You're up at 6,700 feet here, smack in the Himalayan foothills. There's snow in the wintertime, the cold, fine, powdery kind, and rosy-cheeked Paharis (locals/mountain people) all around. If you head over to the Manali Bazaar on Mall Road in the center of town, you'll discover a people-packed pedestrian strip with spice-aroma-filled Indian restaurants and small shops selling apples, dried fruit and fruit barfis (Indian sweets), plus handicrafts, hiking gear and Himalayan adventure tours. And yeah, there are always free-agents around, pushing locally-grown weed, which is pretty kickass, right up there with the best on the planet. And if you come in May, you'll find drummers and trumpeters heralding in the old town and at the Hadimba Devi cave temple on the periphery of town. It's the Indian chill.