Manali () is a

resort town A resort town, resort city or resort destination is an urban area where tourism or vacationing is the primary component of the local culture and economy. A typical resort town has one or more actual resorts in the surrounding area. Sometimes ...

, near Kullu town in

Kullu district Kullu () is a List of districts in India, district in Himachal Pradesh, India. It borders Shimla district to the south, Mandi district, Mandi and Kangra district, Kangra districts to the west, Kinnaur district, Kinnaur to the east and the Lahau ...

in the Indian state of

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...

. It is situated in the northern end of the Kullu Valley, formed by the Beas River. The town is located in the

, 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 the summer capital of British India. After independence, the city ...

and northeast of the national capital of

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

. 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 and constitutes an eastern portion of the larger Kashmir region that has been the subject of a Kashmir#Kashmir dispute, dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947 and India an ...

, 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 Yarkant County, Yarkand in the Tarim Basin. The name 'Karakoram' comes from ...

and onto

Yarkand Yarkant County,, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency also Shache County,, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency also SASM/GNC ro ...

and

Hotan Hotan (also known by other names) is a major oasis town in southwestern Xinjiang, an autonomous region in Northwestern China. The city proper of Hotan broke off from the larger Hotan County to become an administrative area in its own right i ...

in the

Tarim Basin The Tarim Basin is an endorheic basin in Xinjiang, Northwestern 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, Ch ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. Manali is a popular tourist destination in India and serves as the gateway to the

Lahaul and Spiti district The Lahaul and Spiti district is a high-altitude district in Himachal Pradesh, north India. This entirely mountainous district consists of two geographically distinct as well as formerly separate political-administrative units, called Lahaul ( ...

as well as the city of

Leh Leh () is a city in Indian-administered Ladakh in the Kashmir#Kashmir_dispute, disputed Kashmir region. The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the WP:TE ...

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

Mythology

Manali is named after Manu, the progenitor of humanity in

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

. 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 allo ...

, Manu is believed to have stepped off his ark in Manali to recreate human life after a great flood had deluged the world at the end of an cyclic age. The Kullu Valley 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.

Climate

Manali features a

subtropical highland climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring c ...

('' Cfb'') with warm summers, relatively cold winters, and a high

diurnal temperature variation In meteorology, diurnal temperature variation is the variation between a high air temperature and a low temperature that occurs during the same day. Temperature lag Temperature lag, also known as thermal inertia, is an important factor in diur ...

. 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. Manali 2022

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.

Transport

Air

The nearest airport Kullu–Manali Airport (IATA code KUU) is at Bhuntar town in Kullu. The airport is also known as Kullu-Manali airport and has more than a kilometer-long runway.

Air India Air India is the flag carrier of India with its main hub at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, and secondary hubs at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, alo ...

has regular flights to the airport from

Helicopter taxi service

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

Chandigarh Chandigarh is a city and union territory in northern India, serving as the shared capital of the states of Punjab and Haryana. Situated near the foothills of the Shivalik range of Himalayas, it borders Haryana to the east and Punjab in the ...

, 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 (India), Punjab and in proximity to both states capital Chandigarh. Politically, Ambala ...

and from there NH 22 to

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

Bilaspur will a station on the under-costruction Bhanupli–Leh line.India’s costliest rail line will change how we view travel
theweek.in, 13 Apr 2025. 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 , more known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union countries ...

railheads are at Una away,

Kiratpur Sahib Kiratpur, also known as Kiratpur Sahib, (lit. "city of glory") is a town, just 30 km from Rupnagar, Rupnagar city in Rupnagar district of Punjab, India, Punjab, India. The town is the location of the Gurdwara Patal Puri where many Sikhs take as ...

, Kalka (),

(), and

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

(). The nearest

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...

railhead is at Joginder Nagar (). The Kalka–Shimla Railway is a nostalgic narrow-gauge route culminating at the state capital 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 (, ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. The state is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the n ...

References

* *
Himachal Tourism Travel

External links

Himachal Tourism Official Govt Website
* https://hpkullu.nic.in/ * https://www.explorerishikesh.in/ Explore Rishikesh, Retrieved 02 / November 2025 * https://www.cabbookingrishikesh.in/ Official Website . 19 December 2024 . Retrieved 21 November 2019 ( Contact Cab Booking Rishikesh ) {{Authority control Tourism in Himachal Pradesh Hill stations in Himachal Pradesh Ski areas and resorts in India Cities and towns in Kullu district