Manali

Until about 15 years ago, Manali was a small, relaxed place. On one side of town was a settlement of Tibetan refugees; on the other side, near the bus stop, Western backpackers smoked dope and swapped trekking stories. But in 1989, Kashmir descended into chaos following the kidnapping of the Indian Home Minister's daughter by separatist militants. Most of the Indian honeymooners and foreign travelers who would otherwise have vacationed in Kashmir detoured to the village of Manali. The subsequent explosion of development has ruined Manali's tranquility—concrete hotels keep rising, and today Manali is a resort town. The new Manali overshadows the original settlement, Old Manali, whose popularity with hippie Israeli backpackers is reflected in the many Hebrew shop signs. Unfortunately, many of the old homes are now gone, and the area is associated mainly with tourist traffic along its main strip of shops—and it's also known as a place to buy marijuana.

Manali is deep in the culturally rich Kullu Valley, in the shadow of some magnificent Himalayan peaks. The neighboring hillsides are cloaked in forests of towering deodar cedars. The friendly Kullu Valley people are known for their unique traditional dress, including men's pillbox caps with colorful geometric embroidery. Most of the town revolves around its main strip, the Mall, and you can negotiate small distances to and from there with auto-rickshaws (Rs. 20 for a few kilometers).

The Mall, Manali's main commercial strip, is lined with shops selling shawls, Kashmiri crafts, and woolens.

Make time for a walk to the Hadimba Temple (also called Dunghri Temple), nestled in the woods 20 minutes from the Mall. A cross between temple and pagoda, this ancient shrine has a wooden exterior decorated with deer antlers. It's dedicated to Hadimba Devi, a demoness who turned respectable when she married one of the noble Pandava brothers, Bhima. Animal sacrifices, usually chickens, take place here, as they do in many Himachali temples since local Hindus have a tradition of appeasing the devi, or fearsome goddesses. Yaks from Ladakh are parked outside for those who want joy rides on these giant beasts. Summer sees a carnival open up in the park behind the temple.

Fall—when the valley's many apple trees bear fruit—brings the famous Perahera Festival: a local variation of the Hindu festival of Dussehra, celebrated over most of India in October or November. Ten days after the new moon, villagers bring their local deities—more than 200—from their temples down to Kullu, at the head of the valley. Dragged by hand on palanquins or wheeled on carts known as raths, the idols are brought to pay respect to Raghunathji, Kullu's patron god. For three nights, people from all over the valley, including the descendants of local royalty, mill around a temporary market on the dusty fairgrounds next to the Beas River.

At the high end of the Kullu Valley, farther up toward the Rohtang Pass, 20,000-foot peaks loom on three sides. Day hikers will find endless exhilarating paths, often alongside Gujjar shepherds with flocks of goats. Manali is also the origin and endpoint for more serious adventures into the Himalayan wilderness—from here you can launch trekking, driving, and rafting trips into Lahaul, Spiti or, to the west, the Kangra and Chamba valleys. In addition, the road north from Manali over the Rohtang Pass is currently the only open road to Ladakh.

In winter Indian tourists head out from Manali to Snow Point for sledding, tobogganing, skiing, and snowmobiling.