Every May, the same thing happens at our desk in Ahmedabad. The city crosses 42 degrees, school results come out, and the phone starts ringing with one question: “Shimla Manali nu package kevu chhe?” We get it. After a Gujarat summer, a hill station where you need a sweater at 7 am sounds like medicine. […]
Every May, the same thing happens at our desk in Ahmedabad. The city crosses 42 degrees, school results come out, and the phone starts ringing with one question: “Shimla Manali nu package kevu chhe?”
We get it. After a Gujarat summer, a hill station where you need a sweater at 7 am sounds like medicine.
This guide is what we tell those callers, written down: how to reach Shimla and Manali from Ahmedabad, what a Himachal tour package actually includes, what it costs in 2026, when to go, and the small things that decide whether a trip goes smoothly. The WhatsApp number for a quote is at the bottom.
A typical Shimla Manali package from Ahmedabad is a 6 night, 7 day trip that covers travel to Himachal by flight or train, hotel stays in Shimla and Manali, daily breakfast and dinner, a private cab or shared coach for sightseeing, and a local coordinator. Prices in 2026 start around ₹12,500 per person for train and coach based trips and rise once you add flights, better hotels, or a private vehicle.
The usual stops are:
There are prettier valleys in India, and there are quieter ones. Shimla and Manali still win for first-time hill travellers from Gujarat, and the reasons are practical.
Ahmedabad sits about 50 metres above sea level. Shimla is at roughly 2,200 metres and Manali at around 2,050 metres. That height difference is why a May afternoon that touches 41 degrees at home reads 22 to 25 degrees on Shimla’s Mall Road, and cooler still in Manali after sunset.
You feel it the moment you step out of the car at Kufri. Kids who have been sluggish for weeks start running around. For a lot of parents, that alone justifies the trip.
Himachal Pradesh recorded 3.11 crore tourist arrivals in 2025, according to state government figures. Kullu district, which includes Manali, took 19.6 percent of all visitors in 2024, about 35.38 lakh people, the most of any district. Shimla came second.
Popularity has a downside: peak season crowds, which we cover further down.
Every Jain and vegetarian family asks about food. Shimla’s Mall Road and Manali’s Mall Road both have Gujarati thali restaurants and plenty of pure veg dhabas. Jain food without onion and garlic is available if the hotel knows a day ahead. We note it in your booking so the kitchen is ready.
Gujarati groups are everywhere in May and June. Some families find this comforting. Others want to escape it, and for them we suggest Naldehra near Shimla or a riverside property between Kullu and Manali.
The travel leg decides your budget, your energy on day one, and how many days you actually get in the hills. Three routes work.
This is the fastest route. IndiGo flies non-stop from Ahmedabad to Chandigarh in about 1 hour 45 minutes, with 13 weekly departures as of August 2026. Off-season fares have started around ₹5,800 one way. In May and during Diwali week, expect two to three times that.
From Chandigarh airport, Shimla is about 115 km by road, roughly three and a half hours of steady climbing. Manali is about 310 km, which takes eight to nine hours. Most of our flight-based itineraries land in Chandigarh in the morning, reach Shimla by evening, and save the long Manali drive for later in the trip.
The train route is cheaper and, planned well, more fun. Two trains matter here.
The Ashram Express (12915) runs from Sabarmati to Old Delhi, 929 km in about 14 hours 45 minutes. The Swarna Jayanti Rajdhani from Sabarmati to New Delhi is quicker, around 12 and a half to 13 and a half hours depending on the day. Both run overnight, so you sleep through most of it.
From Delhi, a Shatabdi takes you to Kalka in about four hours. Then comes the part children remember for years: the Kalka Shimla Railway. It’s a 96 km narrow gauge line opened in 1903, with 102 tunnels in use and over 800 bridges. UNESCO listed it as a World Heritage Site in 2008. The Himalayan Queen leaves Kalka just before noon and reaches Shimla in about five hours. Chair car fares in 2026 are around ₹265 and first class around ₹475.
Toy train seats sell out weeks ahead in May, June, and Christmas week. If the train is on your list, tell us at the time of booking, not after.
Very few people drive the full 1,300 odd km from Ahmedabad to Manali. The hybrid works: overnight train to Delhi, then an overnight Volvo covering about 540 km in 12 to 14 hours. It’s the cheapest way in, and popular with college groups.
The trade-off is fatigue. Two nights of travel in a row is fine at 22. It’s harder at 60.
| Who is travelling | Route we usually suggest | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Family with young children | Flight to Chandigarh, private cab | Shortest travel day, no overnight bus |
| Senior citizens | Flight to Chandigarh, Shimla first | Gentle altitude gain, less road time on day one |
| College or office group | Train to Delhi, Volvo to Manali | Lowest cost, group travels together |
| Couples on a budget | Train to Kalka, toy train to Shimla | Scenic and cheap, the journey becomes part of the trip |
This is the shape of our most booked package. We adjust it for flight timings and for how much driving your group can handle.
Morning flight to Chandigarh, drive up to Shimla, check in by late afternoon. Evening walk on Mall Road and the Ridge. Christ Church, built in 1857, looks best after sunset when the lamps come on.
Kufri is 15 km from Shimla. Yak rides, the Himalayan Nature Park, and in winter, snow. Back in Shimla by afternoon for Jakhu Temple, home to a 108 foot Hanuman statue. Keep your sunglasses and snacks inside your bag. The monkeys at Jakhu are professionals.
The long day: 248 km, seven to eight hours with stops. You pass Sundernagar lake, Pandoh Dam, and the gorge where the Beas narrows near Aut. Kullu comes about an hour before Manali, and rafting on the Beas is a good reason to break the drive there.
If anyone in your group gets car sick, seat them in front, keep a window cracked, and carry lemon or ginger candy. This drive is where motion sickness tablets earn their place.
Hadimba Devi Temple first, a wooden pagoda temple from 1553 set among deodar trees. Then Vashisht village for its hot springs, Old Manali for the cafés, and Mall Road in the evening. A relaxed day on purpose, after yesterday’s drive.
Solang Valley is 13 km from Manali and the activity hub: paragliding, zorbing, the ropeway, and snow in winter. Just past it is the Atal Tunnel, a 9.02 km tunnel opened in October 2020 that cuts straight through the Pir Panjal range. On the other side is Sissu in Lahaul, a village that looks nothing like the Manali side. Drier, wider, and quieter.
A small coincidence we enjoy: a short trek from Solang leads to the Anjani Mahadev temple, named for Hanuman’s mother. Our clients often send us a photo from there.
Rohtang sits at 3,978 metres, about 51 km from Manali. The pass closes in winter, usually from November to May, and even when it’s open, vehicles need a permit issued under a daily cap set by the National Green Tribunal. Permits are booked online and run out fast in peak weeks. We list Rohtang as an optional add-on, since Sissu gives you the same snow with far less uncertainty.
Early start, long drive down. An overnight in Chandigarh keeps the morning flight stress free, and a late flight leaves time for Rock Garden or Sukhna Lake.
Chandigarh to Ahmedabad, back by lunch.
Prices vary more than people expect, because “package” can mean very different things. The table below reflects published 2026 rates from operators and aggregators plus our own quotes.
| Package style | Typical duration | Indicative price per person | What drives the price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Budget, train and coach | 5 to 6 nights | ₹12,000 to ₹18,000 | Shared transfers, 2-star hotels, train fare separate |
| Standard, flight based | 6 nights | ₹22,000 to ₹32,000 | 3-star hotels, private cab, airfare often separate |
| Premium | 6 to 7 nights | ₹35,000 and above | Resorts or 4-star, Innova or Crysta, flexible days |
Aggregator sites list starting prices as low as ₹6,000 for Manali-only trips. Read the fine print. Those rates usually exclude travel from Ahmedabad and cover a bare three night stay.
Solang Valley activities add up fast. Paragliding runs ₹2,500 to ₹4,000 per person depending on the flight duration, and the ropeway is separate. A family of four can spend ₹15,000 in one afternoon without noticing, so we list these in your itinerary in advance.
The right month depends on what you want: relief from heat, snow, or empty roads. You can’t have all three.
This is when most of Ahmedabad goes. The weather is perfect, the roads are open, and Rohtang usually opens by late May. It’s also the most crowded and expensive window. Hotels in Manali run full, and Mall Road on a June evening feels like Law Garden on a Sunday.
Book six to eight weeks ahead for these dates.
Our favourite season to recommend. The monsoon has washed the dust out of the air, so the views are sharpest. Days are cool, nights are cold, and Rohtang often stays open through October. Diwali week itself gets busy, so we suggest travelling the week after if your dates allow.
Manali gets reliable snow at Solang and beyond the tunnel at Sissu. Shimla and Kufri see snow in most years, usually from late December. Roads can close for a day after heavy snowfall, so keep a buffer day. Hotels charge for heaters, and you’ll need real winter clothing, not an Ahmedabad “sweater”.
Landslides close the Shimla Manali road without warning. The monsoons of 2023 and 2025 both caused serious damage on Himachal’s highways. Some operators sell cheap monsoon packages. We don’t push them. If you insist, we build in buffer days and tell you what could go wrong.
| Month | Weather | Crowds | Snow | Our take |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar to Apr | Cool, some rain | Low | Only at Rohtang | Good value |
| May to mid Jun | Pleasant | Very high | Rohtang only | Book early |
| Jul to Sep | Wet, landslide risk | Low | None | Avoid |
| Oct to Nov | Clear, cold nights | Medium | Late Nov at Sissu | Best overall |
| Dec to Feb | Cold, snowfall | High at Christmas | Yes | Pack properly |
Real enquiries follow patterns. Here are three we see every year, with the details changed.
Two children aged 8 and 12, first week of May. They wanted snow, the toy train, and no overnight bus. We flew them to Chandigarh, sent them up to Shimla by cab, and booked a short toy train joyride from Shimla to Kandaghat instead of the full Kalka run, which saved half a day. Snow came from the Sissu trip. Five full days in the hills out of seven.
Budget of about ₹40,000 for both, all in, and they wanted quiet. We skipped Shimla and did four nights in Manali, one of them at a riverside cottage near Naggar, 20 km before Manali. Train to Delhi, Volvo up, flight back from Chandigarh. For a couple, Manali alone is often the better trip, and most Shimla Manali honeymoon packages from Ahmedabad would do well to admit that.
A corporate outing in October. Large groups need a coach, hotels that can take 12 rooms at once, and a fixed meal plan. We used a 27-seater from Chandigarh, booked one hotel in each town with a group dining hall, and pre-booked rafting slots in Kullu. The one lesson from that trip: agree on a departure time each morning and stick to it. One late riser costs 24 people an hour.
These are the things we say on the phone that don’t fit in a brochure.
Carry a proper jacket even in May. Solang and Sissu are cold all year.
Altitude sickness is rarely an issue at Shimla or Manali, since both sit around 2,000 metres. Rohtang at nearly 4,000 metres is different. Keep the visit short, drink water, and if you have a heart or breathing condition, ask your doctor before going.
Motion sickness spoils more days than altitude does. The Shimla to Manali road has hundreds of bends. Eat light before the drive, and don’t read on your phone.
Cash still matters in the hills. UPI works in towns, but highway dhabas and small stalls at Kufri and Solang often want cash. Keep ₹5,000 handy per family.
Mobile networks are patchy past the Atal Tunnel, so warn family at home.
Pack paracetamol, ORS, motion sickness tablets, band-aids, and your regular medicines with a photo of the prescription.
We’re a small team based in Ahmedabad, and most of our Shimla Manali clients come by referral.
You call or message on WhatsApp. One of us asks who’s travelling, which dates, what matters most, and what you’d like to spend. Within a day you get a written itinerary with hotels named, vehicle type stated, and inclusions and exclusions spelled out line by line.
We don’t hide the Rohtang uncertainty, the heater charges, or May airfares. If a hotel we recommended has slipped, we tell you and swap it. During the trip you have one number to call, and the same person answers.
We keep your enquiry on file with a follow-up date, so if you say “call me after Navratri”, someone actually does.
Six nights and seven days is the sweet spot. That gives you two nights in Shimla, three in Manali, and one travel night. With only four or five days, pick one destination.
Overnight train to Delhi, then an overnight Volvo to Manali. Sleeper or 3AC fare plus a Volvo seat comes to around ₹2,500 to ₹4,500 per person one way.
No. The nearest airport with a direct flight from Ahmedabad is Chandigarh, 1 hour 45 minutes on IndiGo. Shimla’s Jubbarhatti and Manali’s Bhuntar airports have only limited, weather-dependent flights.
Yes. Both Mall Roads have Gujarati thali restaurants, and most hotels used by Ahmedabad operators can prepare Jain meals with advance notice.
Reliable snow at Solang Valley and Sissu runs from late December to early March. At Rohtang Pass, snow is present whenever the pass is open, typically late May to October, though it thins out by late summer.
Yes. Vehicles need an online permit issued under a daily cap. Your package vehicle usually can’t go, so a separate permitted vehicle is arranged at extra cost. The Atal Tunnel to Sissu needs no permit.
Yes, with the right route. Fly to Chandigarh, do Shimla first for a gentle altitude gain, break the Shimla to Manali drive with a longer lunch stop, and skip Rohtang. We’ve planned this trip for travellers in their seventies many times.
Send us your dates, the number of people, and one line about what matters most to your group. We’ll reply with a written itinerary and a price with nothing hidden in it.
WhatsApp: +91 9586643802 Office: Vastral, Ahmedabad, Gujarat
Rutvik ParmarFounder, Anjani Tourism
Plans trips from Ahmedabad and Botad for travellers across Gujarat. Reachable on +91 95866 43802 or WhatsApp.
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