Weather in Manali in December

A good month. December works. It is not the peak, but nothing about it fights you. Highs average 27.9 °C, lows 22.2 °C, and rain falls on 9 days — nothing in the month is working against you.

December ranks 3 of 12 in Manali. Only January scores clearly higher, and the difference is small enough to be settled by price rather than weather.

Rain on 9 days, 3 of them heavy. Enough to need a plan B, not enough to need a plan around it. Nothing specialised needed — this is the month you pack for the trip rather than for the weather.

What the averages hide

Averages flatten a month, and this one hides a few things: it never really gets hot: not one day in an average December reaches 30 °C; the day barely swings — 5.7 °C between the overnight low and the afternoon high. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest December day reached 31 °C and the coldest night fell to 18.1 °C, and the wettest single day dropped 133 mm — roughly 106% of the month's rain in one day.

December is moderately variable: 16 mm in the driest year against 289 mm in the wettest, around an average of 126 mm. Roughly two Decembers in three land near that average, and the third does something else entirely.

Wind is light at 12.1 km/h, so the temperature on the page is close to the temperature on your skin, and humidity runs at 80%, high enough to notice on the warm days without dominating them.

How December sits in the year

Temperatures hold steady either side: 28.9 °C in November, 27.9 here, 28.5 in January. Nothing about the timing within the month matters much. Rain is the thing that moves: January brings 7 days less of it, so pushing the dates later buys drier weather.

Daylight in December

Manali sits close enough to the equator that daylight barely moves all year — 11.4 hours in December, against a range of just 1.5 hours across the whole calendar. Sunrise and sunset land at roughly the same time whenever you come.

Sea temperature

The sea sits at about 27.3 °C in December — warm enough that the water offers no relief from the heat. The sea peaks at 30.2 °C in May and bottoms out at 26.8 °C — water lags the air by a month or two, which is why the best swimming often comes after the best weather.

How busy it gets

Peak season. Expect the highest prices of the year and to be booking well ahead.

Crowd levels are estimated from climate desirability and school-holiday calendars, not from visitor numbers.

December in Manali versus nearby

If Manali is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. Kallakurichi is close enough to be a coin toss — within a degree on temperature, 1 day less rain. Bengaluru is a better bet in December — within a degree on temperature, 6 days less rain.

So: December works, with January the better month by 12 points if the dates can move. If they cannot, nothing here should stop you booking.

Every month in Manali

See all twelve months in Manali, or where else to go in December.