We are planning a family holiday in May which would include myself, my wife and two teenage boys. We are interested in visiting a hill station which is near Delhi and need some recommendations. We have been to Kasauli and Shimla and thought maybe this time we can visit Lansdowne or Manali if they are any different if not then please suggest. The trip will be for 5 days and a quiet location is preferred.
Lansdowne would be a lot more quieter then Manali or Mussorie etc. I would personally prefer Manali over Lansdowne if I had two teen age boys with me. Manali has much more to offer in terms of natural beauty and also choice of accommodation. Lansdowne on the other hand does not have the usual touristy infrastructure yet.
Kausani is a long way from Delhi and so is Manali and both of these places are no where near quiet unless you go to some resort away from the main hustle and bustle for example Apple country resort in Manali and there are a few at Kausani too.
Every hill station seems very similar but is different in its own way. You can go to any destination Lansdowne or Manali, and to avoid the rush you can get a hotel or resort which is away from the mall area, this way you will have the peace and quiet and also if required can easily go to the local shopping and eating places.
No doubt it is a very good choice but it is a long long way from Delhi. This is the only reason people prefer to go to Mussorie or even Shimla from Delhi.
Thats True. Because it takes around 12hours travel from chandigarh + 5 more hours from Delhi. But Manali is worth of this much travel
We have decided to go to Manali thanks to your suggestions. I checked the distance and asked a few people and found it would be a very long drive so decided to take a Volvo bus to Manali instead and hire a taxi for site seeing when we get there. This works out more economical too. Looking forward to my upcoming trip. Thanks every one for your kind suggestion.
Just a tip: Try to travel to Manikaran from manali if you can. Its also a nice place and there are some hot water springs at manikaran which your boys are really gonna like. As its a religious place, living cost is also very cheap there. Its about 5 hours travel from manali in the district of Kullu
The drive to Manali is very scenic but I agree it is a lot of driving. Taking a bus instead is a wise decision.Volvo buses are very comfortable aswell. I did not know they had volvo buses plying between Delhi and Manali.
Yes Admin... Alot of volvo bus services are being operated by Himachal Roadways and by some private roadway companies from Delhi to Manali.
I just checked the HPTDC website and tickets are Rs1300 each but some private companies are offering the same thing for Rs900 for some reason. I dont understand this.
Really for 900? Cant beleive it.... Coz 500 is the cost for ordinary buses from chandigarh to manali.. So it wont be volvo i am sure.
The two main states where there are hill stations are Himachal Pradesh and Uttarkand, and within these states people only know of Shimla, Manali, Mussoorie and Nainital, but there are many other places in between which offer the same thing but at less crowded and not known to many travelers. Have a look at the thread about less known destinations in North India and a post on hill stations in North India.
I have read about of Kausani but I don't think it is as popular, is there anything special there or not?
It is actually a popular place to visit. Kausani has some lovely views and provides a 300 km-wide panoramic view of the Himalayan peaks, apart from that there is nothing much to do there, but even the thought of great scenic views is enough for a relaxing holiday.
