Naggar Castle near Manali – Offbeat Place in Himachal [Complete Guide]

Are you looking to plan a trip to Naggar Castle near Manali? If yes, this travel guide of Naggar will help you plan a memorable trip to this offbeat location in Himachal.

Naggar Palace is one of the three premium heritage hotels in Himachal Pradesh run by HPTDC. I know there are several reviews available for Naggar Castle, but still, I feel why not add my 2 cents to it. After one scary night at one of the Hadimba Cottages, my wife decided either we shall go home, or we shall at least change hotel the next day, and I agreed.

Let us check out a detailed review and travel guide on traveling to Naggar Castle.

Naggar Castle Travel Guide & Review

Day 2 on my trip to Manali, we had scheduled the day for sightseeing as a part of our HPTDC honeymoon package. To our fortune since the way to Rohtang Pass was closed due to heavy snowfall, HPTDC guys decided to head Naggar after 2 Hours of sheer enjoyment at Snow Point, Solang Valley.

I had the booking at Naggar Palace on the very next day. As soon as we reached Naggar Palace, I asked the guy at reception to accommodate the booking for the current day, and he obliged favorably. They even adjusted the tickets of Volvo for the very next day, which were initially booked for two days after. So in all, we had cut short the journey by one day.

Bookings

Bookings can be done at HPTDC Office Chanderlok Building, C.P., New Delhi or any local HPTDC office of other states. You can book it online here using credit or debit card HPTDC, Hotel Bookings

Also, you can drop an email to any of the local office email addresses mentioned at HPTDC Offices Contacts. They will make a temporary reservation and ask you to send a Demand Draft as an advance for the booking.

Travel Tip: Planning a honeymoon trip in the Himalayas? Check this complete guide full of tips on zeroing the honeymoon destinations in the Himalayas.

The details for Demand Draft will be provided in the email. Do check 101, 102, 103, 112 rooms for availability as they are among the front-facing rooms I know about (best scenic views, you can see entire Nagger valley from their window or balcony) and if you feel it’s an offseason do book only on the spot.

UPDATE: Lately, these numbers of the rooms have been changed to names and as per the update following are the names of the rooms which are front-facing now –

Price

The guy at reception showed us the room (room number 105) we booked for Rs 3000 from Delhi office (poor me, the first time I made that mistake of booking without seeing 🙁 ). When I saw it, I believe it was worth it. But somehow, we had to reject it since it was too big, and my wife recalled the last night horror at Hadimba Cottages. Moreover, we were alone again that day at the hotel as only a few foreigners were there, and no one could assure their presence at night.

So, sadly, we rejected that one of the most beautiful rooms I have ever seen. Nevertheless, in the end, we got one of the front-facing rooms (Room Number 112), although it is priced Rs 900 less 🙂 i.e., Rs 2100 Complete list of tariffs is available at the following site for different rooms.

Well, there was an off-season discount of 30%, w.e.f 15th November, but I couldn’t extend the dates due to lack of official leaves :-(. So, if you can then do check for off-season discount.

Location

Naggar Castle is just a 22 km drive from Manali and 589 K.M. from Delhi. As soon as you reach the bus stand (I feel it was a bust stand :)) of Naggar lifts your eyes upwards, and you can get a glimpse of a castle-like structure made of wood and rocks at a cliff point. It’s approx. 800 Mtrs from the bus stand.

Pictures

I know the Internet is almost full of it, and some would have even seen in a Bollywood movie “Jab we met” :). I even clicked a few and would like to share them with you guys as the post progresses.

Here are some assorted pics of Naggar Castle…

The entrance…

Entry Fee

Yes, surprisingly enough there is an entry fee of Rs. 15 to visit the Naggar Castle or have lunch/dinner at the cafeteria inside. Although people with room booking are spared from this add-on :).

Local people are free to move around, and there is a temple inside which they keep visiting. So now you have the hint to save yourself Rs 15 when you visit Naggar Castle for a meal 😉

Travel Tip: Do not forget to check these other romantic places for Honeymoon in Himachal.

Personal Experience

As soon as you enter Naggar Castle, you can draw that your eyes will have a treat of Wood and Rocks all over there. There are two blocks in the hotel “A” and “B.” B-Block is on the left (I think) along the restaurant side (50% sure, to be on safe side consider the block on the restaurant side, for this article I will presume it to be “B”).

It is more beautiful than Block “A” somehow, which is along the Temple side. Block “A” seemed to be more closed loops and lonely rather; its counterpart is altogether different. So do opt for the block which is at the restaurant side.

The room which we finally got was amazing for its views of the valley. The interior context of the room was also not behind. As expected, wood and rocks were the heart and are spacious enough for two; each thing in the room had an elegance attached to it. The bathroom had hot running water, and there was a tower type heater in the room as well. Here are some of the clicks I was able to take a picture of the room…

Travel Tip: You can also plan to stay at Solang Valley as well along with Naggar on your trip to Kullu – Manali region.

We liked the food/coffee/tea served at Naggar. We had lunch, a dinner, and breakfast, all were totally up to the mark and tasted just great. The restaurant was the major attraction with its four balcony tables (3 of the regular and one being the round table for 5, not good like the other three if you are 4 or 2) offering you the view of this Himachal valley along with having your food. There was internal seating as well to accommodate a good enough strength.

Here are some of the pictures of the in-out restaurant…

The hospitality we received from the staff was great. Location is no concern as well, and for medical assistance, you will have to approach the Naggar town, which was not too far. There is a temple inside the hotel itself and here is the picture of it.

One interesting point is that if there are thunderstorms, then they shut down their EPABX system making all phones dead. So in case of emergency, you cannot contact anyone at the hotel using room phones and staff stay till 9 P.M. only, at least in winter (that is when I visited, maybe in summers it might not be the case). So, you should take somebody’s cell number who would be there at night.

Attractions in-around Naggar Castle Sightseeing

But we didn’t get the chance to explore any of them due to continuous shower and chilly winds. The only possibility we had was to contemplate the beauty of the entire valley from the room’s balcony sipping along with a cup of coffee. It was just too awesome. Here are the snapshots. The first one is complete and the second one is spliced one.

Travel Tip: Do not forget to check my detailed travel guide of planning a trip to Manali and near by region.

Conclusion

Naggar Castle is a must-visit place if you haven’t visited it yet. You should stay at this place whenever you get a chance to visit the Kullu-Manali region.

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