day 3

Sissu waterfall & Lahaul views

Sissu waterfall & Lahaul views

Old Manali guide & itineraries

Old Manali is perfect for

backpackercouplesnature

Popular attractions

The places in Old Manali most people come for.

Jogini Falls Trail

Jogini Falls Trail

Experience

Old Manali Cafe Strip

Old Manali Cafe Strip

Food

See all attractions

Reviews & ratings

What travellers say about Old Manali

CityDekho traveller reviews

★★★★★★★★★★

No CityDekho reviews yet

Be the first traveller to review this place.

Sign in to write a review

Community

Ask questions and share tips about Old Manali

Sign in to ask a question or share a tip about Old Manali.

Loading…

Been to Old Manali?

Write what you would tell a friend — where you stayed, what you would skip, the thing you wish somebody had mentioned before you went. We read every submission before it goes up.

Share your story

More hill stations you'll love

More places you'll love

Arunachal Pradesh

Mechuka

Mechuka (Menchukha) is a remote, wide-floored valley in the Shi Yomi district of Arunachal Pradesh near the border, ringed by pine-clad mountains at around 1,900 metres. Long isolated and only recently opened to travellers, it is home to Memba and Tibetan Buddhist culture and the centuries-old Samten Yongcha monastery.

Sikkim

Yumthang Valley

Yumthang Valley, often called the Valley of Flowers of Sikkim, is an alpine meadow at around 3,500 metres in North Sikkim. In spring its slopes blaze with rhododendrons and primulas, and there are hot springs, the Shingba Rhododendron Sanctuary, and Zero Point higher up.

Nagaland

Khonoma

Khonoma is a historic Angami Naga village about 20 km from Kohima in Nagaland, celebrated as India's first green village. Famous for community-led conservation, terraced rice fields and a proud history of resistance, it is surrounded by the Khonoma Nature Conservation and Tragopan Sanctuary.

Mizoram

Aizawl

Aizawl, the capital of Mizoram, is a hill city draped across steep ridges at around 1,100 metres. Known for its warm Mizo culture, churches and lively markets, there are long views from Durtlang Hills and landmarks such as Solomon's Temple, all set among green northeastern hills.

Arunachal Pradesh

Bomdila

Bomdila is a scenic Himalayan hill town in the West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh, perched around 2,400 metres with sweeping views of snow-capped peaks. Home to the Monpa people and a large Buddhist monastery, it is a popular stop on the mountain road to Tawang, surrounded by apple orchards and craft centres.

Manipur

Ukhrul

Ukhrul is the highest hill town in Manipur and the home of the Tangkhul Naga people, set among rolling green hills in the state's northeast. It is famous for the rare Shirui Lily, a pinkish-white flower found only on nearby Shirui Peak, along with caves, waterfalls and Tangkhul Naga villages.

Sikkim

Namchi

Namchi, the district headquarters of South Sikkim, is a hill town famed for its giant religious landmarks. It is home to the towering Samdruptse statue of Guru Padmasambhava, the Siddhesvara Dham (Char Dham) pilgrimage complex with replica temples, and sweeping views over tea gardens and the Himalayas.

Sikkim

Lachung

Lachung is a mountain village in North Sikkim at around 2,700 metres, set where the Lachen and Lachung rivers meet amid apple orchards and waterfalls. Home to the Lepcha and Bhutia communities and the century-old Lachung Monastery, it is the main gateway to the flower-filled Yumthang Valley.

Sikkim

Pelling

Pelling is a hill town in western Sikkim known for its close-up views of Kanchenjunga, the world's third-highest peak. Set amid forested ridges, it is a base for the historic Pemayangtse and Sanga Choling monasteries, the ruins of Rabdentse (a former Sikkimese capital), and the dramatic glass Skywalk at Chenrezig.

Tamil Nadu

Coonoor

Coonoor is the second-largest of the Nilgiri hill stations in Tamil Nadu, quieter than neighbouring Ooty and wrapped in rolling tea gardens. Reached by the UNESCO-listed Nilgiri Mountain Railway, it has cool air, old bungalows, Dolphin's Nose and Sim's Park.

Gujarat

Taranga Hills

The Taranga Hills are a rugged sandstone range in the Satlasana area of Mehsana district, part of the old Aravalli system, with jagged cliffs, scrub and caves. They are best known for a well-preserved 12th-century Jain temple set on a high plateau, and for Buddhist rock-cut caves hidden among the surrounding boulders.

Gujarat

Shatrunjaya Hill

Shatrunjaya Hill, near Palitana town in the Bhavnagar district, is a world-famous sacred mountain rising above the Shatrunjaya River. It stands as a unique structural wonder, being the world's only mountain holding a fortified complex of more than 860 carved marble temples built over a millennium. Considered an entirely holy landscape by the Jain community, no vehicles are permitted past the base database, requiring pilgrims and travelers to scale approximately 3,500 stone steps to reach the mountaintop complex.

Trending in Himachal Pradesh

Shimla

Shimla

Shimla, the former summer capital of British India, is one of the country's most popular hill stations. Its colonial Mall Road, the Ridge, Christ Church and the UNESCO-listed Kalka-Shimla toy train make it a perennial favourite in the Himalayan foothills.

Manali

Manali

Manali is really two places, and knowing which one you booked matters more than anything else about the trip. Mall Road Manali is a busy Indian hill-station town — traffic, hotels, shops selling the same shawls. Old Manali, up the hill across the river, is quieter, low-rise and where most people actually want to be. Vashisht, on the other side, has the hot springs and a similar feel. Hadimba temple, in the deodar forest above town, is four hundred years old with a tiered wooden roof and is worth the twenty minutes. Solang and Rohtang are the standard day trips and both are congested in season; Rohtang needs a permit, which is capped daily and must be arranged in advance. The Atal Tunnel changed the geography here. Lahaul, which used to be a full expedition, is now well under an hour away, and going through it for the day gives you a completely different landscape. May and June are the peak and are crowded. October and November are clear, cold and quiet. Do not expect snow in town below about December, whatever the photographs suggest.

Dalhousie

Dalhousie

Dalhousie is a peaceful colonial-era hill station built across five distinct hills of the Dhauladhar mountain range, sitting at an altitude of 1,970 metres. Established in the mid-19th century under the British Raj, the town has systematically preserved its old-world charm, characterized by wide pine-fringed walking loops, traditional stone mansions, and vintage Scottish architecture. Tourism in Dalhousie centers around the historic public squares of Gandhi Chowk and Subhash Chowk, linked by wooded walking paths like Garam Sadak. The town is the quiet alternative to the commercial hill stations, with views of the winding Ravi River and the distant snow-covered peaks of the inner Himalayas.

Bir Billing

Bir Billing

Bir Billing is India's paragliding capital and one of the best free-flight sites in the world, set against the Dhauladhar range in Himachal Pradesh. The twin spots — the take-off at Billing and the landing meadows at Bir — have turned a quiet Tibetan-settlement village into a buzzing hub for adventure seekers, digital nomads and cafe-hoppers. Beyond paragliding, Bir has quietly become a workation favourite, with fast Wi-Fi cafes, co-working stays, Tibetan monasteries, a tea-garden landscape and a thriving long-stay community. It blends adrenaline, Buddhist calm and remote-work comfort in a way few Indian towns do.