After Ladakh, Manali is one of most popular destination to do road trip from Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad. People who wanted to explore North India can have their destination set to Manali and can pass through various North Indian states and explore some popular destinations along the way. Here in this article we will discuss the road trip plan to Manali from Andhra Pradesh & Telangana. This plan will be useful for people who wanted to do road trip from important cities in Telugu states like Vijayawada, Vishakhpatnam (Vizag), Hyderabad and other places. Here in this article we will discuss on how to plan road trip itinerary, popular spots to cover along the way and stopovers based on our personal experiences.
This total North Indian road trip will come around 4600 km. The total road distance between Hyderabad and Manali one way is 2072 km.
One who have good experience in driving in hilly areas, ghat road sections can do a road trip to Manali by breaking down their journey into multiple legs and reach their destination. Please go through our exclusive guide of Road Trips guide to understand more about preparing your car and other tips.
There are 2 route options we suggest you to reach Manali.
Option 1: If your destination is straight to Manali. You can cruise through NH 44 to reach via Nagpur, Gwalior, Agra, Delhi, Chandigarh to Manali.
Option 1 Plan and Itinerary:
Route: Hyderabad to Manali (via Nagpur (MH), Gwalior (MP), Delhi, Chandigarh, Mandi (HP), Manali)
Drive Day 1/2: (Hyderabad to Jhansi or Hyderabad to Delhi) – 1584 km
Roads are absolutely beautiful till the Telangana border. After that we will have to face some bad patches till Nagpur. After you cross Nagpur, roads will become great again but you will see a lot of cows sitting in the middle of the road. So driver must be very careful while driving on this road and always be careful and look for the cows on road as there is no barricading in some areas.
Drive Day 2: Delhi to Manali – 500/530 km
You will keep going towards northern part of India while travelling in this road. Roads are very good and well laned as you are travelling on NH 44. Once you enter Himachal Pradesh, you will start witnessing some absolutely stunning views on the hilly roads. Always try to plan this journey in the day time so that you won’t miss the views.
Drive Day 3: Manali to Delhi – 501 km
Please refer this stretch in Option 2 planning.
Drive Day 4: Delhi to Agra – 501 km
Please refer this stretch in Option 2 planning.
Drive Day 5: Agra to Hyderabad – 240 km
Please refer this stretch in Option 2 planning.
Option 2: If you have enough days in your hand for trip and also you don’t want repeat the same road in return journey, you can go via Betul (Madhya Pradesh), Jaipur (Rajasthan) and while returning to Hyderabad you can come through Agra, Gwalior.
Option 2 Plan and Itinerary:
Route: Hyderabad to Manali (via Nagpur (MH), Itarsi (MP), Bhopal (MP), Kota (RJ), Jaipur (RJ), Jind (HR), Amritsar (PB), Pathankot (PB), Palampur (HP))
Drive Day 1/2: (Hyderabad to Jaipur via Nagpur, Betul, Kota) – 1500 km
Your first exploring destination would be Jaipur. It is roughly around 1500 km from Hyderabad. If you have multiple and experienced PRO drivers in your trip, one can cover this distance in 25 to 30 hours continuously by taking stretching breaks. If your are not comfortable doing non-stop, you can have a layover at Bhopal which is roughly 820 km from Hyderabad, you can take a night sleep and continue your next leg of journey to Jaipur which is situated 580 km away from there.
Roads condition: Roads till the border of Telangana are absolutely marvellous and then after till Nagpur you have bear some bad patches. After you cross Nagpur, roads are beautiful again and you can cover good distances without much stress.
You can spend some good time in Jaipur by exploring city, forts and local food and stay 1 or 2 days there to take some good rest to next leg of your journey.
Drive Day 3: Jaipur to Amritsar – 645 km
Now the second leg of drive comes in. After you have proper exploration and rest in Jaipur, you can start towards Amritsar either via Ambala – Narnaul expressway or Hisar. This distance can be easily covered in 10 – 11 hrs non-stop depending on the breaks taken.
After reaching Amritsar, visit the famous Golden Temple and Wagah border and try out the punjabi local food and spend 1 or 2 days there depending on your available days.
Roads condition: Roads are good for most part of the journey. Better you can plan this journey in the day time if you don’t want to take the risk of travelling in night times for safety reasons. Expressway was not completely laid when we are doing this trip (2021), so watch out and enquire the locals during your drive.
Drive Day 4: Amritsar to Manali – 400/450 km
Coming to the third leg, You can have two options here either you go straight to Manali via Jalandhar, Sundar Nagar, Mandi if you don’t want to repeat the route in return as you have to come through the same route while returning to Delhi from Manali else you go through Pathankot, Palampur road. Here we elaborate going via Pathankot Road. Route from Amritsar to Pathankot is absolutely beautiful, from Pathankot across Punjab and you will enter Himachal Pradesh in Kanwal. From here the hilly area roads will start and roads are narrow from here. Expect a little bit bus and cars traffic from here. Drivers needs to be very careful in the hilly areas and corners. From here, you might have to use your car break extensively, so periodically have a look at your car brake pads and take some break and give some break also to your car during this stretch. This route will take around 14 hrs drive time including breaks. Start in the early morning from Amritsar so that you will reach Manali in the night. Avoid night journey in this road as the roads are very narrow and also the fact that you will miss the views. You can spend 2-3 days in Manali based on your plans.
Roads condition: Till Pathankot roads are great, after that, the hilly areas will start so roads will be very narrow and you expect traffic in villages along your route. Don’t excitedly press your accelerator so much in the corners, be very cautious, while cutting through the curves. Go slow in the corners.
Drive Day 5: Manali to Delhi – 500/530 km
From now you start coming towards South while coming to Delhi. The roads are being laid so you expect some traffic due to some construction works and if you are travelling through this route in the night you will come across some good number of Volvo bus traffic so plan your journey accordingly and be cautious while drive along this route as the major travel will be on hill/ghat roads. Once you exit Himachal Pradesh, you will be back on to NH 44 Highway and you seamlessly reach Delhi via Ambala. You can explore Delhi city and do local sightseeing for a day or two.
Roads condition: Roads from Manali to Punjab border had construction going in some areas, as of now so you expect some traffic as it is completely on hilly areas. After you reach Ambala the roads becomes smooth again.
Drive Day 6: Delhi to Agra – 240 km
Driving from Delhi to Agra is it is blissful and smooth as you will be passing through Yamuna Expressway and within 3 to 4hrs you will reach Agra and visit Taj Mahal and stay for a day or two there for local sightseeing. You can also cover Mathura during this leg of the journey.
Roads condition: Expressway all along.
Drive Day 7: Agra to Hyderabad – 1330 km
Now this will be the return drive off of our trip. One can cover the distance between Agra to Hyderabad non-stop if you have multiple drivers. else If you have enough time, please considering split your journey into two parts you can have your stay either in Sagar or in Narsinghpur. And you will be following the same NH 44 route via Nagpur till Hyderabad.
Roads condition: Road are good till Nagpur but one important thing everyone should keep in their mind is you will see a lot of cows lying on the roads so please be very very careful while driving on this road cows will cross the road suddenly and also in some areas you will not have proper barricading on the roads so please be very mindful while driving on this road, because roads are very good that you will be tempted to go on high speeds, so please drive carefully in this leg of the journey.
This article is written based on personal/shared experiences. If you feel any of the information is outdated or incorrect, please tell us in the comment section.