On this page, we shall keep you updated about the latest Himachal Tourism trends, Himachal Tourism news, views from hoteliers and travel agents and tour guides and packages of Himachal Pradesh. 2,000 tourists stranded in 500 vehicles rescued from Atal tunnel Updated on December 30, 2022 Nearly 500 vehicles carrying over 2,000 tourists that were stranded at Atal tunnel following snowfall were rescued in the late night operations that lasted for eight hours from 5pm to 1am on Thursday. A large number of tourist vehicles were stranded at both south and north portals of Atal tunnel following snowfall which made the road slippery on Thursday afternoon. While vehicles from north side were sent towards south side, vehicles started skidding on the steep road between the tunnel and Dhundi nullah, causing a long traffic jam. The vehicles eventually got stuck. Kullu and Lahaul-Spiti police helped the tourists and drivers in getting their vehicles to safe places. The last vehicle was sent towards Solang valley at about 1am. As many as 5,640 vehicles carrying tourists had entered Lahaul valley from Manali via Atal tunnel on Thursday to see snow and snowfall. 5,548 vehicles exited the tunnel towards Manali from Thursday 8am to Friday 8am. As the snow started accumulating on the road surface, vehicles started skidding and it became very difficult to drive by late evening. While some people, mostly local taxi drivers, managed to negotiate through the steep curves between the tunnel and Dhundi nullah, hundreds of other vehicles got stuck when many vehicles skid on the road and jammed it. Although the administration stopped traffic towards Atal tunnel, it was already too late. Lahaul-Spiti police started sending vehicles from Lahaul towards Manali. However, they could not move ahead due to traffic congestion at south portal of the tunnel where cops
On this page, we shall keep you updated about the latest Himachal Tourism trends, Himachal Tourism news, views from hoteliers and travel agents and tour guides and packages of Himachal Pradesh. 2,000 tourists stranded in 500 vehicles rescued from Atal tunnel Updated on December 30, 2022 Nearly 500 vehicles carrying over 2,000 tourists that were
Looking for the best and hassle-free Manali honeymoon package? Here is your guide to help you plan the best honeymoon in Kullu Manali. Sitting in a cozy warm room, peeping out of a large window while it is snowing outside, even you get a chance to catch some snowflakes from your private balcony -- what could be more thrilling honeymoon experience? And what could be more interesting than celebrating a honeymoon on the riverside in Manali while live Kullu folk music and dance are being performed for you. Or, you are enjoying your dinner in the moonlight while bonfire keeping you warm. Manali honeymoon packages have everything that you had ever dreamed of. Honeymoon is a once in a lifetime occasion when newlyweds celebrate their marriage. They want this occasion to be memorable. The honeymoon destination is chosen very carefully by the couples. Every couple wants their honeymoon destination to be romantic and exotic. They want to be very close to nature. Kullu-Manali is one of the world's best honeymoon destinations preferred by thousands of honeymooners. Depending on budget, Manali has a special honeymoon package to offer to all kinds of couples -- starting from cheap to budget to deluxe to luxury honeymoon package. Be it winter, summer, monsoon or any other season, Mother Nature has blessed Manali with enchanting beauty. Each season has its own charm in Kullu-Manali. Whenever you visit Manali, the peaks overlooking the valleys remain covered with snow. Beas river, Parvati river and their tributaries add to the beauty of the region. Dense green deodar forests make the whole district picture perfect. Honeymooners throng Manali and Kullu year-round. Honeymooners make a beeline to Manali during the marriage season. This is the time when Kullu and Manali hotels offer varieties of packages, discounts, and offers. With nearly 50
Looking for the best and hassle-free Manali honeymoon package? Here is your guide to help you plan the best honeymoon in Kullu Manali. Sitting in a cozy warm room, peeping out of a large window while it is snowing outside, even you get a chance to catch some snowflakes from your private balcony — what
If you are in party or holiday mood to celebrate Christmas and New Year Eve with your family or friends, but you are not able to decide on a location to chill, you should just pack your bags and head to the Himachal where you can choose one of the dozens of beautiful locations that are ready to host you for the holiday season. With all tourist destinations of Himachal expected to remain jam-packed from December 24 to January 1 during Christmas and New Year Eve, the state is gearing up to welcome guests from all around the country. Most hotels are booked completely in advance and taxis and tourist buses are in huge demand these days. The hotel occupancy has already reached close to 40 per cent which is expected to remain above 75 per cent from December 24 onwards. Most of the good hotels in Manali, Shimla, Dharamshala, Dalhousie, Kasauli, Kasol and other popular tourist places are already booked till the new year. New tourist destination Lahaul valley has also good booking. Over one hundred luxury tourist buses from Delhi are reaching Himachal every day besides taxis and private cars. Given the current booking trends, hoteliers are expecting record tourist footfall. While increasing cases of Covid-19 is a matter of concern, the possibility of fresh snowfall after Christmas may help in increasing the footfall. A fresh wave of western disturbance is expected to hit the western Himalayas from December 25 onwards. Gajender Thakur, president of the Federation of Himachal Hotels and Restaurant Association, said, tourist footfall in the state is increasing as tourists are heading to the hills in the holiday mood. “The peak tourist season will be from December 24 to January 1. Hotels are reporting good bookings. However, some hotels have average bookings. No snowfall in the last
If you are in party or holiday mood to celebrate Christmas and New Year Eve with your family or friends, but you are not able to decide on a location to chill, you should just pack your bags and head to the Himachal where you can choose one of the dozens of beautiful locations that
The farmers’ protests at Delhi borders have now started badly impacting the tourism in Himachal Pradesh where hotel booking cancellations have continued and tourists are clueless about whether they should plan their holiday trip or they should wait for few more days. Tourism in Himachal is already struggling to come back on track. According to hoteliers, the recent order of imposing night curfew in Shimla, Kangra, Mandi and Kullu-Manali has played spoilsport for the industry. Now tourists have started to cancel their bookings following farmers’ protests that are leading to blockade of major roads from Delhi. “Nothing is good with tourism in Himachal. After Covid-19, imposing ban on plying of AC tourist buses and imposing night curfew, the protests by farmers is all set to destroy the tourism,” Himachal Travel Agents Association president Budhi Parkash said. “Neither we oppose nor do we support these protests but we are worried for our business which is worse impacted since March this year. Tourists look for a pleasant and worry-free environment to enjoy their holiday trip. Most tourists are not able to decide if they should plan their trip or not,” he added. The average hotel occupancy in Manali, Shimla, Dalhousie and Dharamshala is 15 to 20 per cent. The hotels have reported a large number of cancellations due to night curfew and farmers’ protests. The festive season, which used to attract thousands of tourists to Himachal in October and November, has been worst in terms of business. Hoteliers are now hoping for good business in Christmas and New Year Eve. However, many hoteliers and tour planners have left expecting anymore from this pandemic year. Hotelier Ritesh Sood said the word “night curfew” has spread panic among tourists who think this is not the right time to visit Himachal. “Nobody in Himachal remains outside
The farmers’ protests at Delhi borders have now started badly impacting the tourism in Himachal Pradesh where hotel booking cancellations have continued and tourists are clueless about whether they should plan their holiday trip or they should wait for few more days. Tourism in Himachal is already struggling to come back on track. According to
With the Himachal government imposing night curfew in four districts of the state from Tuesday to contain spread of Covid-19, the hoteliers said the decision will destroy tourism completely which was slowly coming back on track after the lockdown. Four districts of Himachal -- Kullu, Shimla, Kangra and Mandi – will observe a complete curfew from Tuesday to December 15. No vehicle other than those engaged in emergency and essential supplies will be allowed on roads between 8pm and 6am. Hoteliers said the tourism was coming back on track after a long time but this curfew will create panic among visitors who have planned to visit the state. Manali and some other tourist destinations of Himachal are reachable from Delhi after a travel time of over 14 hours. In such a condition, 10 hours’ night curfew will stop them from reaching their destination. Hoteliers said the government should give relaxation to the tourists otherwise it will be a nightmare for those who are already in transit and those who have already booked their flights and other conveyance that will not match the curfew timing. They said snowfall was attracting tourists to the state but curfew in the main tourism districts of Himachal will adversely affect tourism. A hotelier Anil Sharma said, “Be it towns or villages, Himachal wears deserted look in the nighttime in winter months when people mostly remain indoors. The government should impose a ban on functions to avoid public gatherings which is the main reason for the spike in Covid-19 cases in Himachal." "There should be some strict restrictions on marriages and other parties. We will welcome the decision to fine tourists heavily for disobeying protocols to contain Covid-19 but night curfew is not the solution but it will harm the tourism which has already suffered huge
With the Himachal government imposing night curfew in four districts of the state from Tuesday to contain spread of Covid-19, the hoteliers said the decision will destroy tourism completely which was slowly coming back on track after the lockdown. Four districts of Himachal — Kullu, Shimla, Kangra and Mandi – will observe a complete curfew
While Himachal government has opened its border to tourists without need of e-pass or any formality, the residents of Spiti valley, including tourism stakeholders, have decided not to host tourists this year as they believe handling of Covid-19 patients during harsh winters of valley will be near to impossible. The decision to remain shut was taken by Spiti Tourism Society after meeting of hoteliers, homestay owners, tourist guides, taxi drivers, panchayat representatives, beopar mandal, mahila mandal, yuvak mandal and Commitee for Preventive Measures and Sustainable Development (CPMSD), a committee which is formed by the residents to fight Covid-19. It was decided in the meeting that all tourism activities including jeep safari, trekking, camping and package tours shall remain closed in 2020. However, it was also decided that no tourist will be allowed to enter the Spiti valley till October 31 and they will decide on future course after holding another meeting. For now, the tourism stakeholders were asked not to accept booking until next year. Sonam Targe, member of Spiti Tourism Society said, this tough decision was taken considering the consequences of the pandemic that it can have on high altitude region of Spiti which has limited medical facilities, underdeveloped infrastructure and extreme geographical conditions with harsh winters. “Winter season is setting in and Spiti will be more vulnerable as people in medical need will need to be taken outside the Spiti for treatment amid limited connectivity. We have managed to keep the disease out of the valley. Residents here are dependent on tourism for livelihood but they are sacrificing everything to protect themselves. We have requested tourists to postpone their travel plans to next season when the Spiti valley will be safest destination to travel,” he said. Spiti residents have been in controversy for taking strict decisions to keep
While Himachal government has opened its border to tourists without need of e-pass or any formality, the residents of Spiti valley, including tourism stakeholders, have decided not to host tourists this year as they believe handling of Covid-19 patients during harsh winters of valley will be near to impossible. The decision to remain shut was
No raft is floating on the rivers, skies have no paragliders, the rugged terrains are missing the ATVs, challenging Himalayan trails have no hikers and nobody is skiing down the backcountry slopes in Himachal. With tourism around the world coming to a standstill, the adventure tourism industry of the state has also been hit hard, leaving thousands jobless. Not just the hoteliers, thousands of people operating adventure tourism have been left jobless by the Covid-19. Himachal has emerged as a top adventure tourism hub of the world where adventure enthusiasts from around the world come for all kind of activities. Paragliding, rafting, mountaineering, skiing, heli-skiing, ATV rides and almost every adventure activity is available in the state. As tourism is expected to take many more months to come back on the track, thousands of adventure activity operators are worrying for their future. “All the industries have been hit by the Covid-19 but tourism industry has suffered the most. The agriculture, horticulture, construction, trades and all industries are returning to normalcy one by one. But the tourism will take a long time to resume. All the adventure activities too have come to a grinding halt. Thousands have lost their jobs. Now everybody is looking at government for relief,” Adventure Tour Operators Association president Roshan Lal said. Adventure tourism in Himachal has become a multi-crore industry that runs almost round the year except for monsoon season. It has become one of the largest employers in the state. May and June are the peak season when lakhs of tourists try hand at various activities in the state especially in Kullu, Shimla, Kangra and Chamba districts. The state has all the activities except for bungee jumping. The government was to start setting up world’s highest bungee jumping near Marhi at altitude of about 11,000ft
No raft is floating on the rivers, skies have no paragliders, the rugged terrains are missing the ATVs, challenging Himalayan trails have no hikers and nobody is skiing down the backcountry slopes in Himachal. With tourism around the world coming to a standstill, the adventure tourism industry of the state has also been hit hard,
Himacal Pradesh chief secretary Dr Shrikant Baldi on Wednesday reviewed the progress of important tourism projects of Himachal Pradesh and directed officials to complete them within stipulated time period as they are of top priority of the state government. He said the government has sanctioned works worth Rs. 18.18cr for development of Janjehli area and Rs. 4.6cr are sanctioned for Pong area under 'Nai Raahein Nai Manzilein' scheme. He informed that Rs 3.72cr have been released for development of water sports in Larji reservoir. The project works of Rs 6.59cr were sanctioned for development of Pong area. “A detail project report (DPR) of Rs 100cr for spiritual tourism circuit is being prepared by Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation. The DPR will be prepared as per requirement of ministry of tourism, government of India. The authorities of Kullu and Lahaul-Spiti districts have been directed to provide land for development of tourist facility at Rohtang tunnel and Sissu,” he said. He directed the authorities to make it mandatory to register the trekkers going for various treks under Miscellaneous Adventure Activity Rule. He directed that the authorized agencies will have to provide a GPS band to monitor the trekkers to ensure their safety. He also reviewed the progress work of various ropeways and directed the concerned authorities to speed up the pace of work. He also reviewed the progress work of Bantony Castle, Shimla.
Himacal Pradesh chief secretary Dr Shrikant Baldi on Wednesday reviewed the progress of important tourism projects of Himachal Pradesh and directed officials to complete them within stipulated time period as they are of top priority of the state government. He said the government has sanctioned works worth Rs. 18.18cr for development of Janjehli area and
Following increasing cases of accidents in adventure tourism activities in Kullu, the district administration has ordered to seal the unauthorized paragliding sites and take strict action on illegal river rafting in Beas. Kullu deputy commissioner Yunus ordered SDMs and district tourism and development officer to destroy the paragliding infrastructure at Dobhi, Talogi, and Bijli Mahadev. He said these are the hotspots for unauthorized paragliding. Three persons, including a tourist from Kerala, have died in paragliding mishaps at Dobhi recently. Every year many tourists die while experiencing adventure activities like paragliding, river rafting, and hiking. After administration received many complaints of river rafting at unauthorized stretches of Beas, it has tightened the screw on the operators and said nobody has the right to play with the lives of innocent people. He ordered operators to ensure use of safety equipment and operate only on government authorized area. The administration has also imposed ba an on display of river rafting hording and the opening of booking counters along the national highway in Kullu-Manali. Rafting operators have been asked to make their rules in favour of better tourism and safety of tourists and deposit it with Dthe C office within 10 days. DC said associations would be responsible for the safety of the tourists. He asked paragliding and rafting operators to fix the charges for the services and display rates at appropriate places. He also ordered the tourism department to print pamphlets with rates of the activities and distribute among tourists. “We shall apply no tolerance policy on adventure sports. We are not against the activities and the operators who are earning their livelihood but we are against unauthorized activities. We receive many complaints regarding lack of safety from tourists and local residents,” Yunus said. He added that new regulations are being prepared for
Following increasing cases of accidents in adventure tourism activities in Kullu, the district administration has ordered to seal the unauthorized paragliding sites and take strict action on illegal river rafting in Beas. Kullu deputy commissioner Yunus ordered SDMs and district tourism and development officer to destroy the paragliding infrastructure at Dobhi, Talogi, and Bijli Mahadev.
Very few advance hotel booking for the summer tourist season is worrying hoteliers in Himachal who believe continuing IPL matches and upcoming Lok Sabha elections will put their impact on the tourism till May 23. Peak summer tourist season in Himachal begins in mid-April and lasts till June end. As most hotels remain fully occupied during this duration, most of the tourists prefer booking hotels in advance. This year most of the hotels are complaining about very less booking. Hoteliers think this could be the impact of IPL matches and elections which can continue to affect their business until May 23 when the result of the election will be announced. A hotelier Ludar Chand said he is receiving very less advance booking if compared with last year. “90 percent of our clients come via online booking. Summer season is starting next month but there is almost no booking. Cricket matches put a negative impact on tourism as crores of people like to stay stick to the TV screens. Our booking agents say booking will remain little slow during elections as well,” he said. Another hotelier Surender Maheshwari said Lok Sabha election being the largest festival of the country and more and more people taking interest in politics is the reason people may choose elections over tourism. “This is the condition of almost all hoteliers in Himachal. Very few inquiries are pouring in. We get two and a half months to earn money. We hope June will bring us good business.” Hotels in Manali do a brisk business in the summer season when tourists head to hills to escape from the scorching heat of the plains. The hoteliers have to earn expenses for the whole year from business in a limited time period. Hoteliers earlier believed that tension in Kashmir will
Very few advance hotel booking for the summer tourist season is worrying hoteliers in Himachal who believe continuing IPL matches and upcoming Lok Sabha elections will put their impact on the tourism till May 23. Peak summer tourist season in Himachal begins in mid-April and lasts till June end. As most hotels remain fully occupied
