Spellbinding Shimla Kullu Manali Package From Chennai by Flight 6 Days & 5 Nights

A Chennai traveller has one real question before booking a Himachal trip: how do I get there, and what does it actually cost once the flight is added. Here is the whole answer in one place.

This is a fixed 5N/6D circuit built for travellers flying up from Chennai. You land in the hills, hand the driving to a private cab, and cover the three names every first Himachal trip is about: Shimla for the colonial ridge and Kufri, the Kullu valley on the drive across, and Manali for Solang Valley and the Atal Tunnel side. Because there is no direct flight from Chennai to the mountains, the sections below give you the exact routing, a real airfare band, and a day-by-day plan so you can price the whole trip, not just the land package.

Your 6-day Shimla Kullu Manali itinerary

Day 1 | Arrive Shimla and settle into the ridge

Fly Chennai to Chandigarh in the morning and your private cab meets you for the 113 km, roughly 3.5 to 4 hour drive up to Shimla. If you route through Delhi instead, the transfer is longer, so an early flight matters. Check in, then walk the Mall Road and the Ridge in the late afternoon when the light is best over Christ Church. If your legs are up to it after the flight, the short climb to Jakhoo Temple gives you the whole valley at sunset. Dinner is at the hotel. Keep this day light. You have been travelling since morning and Shimla sits at about 2,200 m, so let the altitude settle.

Day 2 | Day trip to Kufri

After breakfast, drive out to Kufri, an easy 13 km from Shimla at around 2,500 m. This is the snow and adventure point of the Shimla district. You can take the pony ride or the walk up to Mahasu Peak for the panorama, and the Himalayan Nature Park nearby is a quiet stop for families with children. Kufri Fun World has the go-karts and the small rides if you are travelling with kids. Photographers should keep an hour for Fagu on the way back, a wide green bowl of apple orchards. Return to Shimla by evening for a second night, with dinner at the hotel.

Day 3 | Shimla to Manali across the Kullu valley

Check out after breakfast for the long, scenic drive to Manali, about 250 km and 7 to 8 hours with photo stops. The road runs down to the Sutlej, then follows the Beas river through Sundernagar, Mandi and into the Kullu valley. Break the drive at Kullu for a riverside chai, and if you have booked it, this is where white water rafting on the Beas happens near Pirdi. Naggar Castle, the old stone fort of the Kullu kings, sits just off the route between Kullu and Manali and is worth 30 minutes if the day is running on time. Reach Manali by evening, check in, and rest for the days ahead.

Day 4 | Manali local sightseeing

A full day among Manali's own sights. Start at the Hidimba Devi Temple, a 500 year old cedar-wood shrine set in a deodar forest, then walk over to the Manu Temple in Old Manali, dedicated to the sage Manu and the reason the town carries its name. Cross the river to Vashisht for the natural hot springs and the stone temple, a good soak after two days on the road. The afternoon is for the Mall Road, the Tibetan Monastery and the Club House. This is a relaxed, walkable day, so keep it for slow coffee and the shops selling Kullu shawls and Himachali caps.

Day 5 | Solang Valley and the Atal Tunnel side

The adventure day. Drive 14 km to Solang Valley for paragliding, zorbing, the ropeway and, in winter, skiing on the snow. From Solang the road climbs to the Atal Tunnel, at 9.02 km one of the highest highway tunnels in the world, which drops you into the Lahaul valley at Sissu with its waterfall and open meadows. This is the modern must-do that most Chennai itineraries still miss. If Rohtang Pass is open and you have arranged the permit, that is the alternative high-altitude option, weather permitting. Back in Manali by evening for your last mountain night.

Day 6 | Manali departure and fly home to Chennai

Breakfast, then check out for the journey back. If your flight is from Chandigarh, the drive down is about 310 km and 8 to 9 hours along the Beas, so book an evening or next-morning flight and pad the day for traffic near Mandi. If you are flying from Bhuntar (Kullu-Manali airport), it is only about 50 km, roughly 1.5 hours, though the connections are limited and weather-dependent. Your private cab handles the transfer either way. This is why the trip needs about seven days door to door even though the land package is 5N/6D. Land back in Chennai the same evening or the following morning.

How to reach Shimla and Manali from Chennai by flight

There is no direct flight from Chennai to Himachal, so every from-Chennai trip is really a flight to a gateway airport plus a mountain road transfer. Here are the three ways that work, fastest first.

Airfare is the number no other page on this route will give you. As a real planning band, a return ticket from Chennai to Chandigarh or Delhi runs about Rs 11,000 to Rs 20,000 per person, cheaper the earlier you book and off the summer peak. That is on top of the Rs 13,999 land package, so a two-person trip lands around Rs 50,000 to Rs 68,000 all in before shopping and adventure add-ons. Fares move with season and how early you book, so check the live band when you confirm. The private cab in your package covers the airport-to-hotel transfer at both ends, so you are not arranging local taxis after a long flight.

For a wider set of Himachal options from your city, see all Himachal tour packages from Chennai.

Best time to visit and to book from Chennai

March to June is the comfortable window: Shimla and Manali sit at 10 to 25 degrees C while Chennai bakes, which is exactly why the route sells. December to February is for snow at Kufri and Solang, colder and with the odd road closure, but magical if that is what you have flown up for. July and August bring the monsoon and landslide risk on the ghat roads, so most Chennai families avoid it. Book your flights four to six weeks ahead for the sane fares, and lock the land package early for the April to June rush.

Month-by-month detail lives on our full Himachal travel guide.

What is included and what is not

Cancellation and refund policy

Because this package is customized with you before you pay, the exact terms are confirmed on your quote. As a general guide, cancellations more than 30 days before departure carry the lowest charge, cancellations 15 to 30 days out attract a partial charge, and cancellations inside 15 days are non-refundable on the hotel and transport already blocked in the hills. Refunds are processed to the original payment method within a set number of working days. Flight tickets, once issued, follow the airline's own rules and are refunded only to the extent the airline allows. Confirm your specific window and refund timeline with your trip coordinator before you pay.

Know before you book and what to carry

•Photo ID for every traveller. Domestic travellers need no permit for Himachal itself, only for Rohtang Pass if you go up.

•Warm layers even in summer. Evenings at 2,200 to 2,500 m are cold after a Chennai afternoon. Add a heavy jacket, gloves and a cap for December to February.

•Comfortable walking shoes with grip for Kufri, Solang and the temple climbs, and a light raincoat in the monsoon months.

•Motion-sickness tablets for the long Shimla to Manali and Manali to Chandigarh drives on winding ghat roads.

•Cash for the ropeway, pony rides and adventure counters at Solang, which do not always take cards.

•Book adventure activities and the Rohtang permit in advance in peak season, when same-day slots run out.

Why book this Chennai trip with TravelTriangle

TravelTriangle has served 19,707 plus travellers to Himachal, matched through a network of 650 plus verified local agents who live and drive these routes every season. Every itinerary is fully customizable, so you can add a Rohtang day, upgrade the Manali hotel, or shift the flight gateway to suit your fares. Prices are transparent, the cab is private the whole way, and support runs before and during the trip. For a Chennai family flying 2,500 km to the mountains, the value is a single coordinated plan: flights advice, hotels, transfers and sightseeing sorted before you leave, not pieced together on arrival.

Ready to plan your trip

Tell us your travel dates and preferred flight gateway and we will tailor this Shimla Kullu Manali route to your budget. Compare more Himachal packages from Chennai or request a custom quote for this 5N/6D trip.

Edited by TravelTriangle