Your chauffeur meets you at Chandigarh airport and climbs into the hills toward Shimla, the former summer capital of British India at around 2,200 metres.

After check-in you stroll The Mall and the Ridge, the pedestrian heart of Shimla lined with colonial-era buildings, Christ Church and Scandal Point, for your first crisp mountain evening.

You drive out to Kufri, a small resort village with valley viewpoints and, in winter, snow slopes, before returning toward town.

The afternoon takes in the hilltop Jakhoo Temple, crowned by a towering Hanuman statue and its resident monkeys, with sweeping views back over the Ridge and the surrounding deodar-forested ranges.

This is the tour's big transfer day, a long, spectacular drive following the Beas River down and through the apple-orchard country of the Kullu Valley.

You may pause for a riverside break or, on request, a stop for white-water rafting or shawl weaving near Kullu before arriving in Manali by evening.

A gentler day explores Manali on foot: the cedar-shaded Hadimba Devi Temple, a 16th-century wooden pagoda set in a deodar forest, and Old Manali's cafés and Manu Temple.

You then visit the natural hot springs at Vashisht village and its stone temple, with time to browse the Tibetan and woollen markets of the Mall.

A short drive up-valley brings you to Solang, Manali's adventure hub ringed by snow peaks and ski slopes.

Depending on season you can try paragliding, zorbing and the cable-car ropeway, or in winter play in the snow; all activities are optional and paid locally, and your driver waits while you explore at your own pace.

Weather and permits allowing, you head toward the 3,980-metre Rohtang Pass for high-alpine snow and views; access is seasonal, capped by a daily permit quota and closed in winter.

When Rohtang is shut, the engineering marvel of the 9-km Atal Tunnel offers a reliable alternative through to the Lahaul valley and Sissu, an equally scenic and all-weather high-mountain outing.

You retrace the Beas valley on a long descent back to the plains and Chandigarh, India's planned garden city.

If time and arrival allow, you visit Nek Chand's Rock Garden, a sprawling fantasy world built entirely from industrial and household waste, before checking in for the night.

After a relaxed breakfast, your chauffeur transfers you to Chandigarh airport for your onward flight, or continues to Delhi on request.