Delhi-Agra-Chandigarh-kullu-Manali

[dev]

Hi all, we r planning for a trip to Delhi,agra, kullu-Manali. I'm very much prone to travel sickness (esp when on hills)... so I'm very very skeptical abt the chandigarh-kullu-manali stretch. If anyone of U have travelled to these places by road, pls let me know the road condition and ur travel experience. Is it true that the hills has a 6 lane road?

[Bala (Karthik)]

Dev
I had been to Kullu/Manali in 2000. Traveled by bus from Una (Himachal Pradesh) to Kullu/Manali. I don't remember much of the journey but it was quite scenic. I'm very doubtful about the 6 lane thing - is it possible to have 6 lane roads in mountains?
Have you traveled to Ooty/Kodai by road? Are you prone to nausea while traveling by road in hills (more likely on the way down for those who are). The food in the dhabas along the way is quite tasty but you might want to avoid it in case you are anxious about getting sick.

P.S: Don't miss the trip to Rohtang Pass.

http://wikitravel.org/en/Manali

[dev]

Hi Karthik, I get really sick when I travel by road in hills...train is ok...can manage for 6-8 hrs... I have managed flight travel by taking avomine at regular intrevals... I prefer to travel on empty stomach-esp during hill drives...so no eating in dhabas... 6 lane- I too doubt...but heard from my cousin that work were on for 6 lane roads upto shimla when he went last(ie 3 yrs back)...

Many say the roads are not like ooty road with all those hairpin bends...so nausea shouldn't be a problemnu... what do u say?... they even said one can't feel the altitude coz of the good roadsnu...

Rohtang Pass- I'll have to decide only after I reach Manali... not sure if I(& the lil one) can take such high altitude...

[sudha india]

Hi Dev, We travelled to Manali by bus from Delhi. It was a night journey and I was also very skeptical. Wanted to drop out till the last moment, but since it was a trip with friends and family had to go. I also do not like travelling by road on hills. But believe me it was not bad at all. The buses (coaches run by travel companies) are mostly similar and so many buses go everyday. We boarded the bus at around 10 pm and we were at Manali at around 6 am or so. No complaints whatsoever and we did not feel that the bus was climbing up. The driver stopped at a dhaba for food (midnight) and in another place for tea. No one in the bus requested for any stopping due to sickness. So I dont think you should worry. Just go and enjoy.
Once you get down at Manali and see the snow clad mountain tops, you will............ come back and tell.

[dev]

Sudhaka, thanks a lot...we too r travelling with a lot of friends and we've planned a day trip(probably from amritsar to manali)...both me and lil S get sick while travelling...so rombave yosanaiyay irundhichu... ippo unga exper padichaprom, I'm 90% sure to travel to manali... poitu vandhu solren en exper... Rohtang Pass ellam poneengala?... was it ok travelwise?... also let me know some good place for veg food... I'm planning to carry the elec stove for some basic cooking for lil S as I'm not sure how it'll be for her to take outside food for 10 days at a stretch...

[sudha india]

Yes. Rohtang pass ponom. Even that route was not bad. But you have to have extra warm clothing. Full dress/shoes are there on the way on rent. You have to have such a dress. It was extremely chill during first week of May as well. So consider this chillness. It is full of snow. But is it for a single day ?? There is this Anjana devi temple. You have to go on horse back. Super place. Will tell details over phone if required.
To add more confidence : Ooty poradhavida easya irukkum. OK va?

[dev]

Thanks Sudhaka... heard Rohtang pass might be closed during nov-jan... lets see if we r lucky enough... maylaye full suitaa... appo decemberla ponaal angaye snow man maadhiri silai aagiduvom!!!... Since we r travelling with many kids, have to c how they take the chill and only then decide on rohtang...

Thanks for the confidence boost... actually neenga sonnaprom thaan enakku oru nimmadhiye vandhirukku... adhu varaikum rombave concerned aaga irundhen...

[dev]

chandigarh- Manali and Amritsar to manali is not a 6 lane road...it's just a narrow 2 lane road... hardly 2 lane in many places... For those who have travel sickness, my advice is, never ever travel from amritsar-manali during day time... it's a very looooong journey(esp if u travel by coach)... smaller vehicles are much faster... these coaches go at a speed of 20-30km/hr on hills... We started at around 9.30 am in amritsar and reached manali at 2.30 AM....17 hrs... adhula hillsye more than 10 hrs(with 2 long breaks and 1 short break in between)...

Chandigarh-manali is much faster... 7-8 hrs hills... we started at around 4.30 am and reached chandigarh around 2-2.30 pm... I managed with some homeopathic medicines... just threw up once on the way up and once on the way down... not bad atall...

[dev]

Warning!!! - Himachal Adventures- Manali

For those travelling to Manali- there is this group called Himachal adventures who operate adventure sports in solang valley,Manali. Para-gliding is their main attraction but they DON'T have well trained pilots and they don't follow any safety guidelines... We watched them for some 1 hr as some ppl in our group too went paragliding... and in that 1 hr, we saw atleast 10 minor accidents(landing in awkward positions and in bad spots(like on rocks etc) and atleast 2 major accidents... and unfortunately one from our group was a victim and she ended up with multiple fractures in the thigh and ankle(the bones were broken into 2-3 pieces here)... the hospitals in manali were not equipped enough for such major surgeries and we had to transport her either to delhi/chandigarh... we finally decided to send her back to coimbatore for surgery and it was a herculean task... Only when we approached the travel desk in our hotel, they said these kind of accidents are very common and they even had one of their hotel guest very badly injured(spinal injury) the week before and some 3 such incidents in the past 2 weeks... So better avoid such adventure sports in Manali(and in most placed in India) as they don't follow any safety precautions and there is no one to oversee such operators...It is just not worth the risk... For them, money is what matters and in case of such accidents, they just transport u to the hospital and their job is done!!!...

[dev]

Bala, as u said, the food in even the tiny dhabas in punjab is 'oh,so good'... It has started snowing in Manali...the road to rohtang pass is closed...so we stopped some 15 kms before rohtang pass(I think this place is called spiti valley or something) and it's quite scenic...enjoyed the snow and the snow covered mountains... beautiful!!!!!!

Sudhaka, Anjana devi temple poga mudiyalai... Chillness was quite manageable with full thermals,thick clothing and a good jacket,gloves and shoes... boots mattum irundhu irundhaal innum nalla irundhirukkum... the full suit looked so dirty that we din't feel like hiring them... but it was not required also if we have a good jacket n thermals..