Experience the best of Manali

Manali lies at about 2,000 metres in the Kullu Valley, where the Beas River runs between pine and deodar forests and apple orchards. Old Manali, a village of wooden houses, lies a short way north of the newer town. Hadimba Temple, a pagoda-style wooden shrine dating from 1553 among tall cedars, is dedicated to Hidimba, a figure from the Mahabharata.

Vashisht, a village across the Beas, has hot springs and old stone temples, while Solang Valley, to the north, is a meadow used for skiing in winter and paragliding in summer. The road climbs towards Rohtang Pass, and the Atal Tunnel beneath it leads into the high-desert valley of Lahaul. Naggar Castle and the Roerich art gallery lie down the valley, and the Parvati Valley and Manikaran's hot springs are within reach.

Himachali cooking features dham, a festive meal of rice, lentils and yoghurt dishes served on leaf plates, and siddu, steamed wheat bread stuffed with poppy seed or walnut, alongside trout from the Beas and Tibetan momos and thukpa in the cafés. Spring and early summer bring green valleys, snow falls in winter, and the monsoon months of July and August are wet.