On this page, we shall keep updating the Coronavirus Disease (Covid-19) impacts on the Himachal and Kullu Manali Tourism. Update on Sept 21, 2020 Tourist buses stopped from entering Himachal All the tourist buses that were plying on Delhi-Manali route were prevented from entering the Himachal at Swarghat in Bilaspur district on Monday as they were engaged in inter-state movement without government permission, transport department officials said. A large number of tourists were asked to leave the buses and they had to continue their journey in the taxis. Citing Himachal government’s decision not to start interstate bus service amid Covid-19 pandemic, the regional transport officers stopped the buses and challaned them. Most of the Volvo buses were ferrying tourists for a long time. The officials had laid naka at Swarghat where buses were stopped in the wee hours and tourists were told that buses cannot drop them at the destination. An official said that the action was taken as interstate bus movement is not allowed in the state. “The buses that had left for Himachal on Sunday evening were stopped at the state entry point. Taxis were arranged for the tourists from the taxi union,” he said. Volvo buses are the main transport option to travel to Kullu-Manali from Delhi and Chandigarh. As Himachal has limited flight services, most of tourists visit Himachal in Volvo buses. Tourists avoid travelling in small taxis due to long and hectic journey and poor road condition. A few Volvo buses were providing their services to ferry stranded people and to bring labourers to the state. After state government decided to open Himachal for tourists in July first week, some of the tourists started travelling in these buses. Now that state borders have been thrown open for all from September 16, number of tourists
On this page, we shall keep updating the Coronavirus Disease (Covid-19) impacts on the Himachal and Kullu Manali Tourism. Update on Sept 21, 2020 Tourist buses stopped from entering Himachal All the tourist buses that were plying on Delhi-Manali route were prevented from entering the Himachal at Swarghat in Bilaspur district on Monday as
A day after tourist resorts of Shimla and Manali received season’s first snow, tourists from neighbouring states have made a beeline for Himachal to enjoy the snow. Tourists thronged Solang, Kufri and other tourist places which received a good amount of snow on Monday. After three days of inclement weather, it was sunny day on Tuesday. Tourist places were witnessing crowd from the early morning till late evening. Most of the tourists are from Delhi, UP, Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh. A tourist from Delhi Jatin Ahuja said, “We headed to Manali after hearing about snowfall on Monday morning. I and my wife wanted to see snowfall but we were a little late. However, we enjoyed in snow near Manali. Covid-19 being the main hurdle, we preferred driving our own car. The weather on Tuesday was amazing and we spent almost half day at Solang. We wanted to visit Atal tunnel but the road was blocked,” he said. Tourists were not being allowed to go to the higher regions as most of the roads have become slippery. Many tourists attempted to go towards Atal tunnel but could not reach due to icing of the road surface. Buses plying on Manali-Keylong route had to return back from south portal of the tunnel where road was extremely slippery. The highway even saw traffic jam for some time. Shimla also saw good number of tourists coming from Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh on Tuesday. Tourists headed to the upper Shimla to see snow. Dalhousie and Dharamshala are also expecting little rise in footfall in the next few days. Suffering huge losses since March due to Covid-19, hoteliers are expecting little surge in tourist inflow following the snowfall. “This year has been a black year for all businesses but tourism industry is worse affected. Tourists are
A day after tourist resorts of Shimla and Manali received season’s first snow, tourists from neighbouring states have made a beeline for Himachal to enjoy the snow. Tourists thronged Solang, Kufri and other tourist places which received a good amount of snow on Monday. After three days of inclement weather, it was sunny day on
Kullu-Manali attracts over 35 lakh domestic and foreigner tourists annually and not all are fascinated by the mountains, glaciers and rivers of the valley – some of them visit the Himalayan valley in search of “Malana Cream”, the world’s best charas. Former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal once said: “When I was giving my introduction to a representative of Israeli senate in an international conclave, he left me stunned with words that he has listened about Kasol in India where high class marijuana is available. He shared his thought that a large number of people in Israel after completing mandatory military services rush to Kasol in Kullu to relieve themselves by puffing marijuana.” Over 98% of the tourists visit the valley to enjoy nature and adventure sports. Still, some tourists are reported to have visited the valley only for charas. Such tourists prefer staying in remote villages for a long time period. Police, who don’t want to put a negative impact on tourism, frequently lay nakas in such areas to search for the vehicles and pedestrians. As many as 161 foreigners have been booked under NDPS Act in last 15 years. The number of domestic tourists is even more. This doesn’t mean that all tourists visit Kullu-Manali for charas. Majority of tourists, both Indian and Foreigners, do not know that charas is produced in Kullu and is available here. Some people here say though charas put negative impact on youth but it is helping in rise in tourist footfall. A large number of local residents and politicians have been demanding to legalize cannabis cultivation, but fearing its misuse to make charas has forced lawmakers to make strict rules under NDPS Act. High on charas, foreigners bring notoriety to land of gods What attracts lakhs of backpackers from abroad to Kullu valley every year?
Kullu-Manali attracts over 35 lakh domestic and foreigner tourists annually and not all are fascinated by the mountains, glaciers and rivers of the valley – some of them visit the Himalayan valley in search of “Malana Cream”, the world’s best charas. Former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal once said: “When I was giving my introduction
Work from the mountains (WFM) or work from the hills (WFH) is trending fast in India as IT professionals, businessmen and others are opting for long stays in hotels or guesthouses located in a peaceful place close to the nature in the picturesque Kullu-Manali. Imagine working from a place amidst snow-capped high mountain peaks and lush green deep valleys with cold breeze kissing your face. The chirping birds and sound of glacier-fed water streams refreshing your mind. Fast-flowing rivers and glacier-fed waterfalls just in the neighbourhood. You enjoy your work while having a cup of ginger tea during sunrise and sunset. You are working like office but it is more like a holiday trip. This seems to be an otherworldly imagination. But just a thought of all this make you excited and full of energy, forgetting everything about Covid-19 pandemic. But this is true as a large number of people from metros and other cities are already working from mountains. Hundreds of queries are pouring in every day where tourists are looking for an ideal location with good internet connectivity. Such professionals want to make their room or balcony or the courtyard a temporary workplace. Many IT companies have asked their employees that they can work from home since December 31. The work from home concept is working fine for lakhs of employees in India. But, work-from-home is now less popular than work-from-mountains. The boredom of working from home can be super-excited if you change your home temporarily to the mountains. WFM or Work from Mountains is a new trend in the country and Kullu-Manali has emerged as the best destination as the area has very few Covid-19 cases and people here are giving warm welcome to the outsiders. What is Work from Mountains (WFM) Work from Mountain or
Work from the mountains (WFM) or work from the hills (WFH) is trending fast in India as IT professionals, businessmen and others are opting for long stays in hotels or guesthouses located in a peaceful place close to the nature in the picturesque Kullu-Manali. Imagine working from a place amidst snow-capped high mountain peaks and
While people in Himachal are opposing the entry of tourists into the state fearing spread of Covid-19, Jibhi and Tirthan valley of Kullu are opening for tourists from September 5 with strict conditions. After meeting of the owners of hotels, guesthouses and homestays of Jibhi and Tirthan valley, it was decided that they will allow booking from September 5 onwards provided that advance booking is made for a minimum of 10 days. The tourists need to bring Covid-19 negative certificate which should not be older than 72 hours. Tourists will have to stay in the hotel for the first five days but can go sightseeing in the next five days along with a local guide. They cannot travel by unknown taxi and will have to bring their own car. Jibhi Valley Tourism Development Association president Lalit Kumar said they will follow government SOPs but have made them stricter but easier so that the disease does not spread in the local community. “We live in a rural area where all residents are directly or indirectly benefitting from tourism. We have taken this decision after long discussion and serious consideration. We shall make sure that only genuine tourists who fulfill our conditions reach here,” he said. The labourers brought to Kullu from other states for work in apple season have already resulted in a sharp spike in cases in the district. Local panchayats had also been opposing the opening of the hotels. The hoteliers in Kullu-Manali had made it clear that they shall remain close until the situation improves. Both Jibhi and Tirthan have emerged as one of the top tourist destinations where tourists go for long stays. This has resulted in the mushrooming of many tourism units in both regions in recent years. Although many villagers are still not in favour
While people in Himachal are opposing the entry of tourists into the state fearing spread of Covid-19, Jibhi and Tirthan valley of Kullu are opening for tourists from September 5 with strict conditions. After meeting of the owners of hotels, guesthouses and homestays of Jibhi and Tirthan valley, it was decided that they will allow
For the first time, three snow leopards -- one adult and two cubs -- have been captured in camera traps installed in the Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP) in Kullu district of Himachal. The camera traps have captured a grown-up snow leopard at 19 locations and it is accompanied by cubs at two locations. This is for the first time that snow leopard has been captured in camera at multiple spots along with cubs in the Great Himalayan National Park. However, a snow leopard was captured by a team of research scholars from Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, in 2017 in the mid-hills. This time the department has documented proofs in the shape of many photos which confirm that the endangered big cat is breeding safely not only in Lahaul-Spiti district but also in Kullu. Great Himalayan National Park director Ajit Thakur said the 40 camera traps were installed at different locations inside the sanctuary area last year. “The snow leopard was captured between October and December. We started analysis of the footage after March. We were successful in capturing the elusive big cat at 19 locations. At one location, the grown-up snow leopard is accompanied by two cubs and at one location it is accompanied by one cub,” he said. Wildlife researchers and photographers spend years to take a photo of one snow leopard. The wildlife department capturing three snow leopards together is being considered a big achievement as it will go a long way in various conservation programmes. Thakur added that wildlife wing of Himachal is extremely happy after the clear evidences of the presence of the snow leopards in the sanctuary. “Presence of cubs with adult suggests that snow leopards are possibly breeding in the area. This is just a preliminary survey by wildlife department and nature
For the first time, three snow leopards — one adult and two cubs — have been captured in camera traps installed in the Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP) in Kullu district of Himachal. The camera traps have captured a grown-up snow leopard at 19 locations and it is accompanied by cubs at two locations. This
Manali Winter Carnival 2021 Start Date: January 02, 2021 End Date: January 06, 2021 Address: Manali, Himachal Pradesh, India Main attractions: Local culture, local cuisines, winter sports, Winter Queen beauty pageant, Voice of Carnival, folk dances, western dances, street plays, fashion shows, baby shows, magic shows and many more Influence: National Level Event Purpose: To boost winter tourism Organizers: DC Kullu is chairman and SDM Manali is vice-chairman with both government and non-government members Timing: Opening at 7 AM on 2nd January and cultural and other programmes will be held between 11 AM and 10 PM daily The Manali Winter Carnival, the largest tourism event of Himachal showcasing the local culture and winter sports to attract tourists during the lean winter season, will be celebrated between January 2 and 6, 2021, an official said here. Tourists will get to experience local culture, dance, songs, sports, local cuisines, tableaus, winter sports and many more during five days. While the colourful programmes to woo tourists will continue in the town, winter sports like skiing and snowboarding will be organized at Solang valley near the town. Over 4,000 local women will actively participate in the event to give it a local touch. Aimed to boost the winter tourism and promote local culture, the national level winter carnival will begin with the presentation of over a hundred cultural tableaus and processions. Besides the participation of cultural troops from many other states, the tourists will get to see folk performances of all districts of Himachal while over 120 mahila mandals have agreed to participate. The mahila mandals will present folk dances on the Mall Road here for five days. Tourists will get a chance to dance on the Kullu folk tunes. Fashion show during Winter Carnival at Manu Rangshala of Manali Winter Queen pageant, where
Manali Winter Carnival 2021 Start Date: January 02, 2021 End Date: January 06, 2021 Address: Manali, Himachal Pradesh, India Main attractions: Local culture, local cuisines, winter sports, Winter Queen beauty pageant, Voice of Carnival, folk dances, western dances, street plays, fashion shows, baby shows, magic shows and many more Influence: National Level Event Purpose: To
Alliance Air, the subsidiary of Air India Ltd, is resuming its flight operations thrice a week between Delhi and Kullu from July 16, an official said. Alliance Air is the only airline conducting sorties to Kullu for a long time. The airline had suspended operation after a nationwide lockdown. The domestic flights in the country had recommenced operations from May 25 but the airline had cancelled its sortie to Kullu as it could not get slot at Delhi airport. “The flight will operate on Monday, Thursday and Saturday. Airline will be deploying its 70-seater ATR 72 aircraft for the route. Flight 9I 805 will depart Delhi at 6:45am for Kullu and land at 8:05am. The flight 9I 806 will depart Kullu at 8:30am and arrive in Delhi at 9:50am. The booking is available online or through our travel agents,” an official from Alliance Air said. He said that the flight will be adhering to all government guidelines and standard operation procedures (SOPs) issued by Ministry of Civil Aviation. “All required precautionary measures will be taken inside the aircraft as well as at time of check-in, boarding and arrival. The aircrafts are being disinfected rigorously after each flight to eliminate any risk of infection,” he added. Himachal has three airports -- Gaggal in Kangra, Jubbarhatti in Shimla and Bhuntar in Kullu. The runways in Himachal being short in length, only ATR 72 and ATR 42 planes land here and the planes already face load penalty of 30 to 50 passengers which is almost half the capacity. Social distancing will not be a major problem as even in general conditions sometimes only one passenger sits in one row following the load penalty. And check-in counters and arrivals never witness passenger crowd. While three flights a day were already operating to Gaggal airport,
Alliance Air, the subsidiary of Air India Ltd, is resuming its flight operations thrice a week between Delhi and Kullu from July 16, an official said. Alliance Air is the only airline conducting sorties to Kullu for a long time. The airline had suspended operation after a nationwide lockdown. The domestic flights in the country
As the administration is allowing tourist vehicles to ply the Manali-Rohtang highway in the daytime, hundreds of tourists have made a beeline to Rohtang pass to enjoy the fresh snow. Rohtang is covered with 10 to 20cm of powder snow which will last for few more weeks. Earlier this month administration had stopped tourist movement to Rohtang pass after some vehicles had stranded in snowfall. The Manali administration is now allowing tourist vehicles to go to snow point at Rohtang pass in day time. But the tourists need to leave Rohtang for Manali in the afternoon before icing of the road in the evening time. A large number of tourists are thronging Rohtang every day. “We were given a surprise in the form of fresh snow at Rohtang pass. This was one of the best surprises we ever received,” a tourist from West Bengal Deepak Ojha said. He added that they had booked the tour to Himachal a long back and had not expected to see snow in Manali in October. “We were surprised to see the whole area covered with white blanket. We had a lot of fun all the day.” Another tourist from Delhi, Amit Rathore, said he and his wife planned trip to Manali after hearing news about snowfall at Rohtang pass. “This is our second trip to Manali. Last time we could not see snow. We left Delhi for Manali on Sunday morning and visited Rohtang on Monday. It was an amazing experience. There were no traffic jam and no maddening crowd as we had faced last time,” he said. Most of tourists visiting Himachal these days are from West Bengal. The hoteliers, who complained about weak summer tourist season this year, are still complaining of lean season. Tourist inflow increased since Dussehra but hoteliers say
As the administration is allowing tourist vehicles to ply the Manali-Rohtang highway in the daytime, hundreds of tourists have made a beeline to Rohtang pass to enjoy the fresh snow. Rohtang is covered with 10 to 20cm of powder snow which will last for few more weeks. Earlier this month administration had stopped tourist movement
In a public hearing organized by town and country planning (TCP) sub-committee in Manali to know the public views, all the people opposed TCP rules being enforced in the village areas as the Act was not practical in congested villages with limited land. The Himachal government will organize public hearings in different parts of the state to know the public views and to hear grievances. The TCP Act is likely to be amended based on the public opinion. The first such public hearing was organizing in Manali which was chaired by forest and transport minister Govind Singh Thakur who is the member of cabinet sub-committee for exclusion or inclusion of TCP areas. Besides TCP, officials from all the departments were present on the occasion. Villagers, hoteliers, stakeholders and panchayat representatives were present in the hearing. The present people were given chance to share their opinion and grievances one by one. All the people present on the occasion unanimously said that given the tough geography of Kullu district and limited land in congested villages, it was impossible to follow the strict rules of the TCP. As hoteliers are most affected by the TCP Act, a large number of hotel owners were present in the hearing. “The TCP department should have formed village level committees before making and enforcing the new TCP Act which brings villages under its purview. The villages are densely populated and everybody has limited land. If a person has a house on 150sqm land and he has three children who further want to build their own houses, the TCP Act does not allow building house on 50sqm land. The Act is made for the development of Himachal but Himachal cannot be compared with plain states. If anybody wants to make homestay or guesthouse in a village, TCP is
In a public hearing organized by town and country planning (TCP) sub-committee in Manali to know the public views, all the people opposed TCP rules being enforced in the village areas as the Act was not practical in congested villages with limited land. The Himachal government will organize public hearings in different parts of the
