Himachal Pradesh

Himachal is two states pretending to be one, and which half you choose decides what kind of trip you get. The western side — Shimla, Manali, Dharamshala, Dalhousie — is green, forested, well served and busy. Roads are open most of the year and the hill stations have been taking visitors since the British built them. This is where you go for a comfortable week in the mountains. The eastern side — Kinnaur, Spiti, Lahaul — is high-altitude cold desert, and it is a different proposition entirely. Bare rock, thousand-year-old monasteries, villages at four thousand metres, and roads that close with snow for half the year. It needs more days, more tolerance for discomfort, and real attention to altitude. If you have a week, do the west. If you have twelve days and want the trip you will still be talking about, go Shimla to Kinnaur to Spiti and out over Kunzum La to Manali — that direction, because it gains height gradually. March to June and September to November for the west. June to early October for the high passes. The Atal Tunnel has made Lahaul a year-round day trip from Manali, which is new.