Himachal Pradesh

Lahaul is braced for massive changes. For years, reaching this spectacular if desolate region has involved crossing the seasonal, infamously treacherous Rohtang Pass. However, by 2020 the new Rohtang Tunnel is expected to have opened, making access a breeze from Manali. In its wake, you can expect a rush of new tourism. Keylong (Lahaul's capital) is on the summer-only mountain highway to Ladakh. To the west, the fascinating, little-visited Pattan and Pangi Valleys are an explorer's delight. To the east, a rough jeep track leads over the soaring Kunzum La into Spiti, Himachal's 'mini-Ladakh'. Riven by deep river chasms, this is a high-altitude desert backed by snow-topped mountains and punctuated by tiny villages set in patches of striking greenery. As in Ladakh, Tibetan Buddhism is the dominant religion in both Spiti and upper Lahaul, though Hinduism is prominent in lower Lahaul. Some curious Lahauli temples encompass both religions.

Lahaul & Spiti

Separated from fertile Lahaul by the soaring 4551m Kunzum Pass, the trans-Himalayan region of Spiti is another chunk of Tibet marooned within India, a kind of 'mini-Ladakh' with fewer tourists. The scattered villages in this serrated moonscape arrive like mirages while the turquoise-grey ribbon of the Spiti River is your near-constant companion, albeit sometimes way below in precipitous gorges. The whole Spiti–Kinnaur loop is scenically spectacular, attracting hordes of summer motorcyclists completing one of India's great road trips.

Spiti

Dharamsala (also spelled Dharamshala) is known as the home of the Dalai Lama, though in fact the Tibetan spiritual leader is based about two miles up the hill in McLeod Ganj, and that's where most visitors are heading. Dharamsala proper is a market town mostly useful for bus connections.

Dharamsala

Strung out along a ridge with steep forested hillsides falling away in all directions, the Himachal capital is one of India's most popular hill resorts, buzzing with a happy flow of heat-escaping Indian vacationers. Traffic is banned from the central part of town, so walking is pleasant – even when huffing and puffing uphill. The long, winding main street, The Mall, runs east and west just below the spine of the hill. South of it, the maze-like alleys and stairways of the bustling bazaar cascade steeply down to Cart Rd.

From mid-July to mid-September Shimla is frequently wreathed in cloud, and from January it often gets a carpeting of snow. November is cold but clear with a distant horizon of Himalayan peaks sometimes visible from The Ridge.

Shimla

When travelers talk of staying in Dharamsala, McLeod Ganj is usually where they actually mean. A couple of miles north of Dharamsala proper (or six miles via the looping bus route), McLeod Ganj is the residence of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and home to a large Tibetan population, including many maroon-robed monks and nuns. The Tibetan government-in-exile is based in between at Gangchen Kyishong. McLeod attracts thousands of international visitors, many of them volunteering with the Tibetan community, taking courses in Buddhism, meditation or yoga, trekking in the Dhauladhar mountains, shopping for Tibetan crafts, or just hanging out enjoying the spiritual vibe and the plethora of good cafes where you're never far from an interesting conversation.

Mcleod Ganj

This ethereally beautiful valley stretches up through touristy, forest-ringed Kasol and the busy if grubby little pilgrim hot-springs town of Manikaran to a collection of villages around Barshani with glorious views of 5000m Himalayan peaks. Places like Pulga and Kalga here are key stops on the pre-Goa 'hummus trail' for young Israeli travellers, while Kasol and Tosh increasingly draw young Indian travellers and weekenders. The valley has plenty of hippie/backpacker hang-outs, with cheap accommodation, international food and nonstop music. The well-deserved reputation for charas (hashish) is most noted at the very odd village of Malana. Police sometimes make spot checks for drugs. There are some excellent treks in the area, including the Chandrakani Pass route to/from Naggar, or the far tougher Pin-Parvati Pass to/from Spiti. For safety reasons, solo trekking is not recommended.

Parvati Valley

With mountain adventures beckoning from all directions, Manali is a year-round magnet. Backpackers are well catered for in parts of Vashisht and Old Manai where numerous agents offer trekking, climbing, rafting and skiing according to season. Meanwhile, so many Indian families and honeymooners come for a first taste of snow that greater Manali now has an estimated 800 to 1000 hotels and guesthouses. Tight-packed resort buildings already fill the town center and are now steadily devouring former orchard terraces as far south as once-rustic Prini village. But while the whole area gets jam-packed in season (mid-April to mid-July, mid-September to mid-October, and over Christmas–New Year), it doesn't take too much effort to get off the main tourist trail. And in November, clear skies plus slashed prices make Manali a bargain – if you can handle the cold and the closure of some restaurants.

Manali

With its plunging pine-clad valleys and distant mountain views, ridge-top Dalhousie was founded in the 1850s by the British viceroy whose name it bears. Its heyday came in the 1920s, '30s and '40s when Lahore society flocked here for its hols. Come Partition, Lahore found itself in Pakistan and Dalhousie lost its mojo, but the town's star appears to be rising again as a rediscovered escape for honeymooners and families fleeing the heat of the plains.