Himachal Tour Package: Shimla, Manali, Dharamshala and Dalhousie 9 Days & 8 Nights

Detail	What you get
Duration	8 nights / 9 days
Route	Shimla and Kufri, Manali and Solang, Dharamshala and McLeodganj, Dalhousie and Khajjiar
Starts / ends	Delhi (exit via Pathankot railhead and airport, about 3 hours from Dalhousie)
Hill stations	4 (Shimla, Manali, Dharamshala, Dalhousie) plus Kufri, Solang and Khajjiar day trips
Included	Hotels, daily breakfast and dinner, welcome drink, all transfers and sightseeing by private cab
Best months	March to June and September to November, or December to February for snow
Price	On request. Get a free customised quote (per person, twin-sharing)

Why This 9-Day Circuit is Different

Most Himachal packages make you choose. A short Shimla-Manali trip skips the Kangra and Chamba side of the state entirely, and the deeper Dharamshala-Dalhousie loop rarely leaves room for Manali's snow points. Nine nights on the road is what lets this itinerary do both. You start in colonial Shimla, cross to Manali for the high-altitude adventure belt around Solang, then swing west into the Dhauladhar for McLeodganj's Tibetan quarter and finish among the deodar meadows of Dalhousie and Khajjiar. Four hill stations, three distinct landscapes, one unbroken drive. It is a route the day-count actually earns rather than pads.

Every day of driving is on private transport, so the pace bends to you. Want a slow morning in Old Manali or an extra afternoon at the Dalai Lama temple complex? The plan flexes. For the full state guide, best-time detail and district maps, see the Himachal travel guide. To compare this with shorter trips or other durations, browse all Himachal tour packages.

Trip Highlights

• Kufri high point. Ride the pony trails and, in winter, the ski slope at Kufri, the highest point above Shimla at about 2,720 m.

• Solang adventure belt. Try paragliding, the ropeway and snow rides at Solang Valley, 14 km from Manali, with an optional run through the Atal Tunnel to Sissu (no Rohtang permit needed for the tunnel).

• Hidimba Devi Temple. Visit the cedar-wood Hidimba Devi Temple (1553) set in a forest clearing in Manali.

• Tibetan McLeodganj. Walk McLeodganj's Tsuglagkhang complex, Bhagsu Nag waterfall and the small Dal Lake, under the Dhauladhar wall.

• Khajjiar meadow. Stand in Khajjiar, the saucer-shaped deodar meadow called the mini-Switzerland of India, with the Kalatop sanctuary on the way in.

Day-by-Day Itinerary

Day 1: Arrive in Shimla

Meet your cab at Delhi or fly into Chandigarh and drive up to Shimla, the old summer capital of British India at about 2,276 m. The road climb is roughly 342 km and takes the better part of a day, so the afternoon is kept light. Once you have checked in, walk The Ridge and Mall Road, look in on the neo-Gothic Christ Church (the second-oldest church in north India), and climb or take the ropeway to the Jakhoo Temple at 2,455 m for the Hanuman shrine and the valley view. Scandal Point and the Gaiety Theatre are a short stroll away. Overnight in Shimla. Dinner included.

Day 2: Kufri and Shimla surrounds

After breakfast, drive the 16 km up to Kufri, the highest point in the area at about 2,720 m. Spend the morning at the Himalayan Nature Park, home to rare antelope, pheasants and Himalayan felines, and take a pony ride up to the meadow. In winter this same slope becomes Shimla's ski run. Back in town you have the afternoon free for the local markets, a coffee on The Ridge, or a quiet walk out toward the Hassan Valley forest. It is a deliberately unhurried second day to let you acclimatise before the higher stretches ahead. Overnight in Shimla. Breakfast and dinner included.

Day 3: Shimla to Manali

This is the big transfer day. The drive to Manali is about 250 km and takes around seven hours, tracing the Sutlej and then the Beas through Mandi and the Kullu valley, with apple orchards and river bends most of the way. Break the journey at the Kullu shawl workshops or a riverside dhaba. You reach Manali (about 2,050 m) by evening and check in. Keep the night easy with a walk down Mall Road and along the Manalsu stream into Old Manali. Overnight in Manali. Breakfast and dinner included.

Day 4: Solang Valley adventure day

A full day for the adventure belt above Manali. Drive the 14 km to Solang Valley, the meadow that turns into an activity ground through the year. In the warmer months it is paragliding, zorbing, the cable-car ropeway and horse riding. From roughly December to February it turns into a snow field for skiing, snow tubing and scooter rides. If the group wants more high country, add an optional run through the Atal Tunnel to Sissu on the Lahaul side, which is open year-round and needs no Rohtang permit. Rohtang Pass itself is a permit-and-season affair and sits outside the base package. Overnight in Manali. Breakfast and dinner included.

Day 5: Manali temples and local sightseeing

Slow the pace with Manali's own sights. Start at the cedar-wood Hidimba Devi Temple in its forest clearing, then the nearby Manu Temple in Old Manali. Cross to Vashisht for the hot-spring baths, look in on the Tibetan monastery in the town centre with its bright prayer wheels, and let the kids loose in Van Vihar park by the river. The afternoon is free for the Mall Road cafes and shopping. This is your last full day in the Kullu region before the long westward drive. Overnight in Manali. Breakfast and dinner included.

Day 6: Manali to Dharamshala and McLeodganj

Drive west across the state to Dharamshala, about 230 km and seven to eight hours through the Kangra valley. Check in and spend the evening in McLeodganj, the upper town that is the seat of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan community in exile. Walk the Tsuglagkhang complex and Namgyal Monastery, the small Dal Lake ringed by deodar, and the Bhagsu Nag temple with its waterfall a short way beyond. The whole town sits under the near-vertical Dhauladhar wall. Overnight in Dharamshala. Breakfast and dinner included.

Day 7: Dharamshala to Dalhousie

A gentler drive today, about 120 km and four hours north to Dalhousie, the colonial hill town spread across five low hills at roughly 2,000 m. Settle in and take the afternoon at an easy pace along the Mall Road and the Garam Sarak and Thandi Sarak promenades, with a look in at St John's Church and the quiet spring at Subhash Baoli. It is the calmest station on the route, built for slow evenings and long views toward the Pir Panjal. Overnight in Dalhousie. Breakfast and dinner included.

Day 8: Khajjiar day trip

Drive the 24 km from Dalhousie to Khajjiar, the wide saucer of deodar-fringed meadow and a small lake that gets called the mini-Switzerland of India. There is horse riding, zorbing and space to simply sit, and on the way in you pass through the Kalatop Khajjiar Wildlife Sanctuary, a good stretch for a short forest walk and, if you are lucky, a deer or two. In deep winter the meadow can drop below freezing and take a light dusting of snow. Return to Dalhousie by evening. Overnight in Dalhousie. Breakfast and dinner included.

Day 9: Departure

After breakfast, check out and begin the journey home. The nearest railhead and airport is Pathankot, about 85 km and three hours from Dalhousie, from where onward flights and trains connect to Delhi and the metros. Your departure transfer is included. If your plan instead routes back overland to Delhi, that is a longer haul best started early. Either way, you leave having covered four hill stations and three very different corners of Himachal in a single trip. Breakfast included.

Inclusions and Exclusions

Where You Stay

Hotels are hand-picked in each town and can be swapped up or down a tier when you customise. The base plan uses comfortable 3-star and resort-category stays: Greens Hotels and Resorts in Shimla, Golden Apple Resort in Manali, Sky Heaven Resort in Dharamshala and Dalhousie Heights in Dalhousie. Exact properties depend on your travel dates and are confirmed on your quote.

Best Time for This Route

Himachal works all year, and this circuit reads differently by season. March to June brings clear, mild days that suit the whole drive and the Solang activities. July to August is the monsoon, greenest of all but with the odd landslide delay on the Mandi-Kullu stretch. September to November is crisp and settled, arguably the best window for four stations in a row. December to February turns Kufri, Solang and Khajjiar into snow country, glorious but with some high roads closed. For a month-by-month breakdown, see the Himachal travel guide.

Getting Started from Delhi

The trip is built to start from Delhi. By road it is about 342 km up to Shimla, roughly seven to eight hours. If you would rather arrive in style, take the narrow-gauge Kalka-Shimla toy train, a UNESCO World Heritage line, after a Delhi-Kalka connection. Flyers can shorten the first leg by landing at Chandigarh and driving up in about three and a half hours. Any of these can be built into the package, and travellers from other cities simply add their flight or train to Delhi or Chandigarh at the front.

Booked and Checked by Our Himachal Team

"On this route the one thing worth planning around is the Atal Tunnel window. When Rohtang is shut or permit-heavy, the tunnel to Sissu gives you the high snow without the paperwork, and it stays open through most of the year."

The transfers, hotel categories and seasonal road notes on this page are checked by our Himachal operations team against current ground conditions before every booking, and the plan is re-confirmed with you at quote stage. This package is fully customisable and comes with a free cancellation window, so you can shift dates, add nights or change hotels without starting over.

Ready for the Full Himachal Circuit?

Nine days, four hill stations, and a single unbroken drive from Shimla's ridge to the Khajjiar meadow. That is the trip this itinerary was built for. Share your dates and we will send a customised plan and a clear per-person quote the same day. If you would like to weigh it against shorter trips or other routes first, start with the full Himachal tour packages collection.

Edited by TravelTriangle