Manali is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...

, near Kullu town in Kullu district in the Indian state of

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several pea ...

. It is situated in the northern end of the

Kullu Valley Kullu Valley is a broad open valley in Himachal Pradesh, India, formed by the Beas River between Manali and Larji. This valley is famous for its temples, beauty and its majestic hills covered with pine and deodar forest and sprawling apple or ...

, formed by the Beas River. The town is located in the Kullu district, approximately north of the state capital of

Shimla Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared as the summer capital of British India. After independence, ...

and northeast of the national capital of

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Hous ...

. With a population of 8,096 people recorded in the 2011 Indian census Manali is the beginning of an ancient trade route through Lahaul (H.P) and

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu a ...

, over the

Karakoram Pass The Karakoram Pass () is a mountain pass between India and China in the Karakoram Range. It is the highest pass on the ancient caravan route between Leh in Ladakh and Yarkand in the Tarim Basin. 'Karakoram' literally means 'Black Gravel ...

and onto

Yarkand Yarkant County,, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency also Shache County,, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency also transliterated from Uyghur as Yakan County, is a county in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous ...

and

Hotan Hotan (also known as Gosthana, Gaustana, Godana, Godaniya, Khotan, Hetian, Hotien) is a major oasis town in southwestern Xinjiang, an autonomous region in Western China. The city proper of Hotan broke off from the larger Hotan County to become ...

in the

Tarim Basin The Tarim Basin is an endorheic basin in Northwest China occupying an area of about and one of the largest basins in Northwest China.Chen, Yaning, et al. "Regional climate change and its effects on river runoff in the Tarim Basin, China." Hyd ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

. Manali is a popular tourist destination in India and serves as the gateway to the Lahaul and Spiti district as well as the city of

Leh Leh () ( lbj, ) is the joint capital and largest city of Ladakh, a union territory of India. Leh, located in the Leh district, was also the historical capital of the Kingdom of Ladakh, the seat of which was in the Leh Palace, the former ...

.''Paper also Presented at the International Seminar on Disasters, Environment and Development, 9–12 December 1994, New Delhi, India'' –by

History

Manali is named after the

Sanātanī ''Sanātanī'' () is a term used to describe Hindu duties that incorporate teachings from The Vedas, The Upanishads, and other Hindu religious texts and scriptures such as ''The Ramayana'' and '' The Bhagavad Gita'', which itself is often describ ...

lawgiver Manu (see

Manusmriti The ''Manusmṛiti'' ( sa, मनुस्मृति), also known as the ''Mānava-Dharmaśāstra'' or Laws of Manu, is one of the many legal texts and constitution among the many ' of Hinduism. In ancient India, the sages often wrote the ...

). The name ''Manali'' is regarded as the derivative of ''Manu-Alaya'' (). In

Hindu cosmology Hindu cosmology is the description of the universe and its states of matter, cycles within time, physical structure, and effects on living entities according to Hindu texts. Hindu cosmology is also intertwined with the idea of a creator who all ...

, Manu is believed to have stepped off his ark in Manali to recreate human life after a great flood had deluged the world. The

in which Manali is situated is often referred to as the "Valley of the Gods". An old village in the town has an ancient temple dedicated to the sage Manu.

Geography

Manali is located at 32.2396 N, 77.1887 E, about north of New Delhi.

Demographics

Manali has grown from a trading village to a small town. As of the 2011 census of India, its population was 8,096. In 2001, Manali had an official population of 6,265. Males constituted 64% of the population and females 36%. Manali had an average literacy rate of 74%, male literacy was 80%, and female literacy was 63.9%. 9.5% of the population was under six years of age. Manali 2022

Weather

Manali features a subtropical highland climate ('' Cfb'') with warm summers, relatively cold winters, and a high diurnal temperature variation. The temperatures range from to over the year with the hottest day crossing and the coldest day going below . The average temperature during summer is between to , and between to in the winter. Monthly precipitation varies between in November and in July. On average, some of precipitation is received during winter and spring months, increasing to some in summer as the monsoon approaches. The average total annual precipitation is . Manali experiences snowfall predominantly between December and the beginning of March.

Transport

Air

The nearest airport

Kullu–Manali Airport Kullu–Manali Airport , also called Bhuntar Airport is a domestic airport serving the cities of Kullu and Manali in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The airport is located at Bhuntar, 11 km from Kullu town and 52 km from M ...

(IATA code KUU) is at Bhuntar town in Kullu. The airport is also known as Kullu-Manali airport and has more than a kilometre long runway. Air India has regular flights to the airport from

Helicopter taxi service

Pawan Hans, the Government charter agency, provides heli-taxi service connecting

Chandigarh Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which al ...

, Kullu, Kangra and Dharamshala.

Road

Manali can be reached from Delhi by national highway NH 1 up to

Ambala Ambala () is a city and a municipal corporation in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India, located on the border with the Indian state of Punjab and in proximity to both states capital Chandigarh. Politically, Ambala has two sub-ar ...

and from there

NH 22 {{Infobox road , country = IND , type = NH , route = 5 , map = {{Maplink, frame=yes, plain=yes, frame-width=290, frame-height=300, zoom=6, frame-align=center, type=line, id=Q25203045, stroke-width=3, title=National Highway 5 , map_custom = ...

and from there by national highway NH21 that passes through Bilaspur,

Sundernagar Sundar Nagar (also spelled as Sundernagar) is a town and a municipal council in Mandi district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Formerly it was a princely state, known as Suket. History Sunder Nagar was formerly the seat of prince ...

Mandi Mandi may refer to: Places * Mandı, Azerbaijan India * Mandi, Jammu and Kashmir, a town on the Mandi River in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir * Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, a city in Himachal Pradesh ** Mandi State, former princely s ...

and Kullu towns. The road distance from Chandigarh to Manali is , and the total distance from Delhi to Manali is . Bus services are available from HRTC ( Himachal Road Transport Corporation), HPTDC (Himachal Tourism Development Corporation), and private operators.

Railway

There is no close railhead available close to Manali. The nearest

broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union ( C ...

railheads are at Una away, Kiratpur Sahib , Kalka (),

(), and

Pathankot Pathankot is a city and the district headquarters of the Pathankot district in Punjab, India. Pathankot is the 6th most populous city of Punjab, after Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Patiala and Bathinda. Its local government is a municipal co ...

(). The nearest

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

railhead is at Joginder Nagar (). The Kalka–Shimla Railway is a nostalgic narrow-gauge route culminating at the state capital of

wherefrom one has to travel by road to Manali.

Environmental concerns

Manali has witnessed a flurry of activity related to hydroelectric power and tourism. Unplanned and rampant construction has led to severe depletion of forests and pollution of river bodies, along with garbage being disposed of on the side of the mountains. There has been a loss of habitat to various species of fauna, not limited to the Himalayan monal, incidentally the state bird of

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

References

External links

Himachal Tourism Official Govt Website
* https://hpkullu.nic.in/ {{Authority control Tourism in Himachal Pradesh Hill stations in Himachal Pradesh Ski areas and resorts in India Cities and towns in Kullu district