Manali, (alt. 1,950 m or 6,398 ft) in the Beas River valley, is an important hill station in the Himalayan mountains of Himachal Pradesh, India, near the northern end of the Kullu Valley. It is administratively a part of the Kullu District. The population is approx. 30,000. The small town was the beginning of an ancient trade route to Ladakh and, from there, over the Karakoram Pass on to Yarkand and Khotan in the Tarim Basin. Manali and its surrounding areas are of great significance to the Indian culture and heritage as it was the home and abode of the Saptarshi or seven sages. The ancient cave temple, Hidimba Devi Temple, is not far from town.
Manali is well connected by road to Delhi through NH-21 which goes on the Leh and is the world's highest motorable road. Leading up to Manali from New Delhi are the towns of Panipat and Ambala in Haryana, Chandigarh(Union Territory), Ropar in Punjab, and Bilaspur, Sundernagar, and Mandi in Himachal.
Manali is not easily approachable by rail. The nearest broad gauge railheads are at Chandigarh (315 km.), Pathankot (325 km.) and Kalka (310 km.). The nearest narrow gauge railhead is at Joginder Nagar (135 km.)
The nearest airport is at Bhuntar, which is about 50 km. from Manali.The traveller is recommended not to take the arial route as the service provided by the only private airline in that region is of poor quality.
