Shimla Manali Chandigarh Itinerary: 6-Day Route Plan with Drive Times 6 Days & 5 Nights

Shimla Manali Chandigarh 6-Day Route at a Glance

The circuit is easy to picture once you see it by drive time. Two of the six days are essentially transfer days, and one, the Shimla to Manali leg, is long enough that you plan the rest of the trip around it. Here is the whole route, leg by leg.

Times assume the standard road circuit in fair weather. Winter snow near Kufri and Solang, or an open Rohtang in summer, can add an hour or two to a leg, so keep your flight home on Day 6 comfortably after midday.

Day-by-Day Itinerary

Day 1, Chandigarh to Shimla: arrival and the Mall (~113 km, 3.5 to 4 hrs)

Your driver meets you at Chandigarh airport (IXC) or the railway station and heads straight up to Shimla, a climb of about 113 km that takes three and a half to four hours with a tea stop on the Kalka to Shimla road. Check in, then give the evening to Mall Road and the Ridge. Walk up to Christ Church, the yellow neo-Gothic landmark that anchors the Ridge, wander Lakkar Bazar for its wooden crafts, and eat close to the hotel. Overnight in Shimla.

Day 2, Shimla and Kufri: snow point, Jakhu and the Ridge (~16 km to Kufri, 45 min)

After breakfast, drive out to Kufri, about 16 km and forty-five minutes from town, for horse riding, yak riding and the rope activities on its slopes. Next to it sits the Himalayan Nature Park, a small high-altitude zoo where you can see the Himalayan monal, musk deer and, in its enclosures, snow leopard and Himalayan black bear. (This is the Kufri park. The Great Himalayan National Park proper is in Kullu district, a separate trip, not this one.) Back in Shimla, cover the Ridge and Scandal Point, climb to Jakhu Temple with its giant Hanuman statue, and browse the Lower Bazar and Tibetan Market. Overnight in Shimla.

Day 3, Shimla to Manali via Kullu: the long transfer (~250 km, 7 to 8 hrs)

This is the big driving day, so start after an early breakfast and check out. The 250 km run to Manali takes seven to eight hours through Mandi and along the Beas, with a stop in Kullu for river rafting or a look at the shawl workshops. You reach Manali by evening. Check in and rest. Overnight in Manali.

Day 4, Manali sightseeing: Hadimba, Old Manali and Vashisht (local)

A full local day and the gentlest on the itinerary. Visit the 16th-century Hadimba Devi Temple in its cedar grove, Manu Temple in Old Manali, and the hot springs at Vashisht. There is time for the cafes of Old Manali and the Tibetan Monastery in the main town. Overnight in Manali.

Day 5, Solang Valley then Manali to Chandigarh (Solang ~14 km, then ~305 km, 8 to 9 hrs)

Leave early and drive up to Solang Valley, about 14 km and forty minutes above Manali. This is the adventure basin of the trip, and what you do here depends on the season. In summer you paraglide, ride the zorbing balls down the meadow, take the ropeway gondola up for the valley view, or try the quad bikes. In winter the same slopes are for skiing and tobogganing on snow. Wrap up by late morning, then begin the long descent to Chandigarh, roughly 305 km and eight to nine hours down the valley. Check in at Chandigarh for the night.

Day 6, Chandigarh sightseeing and departure (city, ~10 km)

After breakfast, see the planned city that closes the loop. Nek Chand's Rock Garden, built entirely from industrial and household waste, is the highlight, followed by the terraced Rose Garden and a walk along Sukhna Lake. Cricket fans can drive past the Mohali stadium. A little market shopping, then a transfer to the airport or station for your onward journey.

Best Time to Visit: Snow or Green Valley

The route works all year, but what you get changes sharply by season, and it is the single thing to settle before you book. For a deeper month-by-month read, see the full Himachal travel guide linked at the end.

What's Included and What's Not

Hotels used on this itinerary (or similar 3-star properties): Hotel Grace, Lakkar Bazar in Shimla; The Nature Inn, Simsa in Manali; and Hotel The Palmdale, Zirakpur in Chandigarh. Confirm current properties at the time of booking.

Cancellation and Refund Policy

Because hotels and transport across Himachal are blocked ahead of your dates, cancellation charges rise as travel nears. As a working guide: cancel 30 or more days out and you forfeit only the booking advance; 15 to 30 days out, roughly 50 percent of the tour cost; 7 to 15 days out, about 75 percent; inside 7 days or a no-show, the booking is non-refundable. Peak windows (December to January and May to June) and any confirmed flight or train tickets can carry stricter terms. Your trip coordinator confirms the exact slab in writing on your invoice before you pay.

Why Book This Itinerary With TravelTriangle

This route has been run for travellers among the 19,707+ we have served in Himachal, and every hotel, cab and transfer on it is booked through our verified local agent network rather than a call-centre reseller. Change any day, drop to a budget hotel or step up to 4-star, add a night in Manali, or start from Delhi instead of Chandigarh, and your coordinator rebuilds the quote in a few hours. Fares and drive times on this page are checked by our Himachal operations desk against the live package sheet.

Ready to Plan Your Trip?

Once your dates are set, see live prices and current departures on our Shimla Manali Kullu tour from Chandigarh package, browse more routes on the Chandigarh to Himachal packages page, or read the full Himachal travel guide for region-wide planning. Tell us your dates and we will customise this 6-day plan around them.

Edited by TravelTriangle