Visit Rohatang Pass in Manali in India

India is full of beautiful hill stations, particularly in its Northern part because of the presence of the snow covered Himalayan mountains. Tourists visiting Kashmir have reduced slightly because of security reasons, the flow of the tourists have increased in Kulu and Manali. The scenic hill station of Manali attracts thousands of visitors every year due to its beauty and winter sports. I have visited Manali twice in my life and have enjoyed each and every site. The visit to Rohatang pass from Manali has been the most memorable outing of my life. I am going to cover some of the highlights of my trip to Rohatang pass in this article.

If you are fond of winter sports and playing in the snow filled slopes and the mountains, you must visit Rohatang pass during your stay at Manali. The visit can be covered in one day from Manali. However, if you are adventure lover, you may opt to stay for night halt at Rohatang pass. Rohatang pass is situated at the height of 13000 feet from the mean sea level and is around 30 miles away from the town of Manali. The tourists have to book a ticket in bus or hire a taxi for going to Rohatang pass. The to and fro taxi charges are around Rs.2000 ($50) for a standard 4 sitter car. There are luxury buses also available for visit to Rohatang pass. The bus charges vary from Rs.250 ($6) to Rs.600 ($10) depending upon the type and facilities provided in it. Both government and private buses are available. I would suggest you to travel through the State government buses, as the rates are quiet competitive and such buses take you exactly at the top of the Rohatang pass. Many private buses do not take you up to the exact top, giving various excuses of traffic etc. Make sure that your bus is going to take you up to the top, at the time of making reservation only. Try to select a mini bus that carries around 20 passengers only. Such buses are easily able to reach up to the top due to ease in maneuvering it over the steep hilly roads. You must consider yourself lucky if you can visit Rohatang pass successfully as many times the roads to this pass get closed due to rock drops or heavy snow falls.

The buses start at around 7 am from Manali. The road to Rohatang pass is really beautiful. But is having sharp turns and steep climb. It is suggested to take very light breakfast prior to start of your journey to Rohatang pass. The Manali waterfalls come at around half way to Rohatang pass. The tourists get down and see this lovely waterfall, which falls from the height of around 180 feet. It is strongly suggested not to take bath here at this fall, as there have been incidents of fatal accidents due to slip at this fall. The journey starts again after around half an hour halt here. The weather starts to cool down suddenly as you gain some height. The roads also become quiet steep and having sharp hair pin bends. When you are about to reach to Rohatang pass, all the buses make a stop at the shops that provide heavy woolen clothes on hire per day basis. You must take heavy woolen wears from here even if you feel that they may not be required.

The weather at the top of Rohatang pass is extremely cold and unpredictable, and you may repent your decision of not hiring the heavy woolen clothes later after reaching to the top. As soon as you reach to the top at around 11 am in the morning, you will be able to see snow filled mountains, valleys, and steep slopes, full of snow, all around you. The snow here is very deep, up to around 10 feet at some points during the winter months of November to March. Be extremely careful while walking or playing on this snow. I have seen many fat and obese people getting sunk inside the snow up to their chest due to free fall. There will also be some breathing difficulties here due to the height of around 13000 feet above the sea level. There are many restaurants here that serve Indian type of food items. There is one temple of Lord Hanuman here. The Indo-china border is just one mile away from this Hanuman temple. You may pass your time playing various winter sports or in taking long walks on the snow. The buses start their return journey by around 4 pm and you can reach back to town of Manali by 7.30 pm in the evening. Order one large scotch on the rocks on your return and relax in your hotel room to get rid of your body cold. Though, there are many sites seeing spots at Manali, Rohatang pass is my most favorite and I am sure would also be most favorite of many of my AC readers.

If you are planning to visit India and are fond of visiting hill stations, Manali is the place for you so that you can visit Rohatang pass, which is the highest winter sports point in the Himalayan Mountains range.