Neither. Take the following route:

Chandigarh - Dharampur - Sabathu - Kunihar - Bhrampukhar - Ghaghas - Sundernagar.

Look it up over the map. It would mostly be devoid of any traffic.

And not visit shimla?

I've never been to shimla, so I don't know what it's like, if it is like mussoorie with it's swarm of foreign tourists then I have no intention of going there, but if it's a little quieter like Lansdowne then I wouldn't want to miss visiting

Help me out bro

Hey guys,

We're about to go to Manali next week. Just wanted to know about the weather, traffic & road conditions there. If someone could provide the recent info or based on their experience about this time of the year, it would be a help for us

We'll be riding to Rohtang Pass and Manikaran there. Any other spot recommended to pay a visit? Any sort of info about those spots, accomodation, route and stuff will be appriciated

We'll be on this trip for 5 or 3 days. Can't decide b/w those right now coz of some reason, so suggest according to both

Shimla is best avoided, trust me

Has anyone ever been to Bhakra dam (supposed to be 13km upstream from Nangal township which is ahead of kiratpur sahib)
Would like to know if its a hassle to go there. It will be on the way for my ride this weekend and would like to have a dekko if it doesnt involve getting down from the bike

I went there around 6 years ago. At that time it was pretty simple. At the ascend of the climb after Nangal, there is a checkpost which issues permits, on per person basis. Some 20-30 INR was the charge at that time. But now they say, that the permits are not issues easily. They try to restrict people from going there, security concerns I guess. You can try and go through the Anandpur Sahib - Naina devi - Bhakra road, which is more scenic and I don't remember seeing any check post there.

Thanks Mr Google
I checked out the route. From Anandpur Sahib-Naina Devi-Bhakra - Una onwards is possible.. Right ? (I mean, Click <Search>)
Final destination being Dharamsala/Dalhousie(will decide during the ride)

My inlaws are adamant that i visit Naina Devi temple.

Yes, it is possible. But you have to cross the dam to take the road to Una. We were not allowed to cross it (over the bridge). They said we needed permissions, whereas I saw a bus coming from the opposite direction. Even if you are not allowed to cross, you can descend to Nangal and take the Una road from there.

The Anandpur-Naina devi road is ~17-18Km and Naina devi - Bhakra is 25 kms

Thanks again!
Will update the thread if they do allow us. It would be amazing if they do
Have had a fixation with Bhakra dam since i saw its grainy black and white photo in my class 3 text book (The chapter on Punjab -- or was it temples of modern India)

No problemo. Let me know, I would also go then. Its been ages

bhakhra is not a problem right now and no permit issues if u go anadpur- naina devi-bhakhra road.

The only thing that u cannot cross the bridge, the dam...not even on foot. While approaching the dma u have to go downhill and then come back via another bridge to the other side of dam... But man....that is awesome i say...u see the barrage, the gates, the vastness of the dam...

must do ....must go...

i went to Chakrata last month & its worth going there..main attractions are Tiger fall, deoban, lakshyagreh n all..It took me 3 days to complete my tour & i visited Dehradun as well..

@diablo:You can post a summarized info here about route taken and places of interest for preliminary reference.
Though, a descriptive log will be highly appreciated mate.
So, you rode down there on RTR or ZMR ?

Regards
Sarab

thats an awesome one diablo.... i love that route...and man hattd off u also did deoban...thats the fun of it...going merely chakrata is not worth...

The route to chakrata is mainly from delhi- bagpat-sarahanpur-herebetpur-chakrata...

another one is from delhi- mussurie- chakrata...

ahead of chakrata is some seriosu offroading and riding fun...

I sincerelya dvise people who can take a 5 days time msut do to chakrata and people who are intersted in camping shud go furhter to deoban/ kanasar/ budhergufa... ahead of chakrata is tiuni - hatkoti-rohru.

Now after rohru there is no road and one have to either come back or either head to narkanda via hatu peak/ bagi,koti... The road ahead of rohru is also explorable but i advise not to be lone ( as i done in my case)....the severe amount of growlings and roars can give ur spine a chill...


Well i recommened a place called Chansal pass enroute rohru - dadra-kwar.. only a few know about this route but the people who have a zeal to conquer passes...its a must do for them too... its all different pass but again its a dead end after kwar and u have to come back only....


u can also go ahead from rohru to rampur via ....

m sorry i think this is a too much info but i simply cant hold myself from explaing...i liek and i love himachal so much that i covered entire eastern hiamchal for two months and know many circuits/ routes there...

will be more then happy to assist anybody interested....

P.S. : m very bad at remebering the places names once i visit there...

I did this route last year.. rohru to narkanda was BACKBREAKING .. there were no roads.. avg speed was 15kmph but was well worth it.. here is the album with some pics.. dont have the images on this computer otherwise would have uploaded them https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...3&l=7a675e5c88