MANALI

Although, technically a town, Manali is easily up there as one of the best places to visit in India. Manali boasts some absolutely stunning cascading waterfalls along with rather lush plants and interesting wildlife. Manali is one of those places in India that will totally take you by surprise and challenge your pre-conceived notion of India starting with snow-capped mountains (the Himalayas are here you see), green valleys, and towering waterfalls. My unexpected love affair with Manali, India’s summer queen, started when I arrived there for a day to travel to Spiti the next morning. Though the counter at the HRTC bus stands and the many travel agents in Manali told me that the road to Spiti wasn’t open yet, I shuttled between the tour agencies that fringed the rickety lanes of Old Manali until I found one who understood that I wouldn’t take no for an answer. But on that one day that I spent in old Manali, I walked in the colorful old market of Manali that is catered to please the ones on the Hummus trail, got enticed by small coffee and confectionary shops right in the middle of a tiny street lined with guesthouses, the green hills around Manali called me to walk along them, the various local dishes sizzling out of Manali restaurants’ kitchens made me hungry, while the Manaslu and the Beas river flowed in all glory.