Best Indian Destinations to Visit without a COVID Negative Report
After 7 months of complete lockdown, Indian tourist locations are now started accepting tourists from all over the country. Though some destinations still require a COVID negative report or a mandatory quarantine period before your visit some also released the same. In our last week’s video we mentioned about two places where you can visit without a COVID negative report and a mandatory quarantine period, and here is our 2nd update on this topic and in this video we are going to talk about two other places where you don’t have to produce any health report before you visit the place.
We 1st suggest the state of Himachal Pradesh.
Himachal Pradesh is a state which includes some extremely popular tourist locations famous for a gorgeous view of the Himalayan Mountains, snow-clad valleys, dense forests, and some picturesque trekking routes.
Best time to Visit
The best time to visit here is from November to June, i.e., in winter and summer.
Shimla Manali Tour Plan
In this state, we first suggest a tour plan to Shimla Manali where Shimla is the state capital and the largest city of this state and Manali is another beautiful Hilly town of the Kullu district.
How to Reach
Shimla can be reached both by train or air. By train, you can reach the nearest railway station at Kalka and from there either can reach your destination by road or can avail of UNESCO world heritage Kalka-Shimla narrow gauge toy train.
By air land at Chandigarh airport and from there reach Shimla by road. Time taken in this case will be of 4 hours.
The Tour Guide
On your 1st day, start your Shimla local tour by visiting
Tara Devi Temple- a 250 years old Hindu temple situated on Tara Parvat. The main deity here is Tibetan Buddhist Goddess Tara.
Next see the beautiful Sankat Mochan Temple – a calm and quiet place surrounded by pine trees and dedicated to three deities Lord Rama, Lord Shiva, and Lord Hanuman.
From here visit another beautiful Hindu Temple Shimla Kali Bari.
In the afternoon, visit the Shimla Lakkar Bazar- a market that sells mainly wooden handicraft products.
Next, go to the adjacent Ridge- the place offers breath-taking views of surrounding mountains. Here you can visit Shimla Christ Church, the second oldest church in North India.
In the evening walk around the famous Shimla Mall road and enjoy shopping.
On day-2 of your tour, 1st visit Jakhoo Temple – located on Jakhoo hill this Hindu Temple is dedicated to Lord Hanuman.
From Jakhoo Temple go to Kufri and enjoy some fun activities at the park. Also, from here you can get a closer look at the Himalayan mountain ranges using the telescope.
The next day go to Kullu Valley from Shimla and see the man-made Sundernagar Lake, Pandoh dam, Hanogi Mata Temple, and Kullu Vaishno Devi temple- a famous Hindu shrine of the region dedicated to Goddess Parvati.
The next day, that is on the 4th day, 1st see the Dhakpo Shedrupling Monastery- a popular Buddhist shrine and the famous hot spring at Manikaran and then move towards Manali. After reaching Manali visit the beautiful Manali Mall.
On the 5th day, go to visit Gulaba- a picturesque village around Manali. From there visit Solang valley and enjoy adventure sports activities there. Next visit a scenic village Kothi at the bottom of the Rohtang pass. And after that visit Rohtang pass.
On your way back, visit HimValley Park- the sole amusement park at Manali. At the end visit Nehru Kund- a beautiful natural spring that originated from Bhrigu Lake.
On the 6th day go to Hamta Pass- a corridor between Chandra valley of Lahul and Kullu Valley. Next, go to see Vashisht Bath- a natural hot spring.
After Vashisht Bath visit Manu temple dedicated to Sage Manu.
At the end visit the most famous tourist spot of Manali Hidimba Devi Temple.
This temple is located inside the beautiful cedar forest and is dedicated to Hidimba Devi, wife of second Pandav Bhima.
Generally, the Shimla Manali tour package varies between 4 to 6 days and the package cost is around Rs 25000 per head. But if you don’t have such a long vacation you can any time take a tour to either Shimla or Manali. Then the tour duration will be of 3 days and the package cost will be within Rs20000.
Sarahan, Sangla, and Kalpa Tour
Another beautiful tour package that you can avail of on this route is Sarahan, Sangla, and Kalpa the beautiful hilly villages of the Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh.
You can reach these places from Shimla.
On the 1st day, go to Sarahan from Shimla. On your way, you can visit Kufri and Nirath Sun Temple.
At Sarahan you can see Bhimkali Temple- one of the 51 Shakti peethas of Devi Shakti and Shrikhand Peak.
On the next morning go to Sangla valley – the most picturesque place in the entire Kinnaur. The valley is surrounded by snow-covered mountains, evergreen forests, apples, and cherry orchards.
On the 3rd day morning first, see the Kamru Fort- a beautiful fort that offers stunning views of Sangla Valley, apple orchards, and streams. After visiting Kamru fort go to Kalpa and on your way visit Reckong Peo- the tranquil town is famous for its apple orchards.
On the 4th day walk around the beautiful Kalpa town and observe the local lives and its apple orchards.
On day 5 return back to Shimla for departure.
Dharamshala and Dalhousie Tour
The next tour plan we suggest is of Dharamshala and Dalhousie, the two most beautiful hill stations of the state.
These two hill stations have many things to offer like peace, scenic beauty, old colonial charm, valleys surrounded by cedar and pine trees, and snow-clad mountains.
How to Reach
Dharamshala can be reached by road from Pathankot which is well connected to the rest of the country by train. By road, a car will take around 2.5 hours to reach Dharamshala from Pathankot.
The Tour Guide
The main places you can visit in Dharamshala are:
Dharamshala cricket stadium
St. John in the Wilderness Church- one of the most important churches in Himachal Pradesh.
The next day of your tour visit Khajjiar- a small plateau known as mini Switzerland of India for its lush green forests and breathtaking landscape. The place offers a picture-perfect bird’s eye view of the surrounding valley.
On the 4th day go for local sightseeing in Dalhousie and see:
Satdhara Falls- a beautiful place situated in the Chamba valley
Panch Pulla- a scenic place
St John Church- the oldest church in the town
Ganji Pahari- a scenic hill
Dainkund Peak- the highest peak in the area.
This is a 4 days tour package costs approximately Rs18000 per person.
Leh Ladakh Tour
The 2nd place we suggest here is Leh Ladakh.
How to Reach
The easiest way to reach Ladakh is by air. There are regular flights available to Ladakh from Delhi airport. The flight time will be around 1 and a half hours.
By road, you can go to Ladakh via Manali or Srinagar. In both cases, it will take 2 days but the road trip is remarkable due to its scenic beauty. You can get a shared or private jeep for this trip which costs a few thousand rupees. The cheapest option is HRTC or SRTC bus services but these are the slowest options.
The Tour Guide
On 1st day get acclimatized with this climate.
In the evening visit Shanti Stupa- a beautiful Buddhist Stupa.
On day-2 go for local sightseeing around Leh.
Start your tour by visiting Gurudwara Pathar Sahib- a sacred place devoted to Guru Nanak Dev Ji.
Next visit magnetic hill- a place that creates an optical illusion of a downhill road as uphill.
From here go to see the confluence of Zanskar and Indus River. On your way back visit Spituk Gompa and Hall of Fame at Leh.
At the end visit Leh Palace.
On the 3rd day go to explore the beautiful Nubra Valley.
On the 4th day go to visit Pangong Lake from Nubra Valley. The unique feature of this lake is its changing colour.
On day 5 of your tour return to Leh and on your way back visit Changla Pass. This Leh Ladakh tour is of 5-6 days duration and the package cost will be around Rs50000. You can book this tour online.