Walking Wanderer

• The closest place to chandratal lake is Manali from where the journey to chandratal lake starts. There are two ways to visit chandratal lake one is by road and other is by trekking. The first method of reaching is quiet easy but it might pinch your pocket. You can get a cab for around 4000 Rs per day. Trip to chandratal is usually 2 days long, so the car hiring will cost you around 8000 Rs . Few friends can share the expenses and trim down your budget.

• If you are visiting from Delhi or Chandigarhyour first stay will definitely be Manali from where you can move early morning to your ultimate destination. Starting your journey from Manali will be a great fun The places which you will come across are Gulaba, Madi, Kothi which are some of the most beautiful villages in Himachal Pradesh. After an hours drive you will reach Rohtang Pass which will give you sight of snow glaciers and the cold wind will cleanse your soul from inside. The view from this place is truly majestic and cannot be delineated in words. You can stop here and click some best pictures of your life but don’t stay too long as the oxygen level is quite low and might cause you nausea.

• · Easy part of the journey is over now begins the tough part. Driving to the top of Rohtang pass is easy as compared to driving down the hill. The muddy and the broken roads along with the loopy shape will discomfort you till your limiting position but I can guarantee you one thing that the beauty you are going to witness will be something that will remain intact in your eternal memories forever.

• · After Rohtang pass you will reach Gramphu from where you need to go to Chaatru where you can stop for sometime and have some snacks, tea etc. In these places you will get small dhabas don‘t expect some restaurants or resorts.

• · After an hours drive through the muddy roads you will reach your next destination called Batal where you can stop for a few minutes so that your body could acclimatize to higher altitude levels otherwise if you try to move fast enough your body won’t get enough time to adjust to higher altitude levels, you may get sick and feel nauseated. So its really important.

• · The way from Gramphu>>chaatru>>Batal is completely in very bad condition. The road is not metaled and you could see pebbles and mudeverywhere and it becomes really important to have an experienced driver with yourself. The pagal nalas are everywhere (pagal nalas- The nalas which can come at any time without giving any warning) so it becomes really important to have a guide or a person who is familiar with the place.The region is totally barren and deserted hence it is called as the cold desert, The mobile signal are totally nil except BSNL postpaid services. So keep this thing in mind.

• · Then from batal, the chandratal lake is approximately 14km but these 14km can even take around 2 hours of drive.

• The best time to visit Chandratal lake is around September this is because during June and July the roads may be closed due to snow.

•     During the months of august, monsoons are at full fledged term which leads to very poor road condition making them worst. Pagal nalas all over will further add to your problems

• Hence the best time to visit is around the first week of September. You can also visit around October but its too cold and some local dhabas may get closed down and November is time period when you should definitely avoid the route.