After a fantastic trip to Leh, it was time for our return journey from Leh. Of course, there could be many ways to finish your trip. In this blog, we will share how we planned and ended our trip and, at the same time, share with you the other possibilities. To be honest, the best part of this blog was our stay at Jispa. Excited Right!!
In case you don’t know who we are…
We call ourselves Travel Freaks…
Returning to our story, we had a fantastic journey to Pangong Lake two days back. The previous day, we were chilling in Leh, where we enjoyed local cuisine, hung out in the Leh Mall, explored the marketplace, and interacted with a few locals. We had a great time in Leh. Check out our previous stories from this blog series, which will help you gain insight into this region. Finally, it was time to say goodbye to this beautiful place and head towards Manali to finish our journey.
If you remember our first blog, we have shared all the possibilities of reaching Leh. Do check out that blog if you haven’t yet. On that note, we would also like to answer a common query…..
Table of Contents
1. What is the best possible way to end the Leh-Ladakh trip?
The answer lies in how much time you have in your hand.
- Flight directly from Leh to Delhi and from Delhi to your destination. In case of shortage of time.
- If you have a few more days, you can go to Srinagar or Manali, depending on how you have started your Leh-Ladakh trip. From there, you can take a flight by reaching the nearest Airport or catch a train from the nearest station to your destination.
Returning to our story, we had planned to reach Manali, stay there for two nights and then proceed to Kalka for our return journey. However, the challenge lies in reaching Manali from Leh. The distance is approximately 430 km. Given the road condition, reaching in a single day would be challenging and tiresome. Instead, we planned to stop at Jispa, a small town around 100 km from Manali, for an overnight stay.
Now you may be curious about……..
2. How was our journey from Leh to Jispa?
As it was a long journey, we started at 6 o’clock in the morning. With a heavy heart, we caught one last early morning glimpse of Leh. We felt attached to this place. Nevertheless, our journey continued until we reached close to Miru; we stopped by a roadside restaurant for breakfast at around 8:30 AM. There was a chilled breeze that was blowing. It was a 30-minute stop, and we hurried again to get into our vehicle to escape the extreme weather.
As usual, the view was breathtaking. We did see many bikers on the Leh-Manali Highway. Indeed, the road is a bikers’ paradise. It was around 12:30 PM; we stopped near Phang by a roadside restaurant for lunch. Our lunch consisted of Pulao, Chicken Curry and Vegetables Curry. Due to the long journey ahead, we chose to keep it light despite such a meal. After a 45-minute stoppage, the journey continued.
For the first time in our journey, there was little or no cell phone network during most of this journey as the region falls on the Ladakh-Himachal Pradesh border. We did stop in the evening for a tea break, and when it was around 7:30 PM, we reached our stay at Jispa.
It was already dark by then, and the mercury came close to the freezing point. The rooms were good enough for an overnight stay. We had our dinner by 9 o’clock and ended our day. The journey to Jispa was tiresome, given it was close to 13 hours, and the Leh-Manali Highway had large craters in many places, mainly close to the Himachal Pradesh border.
The next day, when we woke up early, we went for an early morning walk. It was serene. There was a river named Bhag, flowing by the side of the road. We spotted quite a few stays around where you can opt to stay.
Many travellers also opt to stay at Sarchu at the Himachal Pradesh border.
Tip: Remember that primarily, campsites are available where the rooms are made of tin. Plan accordingly.
Now that we stayed at Jispa overnight, you might be eager to know……
3. When did we reach Manali, then?
The distance from Jispa was only about 100 km. It would take a maximum of 4 hours to reach Jispa. Hence, we started a bit late, by 9:30 AM. We enjoyed a lot in Jispa’s apricot and apple orchards. The best part was that the owner allowed us to grab a few from the tree and have it. We thanked the owner for that.
Soon, we departed from Jispa towards Manali. It was the most leisurely journey we had till then. Sissu is another famous village that we passed by noon. We even crossed the famous Atal Tunnel Rohtang. It was around a 9 km long tunnel, mainly connecting the Spiti Valley with the Kullu Valley. It also reduced our journey time a lot. Otherwise, the trip would have been via Rohtang Pass.
Finally, when we reached the Solang Valley, we understood we were close to Manali. Solang Valley is quite famous for adventure sports such as river rafting, flying fox, ATV riding and paragliding, to name a few. When it was around 2:30 PM, we reached our stay in Manali. It was pretty close to the Manali Mall. The temperature was close to 20 degrees Celsius, and we loved the place’s ambience. The rooms were pretty nice for a two-nights stay.
Now that we reached Manali, you all might be eager about…….
4. How much did we explore Manali?
Being travel freaks, as soon as we reached Manali, we had lunch and departed for Hidimba Temple by 4 o’clock. We took an auto from the marketplace and got to the temple complex. This ancient wooden temple is dedicated to Hidimba Devi, a character from the Indian epic Mahabharata.
There is also a temple dedicated to her son Ghatotkacha. There were a few local shops selling winter clothing and souvenirs. There was a slight drizzle. After exploring a few local shops, we decided to end that day.
The next day, there was nothing as such preplanned of going somewhere or the other; instead, we had a lethargic morning, had breakfast, and after lunch, we departed for Old Manali by 2 o’clock. It was around 5 km uphill from our stay at New Manali. This time, we also took an auto from the marketplace to reach Old Manali.
There were many cosy cafes and shops. Most of them had a variety of clothing collections. There was a Manu Temple nearby in the Old Manali. The temple is dedicated to Sage Manu, the ancient lawgiver of India. We sat there, relaxed, and then started our return journey after exploring the Manu Market. On the way back to our hotel, we explored many shops close to our stay, especially by the Mall Road.
Most importantly, we aimed to enjoy the ambience of Manali rather than explore the place. We already visited Manali earlier. In case you wish to explore more, you can opt to visit the following places:
- You can opt to visit a few Tibetan Monasteries. The Gadhan Thekchhokling Monastery and the Himalayan Nyingmapa Monastery are quite famous.
- You can go to Solang Valley and Rohtang Pass.
- You can visit Vashisht Temple from Manali.
- Manali Wildlife Sanctuary is also another great option.
We hope you got a glimpse of how we enjoyed our stay in Manali and, at the same time, gave you a glimpse of other possibilities.
But Wait! We are yet to share how we ended our trip or…….
5. Where did we go from Manali?
After two great days at Manali, we were to depart from this beautiful place. As it was around 260 km journey, we departed by 6 o’clock in the morning. As we started our journey, we could notice signs of the recent demolition that took place due to flash floods. The condition of the roads was too poor. Only one-way traffic was possible, especially near Mandi. Thankfully, we didn’t face any issues and continued our journey until we stopped near Sundar Nagar at a roadside restaurant for breakfast by 8:30 AM.
After breakfast, our journey continued. It was a non-stop journey, as we crossed the Himachal Pradesh border by noon. The mercury started increasing, and so was the humidity. We stopped for lunch by 1 PM. It was an hour’s break for lunch. By around 3 o’clock in the afternoon, we finally reached Kalka Railway Station, where we had a train to catch late at night.
A unique, thrilling, exciting trip came to an end. This was never a trip; rather, it was an experience for us. Hope you all loved reading about our experience as much as we loved sharing it with you. Do follow us for more exciting stories of our travel journey. For any query, we are just a click away.
Wait! We are not going anywhere without this last question……
6. What kind of help are we going to provide?
Let us inform you that we prepare itineraries not only for anywhere in India but also for Asia. We have been travelling since we were toddlers. So here in our blogs and stories, we will give you a glimpse of our journey and help you plan your trip.
Read about our Uzbekistan blogs.
Read about our Kazakhstan blogs.
Read about our Singapore blogs.
Read about our Vietnam blogs.
Read about our Cambodia blogs.
Read about our Bali blogs.
Read about our Kuala Lumpur blog series.
Read about our Sri Lanka blogs.
Read about our Nepal blogs.
Read about our Char Dham blogs.
Read about our Ladakh blogs.
Read about our day trip to Hyderabad.
Read about our Madhya Pradesh blogs.
Read about our Andaman and Nicobar blogs.
Do follow our Instagram handle @mindfulllofvacations and watch for the next destination story of a new place. For any query related to any trip, drop a mail at @mitkau007@gmail.com.
by mitkau