7 days, 6 nights ยท Shimla, Manali, Dharamshala
Seven-day Himachal tour package: Shimla, Manali and Dharamshala
The seventh day carries the circuit west to Dharamshala and McLeod Ganj, which is a genuinely different Himachal from the one the hill-station route shows you. The Dhauladhar range rises straight off the valley floor behind the town, the Tibetan community around the Dalai Lama's residence gives it a character nothing else in the state has, and the drive across from the Kullu valley is one of the better roads in India.
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The third valley
Why Dharamshala is worth two extra days
Shimla and Manali are both hill stations in the colonial sense: places built to escape the heat, with a Mall, a ridge and a view. Dharamshala is not that. It is a Kangra valley town that became the seat of the Tibetan government in exile in 1960, and the upper part of it — McLeod Ganj — is effectively a Tibetan town in India, with monasteries, a temple complex around the Dalai Lama's residence, and a food culture that is nothing like the rest of the state.
Behind it the Dhauladhar range goes almost vertically from about 1,800 metres at the town to over 4,500 at the ridge, which gives Dharamshala the most dramatic immediate backdrop of any town on this circuit. Triund, the classic day walk, climbs to about 2,850 metres and takes most of a day on foot; the chauffeur drops at Galu temple and collects you when you come down.
The drive across from Manali is about 250 kilometres through the Kangra valley and takes seven to eight hours. It is a long day and an unexpectedly beautiful one, running past Palampur's tea gardens and the Baijnath temple, both of which make good stops.
What is there
McLeod Ganj, the valley and the walks
Two nights at Dharamshala is the right allocation: one for the town, one for the valley or the hill.
McLeod Ganj and Tsuglagkhang
The main temple complex opposite the Dalai Lama's residence, the Tibet Museum, the Namgyal monastery and the Kora circuit around it. Teaching schedules are published in advance and draw large crowds; the desk checks them against your dates.
Norbulingka and the valley
The Norbulingka Institute below the town preserves Tibetan arts — thangka painting, wood carving, metalwork — in a Japanese-designed garden. Palampur's tea gardens and the Baijnath temple are both within an hour.
Triund and the Dhauladhar
The classic walk: about nine kilometres up from Galu temple to a ridge at roughly 2,850 metres, four to five hours up and three down. The chauffeur drops and collects. It needs proper shoes and is not a stroll.
The driving
Five legs across three valleys
About 1,300 kilometres Delhi to Delhi, and the seven-day spacing keeps every one of them inside a day.
- Delhi to Shimla — about 350 km, 7 to 8 hours Motorway to Chandigarh, then the Solan climb.
- Shimla to Manali — about 250 km, 7 to 8 hours Sutlej, Mandi and the Beas valley.
- Manali to Dharamshala — about 250 km, 7 to 8 hours West through Mandi into the Kangra valley, past Palampur's tea gardens and Baijnath.
- Dharamshala to Chandigarh or Delhi — about 250 km to Chandigarh, 5 to 6 hours; about 480 km to Delhi Down through Una to the plains. Most seven-day circuits break at Chandigarh; a direct Delhi run is possible but long.
The order
Which way round, and why it matters here
The circuit as written runs Shimla, then Manali, then Dharamshala, then down. That order climbs gradually, puts the two hardest driving days in the middle of the week when everybody is acclimatised, and finishes with the easiest descent. It is also the order that suits a Delhi-in, Delhi-out trip.
The reverse — Dharamshala first, Shimla last — is worth considering if you are flying into Amritsar rather than Delhi, since Amritsar to Dharamshala is about 200 kilometres and four hours, far shorter than the Delhi approach. That also pairs naturally with the Punjab circuit, and the desk will quote the two together as a longer single booking on the same car.
What the desk will not do is run this circuit in five days by cutting the Shimla nights. Three mountain towns in five days means three long driving days out of five, and the result is a week spent looking at the road. If seven days is not available, the six-day circuit without Dharamshala is the better compromise.
Booking
How to book the seven-day circuit
Book the transport direct on the booking page, fare fixed before payment. Tell the desk which airport you are using — Delhi, Chandigarh or Amritsar all work and each changes the shape of the week. For hotels, permits and any teaching-schedule planning at McLeod Ganj, ask through the contact page. Cancellation is free beyond 72 hours, then 10%, 50% and 100%.
Day by day
The seven-day itinerary, leg by leg
Three mountain valleys in seven days, with the three long legs separated by a rest day each so no two hard driving days fall together.
| Day | Where | What the day covers | On the road |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Delhi to Shimla | Motorway to Chandigarh and up through Solan. An evening on the Mall and the Ridge. | Delhi-Shimla ~350 km, 7-8 hrs |
| Day 2 | Shimla | Jakhu, the Viceregal Lodge and Christ Church, with Kufri or Mashobra in the afternoon. | Kufri ~16 km, Mashobra ~13 km |
| Day 3 | Shimla to Manali | Down to the Sutlej, across to Mandi, up the Beas valley with lunch at Sundernagar. | Shimla-Manali ~250 km, 7-8 hrs; depart 07:00 |
| Day 4 | Manali | Hadimba, Old Manali and Vashisht in the morning; Solang in the afternoon, or Rohtang or the Atal Tunnel in season. | Solang ~13 km; Atal Tunnel ~25 km |
| Day 5 | Manali to Dharamshala | West through Mandi into the Kangra valley, past the Palampur tea gardens and Baijnath temple. Into McLeod Ganj in the evening. | Manali-Dharamshala ~250 km, 7-8 hrs |
| Day 6 | Dharamshala | Tsuglagkhang and the Tibet Museum in the morning, the Kora circuit, then Norbulingka below the town — or the Triund walk for the whole day. | Norbulingka ~14 km; Galu trailhead ~5 km |
| Day 7 | Dharamshala onward | Down through Una to the plains, breaking at Chandigarh or running through to Delhi. | Dharamshala-Chandigarh ~250 km, 5-6 hrs; to Delhi ~480 km |
What it costs
The 7-day Himachal circuit: two ways to buy it
Seven charter days at the published rate, for the car rather than per person. A circuit finishing at Amritsar or Chandigarh rather than Delhi carries no repositioning surcharge.
Transport package — firm, published
Every kilometre of the 7-day circuit in a private chauffeured car: the chauffeur, the vehicle, fuel, and the driver's meals and accommodation on the road. Priced at the published charter-day rate × 7 days, the same figure as the rates page.
From $15,750 - $18,900 per car for the whole circuit
On the international card · Luxury SUV · GST extra · tolls, parking and state entry taxes at cost
All-inclusive — stays, meals and entries
The same itinerary with hotels, breakfasts, monument entries and a licensed guide arranged for you. Because we contract stays per departure date and per hotel category, this tier is quoted on request rather than published — we will not print a per-person figure we cannot hold.
Send the dates and the hotel category you want (3-star, 4-star, heritage or palace) through the contact page and the desk returns a written quote, itemised, within one working day.
| Vehicle class | Cars | Per charter day 10 hours / 300 km | 7-day circuit International card, USD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luxury SUV 5 passengers, 4 bags |
Toyota Fortuner, Land Cruiser & Mercedes-Benz GLS | $2,250 - $2,700 | $15,750 - $18,900 |
| Premium MPV 6 passengers, 5 bags |
Toyota Innova Hycross & Kia Carnival | $1,950 - $2,340 | $13,650 - $16,380 |
| Executive sedan 3 passengers, 2 bags |
Mercedes-Benz E-Class & BMW 5 Series | $1,700 - $2,040 | $11,900 - $14,280 |
| Group van 12 passengers, 12 bags |
Force Urbania & Tempo Traveller (executive) | $3,200 - $3,840 | $22,400 - $26,880 |
What the transport package includes
- A private, air-conditioned vehicle of the class you book, held for the whole circuit — the same car from the first pickup to the last drop, never shared and never re-assigned.
- One professional chauffeur for the whole circuit, holding a commercial licence and a state transport badge, police-verified and background-checked, in uniform and speaking English and Hindi.
- Fuel, the chauffeur's own meals and accommodation on every outstation night, and the vehicle's permits, fitness certificate and insurance.
- All airport, railway-station and hotel transfers inside the itinerary, with the flight tracked on the arrival leg and 60 minutes of waiting included after landing.
- A named coordinator at the desk for the whole trip, reachable on one number, who holds the run sheet and moves a leg when a day runs long.
- A written confirmation before departure carrying the chauffeur's name and licence number and the vehicle registration, so a security office or a hotel can check it against the operator record.
What it does not include
- Hotels, meals and anything consumed off the road — those are the all-inclusive tier, quoted on request rather than published.
- Monument and museum entry fees, which differ for Indian, SAARC and foreign visitors and change by notification; the desk quotes the current figures with the itinerary.
- Licensed local guides, which we arrange city by city on request and bill at cost.
- Tolls, parking and state entry taxes, charged at cost against receipts rather than estimated into the fare.
- Air and rail tickets into and out of the circuit, which the travel desk books separately.
- GST, added to every figure at the applicable rate, and any night allowance where a leg runs between 10 pm and 6 am.
- Airport transfers include 60 minutes of waiting after landing and meet-and-greet at the arrivals exit.
- The charter day (10 hours, 300 km) includes fuel and the chauffeur's meals and accommodation on outstation nights.
- Night driving between 10 pm and 6 am carries the night allowance per night; a second chauffeur is added on days over 12 hours.
- Tolls, parking, state entry taxes and permits are charged at cost against receipts; monument and guide fees through the travel desk are itemised.
- No gratuity is expected. GST is shown separately on every invoice. Cancellation terms are on the cancellation policy page.
- Vintage cars and stretch limousines are quoted per event.
- GST at 5% on chauffeured hire (18% where input credit is claimed) is added to every figure. The full international card is on the rates page; the charter builder prices a circuit of any length live, and the booking page takes the payment direct.
- Cancellation is free more than 72 hours before the first pickup, then 10% inside 72 hours, 50% inside 48 hours and the full first day inside 24 hours or for a no-show — the schedule on the cancellation policy page.
Questions
The 7-day Himachal circuit: frequently asked
Why add Dharamshala?
Because it is not another hill station. It is the seat of the Tibetan government in exile, with monasteries, the Dalai Lama's temple complex and a distinct food and craft culture, under the most dramatic mountain backdrop on the circuit.
How hard is the Triund walk?
About nine kilometres up from Galu temple to roughly 2,850 metres, four to five hours ascending and three down. It needs proper shoes and reasonable fitness. The chauffeur drops at the trailhead and collects you.
Can we fly into Amritsar instead of Delhi?
Yes, and it shortens the approach considerably — Amritsar to Dharamshala is about 200 km and four hours. It also pairs naturally with the Punjab circuit on the same car.
Will the Dalai Lama be teaching?
Teaching schedules are published in advance and draw very large crowds, which affects both accommodation and access. The desk checks the published schedule against your dates before confirming.
Can this be done in five or six days?
Not well. Three mountain towns in five days means three long driving days out of five. If seven days is not available, take the six-day circuit without Dharamshala.
What is the best season for this circuit?
March to June and September to November. The autumn window is clearer and quieter; the spring one is warmer and busier. July and August carry a real landslide risk on the Mandi road.
Same circuit, other lengths
The Himachal: Shimla and Manali in a different number of days
On the route
Chauffeur service in the cities this circuit runs through
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Every chauffeur-driven tour package in India
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Book
Book the seven-day Himachal circuit direct
Seven charter days price live by vehicle class, fare fixed before payment. Delhi, Chandigarh or Amritsar all work as the start.
Weddings, film units, multi-day chauffeur hire, outstation journeys and anything with more than one vehicle are quoted by a person: call (877) 860-3388 or send the outline and a coordinator replies with a written quote.
Offers through BookingWorldwide.net
Hotels and flights for this itinerary, through BookingWorldwide.net
The stays along this route are on BookingWorldwide.net; reserve them there or ask our desk for the all-inclusive quote, and the chauffeured legs are lined up against whichever you choose.
Flight + hotel packages
Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Goa and Kerala bundles for festival weeks, school holidays and long weekends, with the airport transfer added to the same itinerary.
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Delhi, Agra and Jaipur hotels on one booking, and the RUTZ.IN chauffeur for the whole circuit quoted beside it.
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Udaipur, Jaipur, Jodhpur and Hyderabad palace hotels, chosen with the transfer distance from the airport in mind.
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Beach and backwater resorts for the weeks a chauffeur is only needed at each end of the stay, with Dabolim, Mopa or Cochin airport pickups timed to the flight.
See current offers on BookingWorldwide.net →Hill-station stays
Shimla, Manali, Mussoorie, Darjeeling, Ooty, Munnar and Coorg hotels, with the SUV from the gateway airport quoted on the same plan.
See current offers on BookingWorldwide.net →Wildlife and safari lodges
Ranthambore, Jim Corbett, Kaziranga, Periyar and Bandhavgarh lodges and safari permits reserved before the car is dispatched.
See current offers on BookingWorldwide.net →Tickets and experiences
Taj Mahal entry, Kerala houseboats, Jaipur hot-air balloons, city walks and festival tickets reserved ahead so the chauffeured day runs to the plan.
See current offers on BookingWorldwide.net →International flights
Fares into every airport on the airports page, so the car is timed to a confirmed arrival rather than an estimate.
See current offers on BookingWorldwide.net →Self-drive car rental
For the middle days of a trip, returned to the airport where the RUTZ.IN chauffeur collects you again.
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See also, and where the facts come from
On RUTZ.IN: India tour packages · 6-day Himachal tour · 5-day Shimla Manali tour · Chauffeur service in Delhi · City to City · Charter · Rates.
Official references used on this page:
- Ministry of Tourism, Incredible India Official destination guides and tourist statistics.
- India Meteorological Department Forecasts and monsoon warnings we check before hill and coastal journeys.
- National Highways Authority of India Expressway and toll information for the intercity routes we drive.
- Ministry of Home Affairs Police verification and character-certificate procedures used in chauffeur onboarding.