Spiti Valley - The little Tibet
A Dream of Every Indian’s to travel to a place where Heaven can be Seen & Touch, when we still alive is..
“ S P I T I V A L L E Y ”
The name "Spiti" means "The middle land", i.e. the land between Tibet and India. Residing at 4,270 m.
Spiti incorporates mainly the valley of the Spiti River,
Some of the prominent side-valleys in Spiti are the Pin valley and the Lingti valley.
The Bhoti-speaking local population follows Tibetan Buddhism.
Spiti is a popular destination for photography, homestay tourism, and adventure tourism of various kinds, including winter sports.
Some believe that the name Piti is a contraction of Ashwapati, a legendary ruler of Pin Valley in the time of the Mahabharata. Ashwapati means "lord of horses" and Pin Valley was famous for its horse breeds
The Spiti River originates from the base of the 6,118 m (20,073 ft) K-111 peak.
The Hikkim post office is the world's highest post office located at an altitude of 15,500 feet in the Spiti Valley of Himachal Pradesh, India.
The highest peak in the Parung range to the NE has an altitude of 7,030 m (23,064 ft) and on the SW side, is Manirang Peak at 6,598 m (21,646 ft).
The extreme temperatures are −25 °C (−13 °F) in winter and 15 °C (59 °F) in summer.
Spiti is a high altitude cold desert located above the tree line, with only a few stunted willows and scattered trees in some villages.
Spiti boasts of more than 450 species of plants. These include Seabuckthorn, Dactylorhiza hatagirea, Aconitum, ratanjot (Khamad), Ephedra, Artemisia and other herbs.
The Spiti region is home to the Siberian ibex (Capra ibex sibirica), the snow leopard (Panthera uncia), the red fox (Vulpes vulpes), pika (Ochotana roylei), Himalayan wolf (Canis lupus laniger), and weasels (Mustela spp).
Some significant local festivities in Spiti include the Guitor at Kyi Gonpa (July), Ladarcha fair (mid-August), Spiti Losar (around November), Thuckchu (winter solstice in December), Dachang (around February), and Sia Mentok (around February).
Places to see: Chicham Bridge, Chandra Taal lake, Dhankar Lake and Dhankar monastery, Gue monastery, Hikkim village, Demul village, Kaza, Key Monastery, Kibber and Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary, Komic village, Kunzum Pass, Langza village & Budhha statue, Lhalung Monastery (Serkhang Monastery), Losar, Mane Gogma and Mane Yogma villages, Mud village, Pin Valley National Park, Tabo Caves and Tabo Monastery.
The best time to visit Spiti Valley is May to October. During this summer season, Spiti is accessible from Manali and from Shimla. In winters the road from Manali (Kunzum pass) is closed for almost 6 months due to heavy snowfall.
Treks: The Kanamo peak, The Parang La trek, The Bhaba Pass trek & The Pin-Parvati pass trek.
The Gya peak - the highest peak in Spiti.
Note: Above informations are sourced from Wikipedia. Thanks to Wikipedia.
Travel Film
Whats is this place
This place is a Cold Desert, yet with Mejastic Himalayan mountains. Similar to Leh Ladakh, in fact much more beautiful than Leh.
Where it is located
Located in the Himachal pradesh of India, 500km from Chandhigarh. Indo China Tibet Border.
On Season : It is a Spiti Circuit we call, like Starting from Chandhigarh - Shimla - Kinnaur - Nako - Tabo - Kaza - Kunzum la - Chandratal Lake - Manali - Chandhigarh. This is possible only in On Season, like April to November. When the Snow fall starts, Kunzum pass will be closed. So Connectivity between Manali & Spiti cuts off.
Off Season : Winter Spiti | This is completely different than Spiti Circuit. Starts with Chandhigarh - Shimla - Kinnaur - Nako - Tabo - Kaza - Return Same Route back, Further kaza not allowed to go, as Kunzum pass will be closed in winter.
How to reach
By road 🚘- Spiti can easily be Reached by road, as explained above the route. Road conditions are Good, except few km.Between Nako to Tabo is bit Risky Road, but be cautious.
By train 🚊- Shimla is the Nearest Railway station, Which is far away from Spiti. You need to Hire a Bike/Car/Taxi to reach Spiti depending on number of days. HRTC Buses are available to reach Spiti, you can enquire with HRTC website.
By Air ✈️- Convenient Airports are Kullu & Chandhigarh.
Best time to visit
As said, Spiti valley can be visited 365 days, But depending on the weather condiitons, the Expereicne changes. In On Season, too much crowded, Rainy, also Pleasant weather, Omportatntly we can see Chandhratal Lake, Which is Heaven. But there will be no Snow.
Summer - May to June : Is the best time to visit to enjoy the pleasant weather and amazing nature with melting snow.
Rainy - June to September : Drive will be good for people who love to explore the place in rain, But there might be chances of more landfall in rainy seasons. Please be prepare for cautions.
Winter - October to November & Beyound Novmber : Best time to explore with adventure, fully covered with fresh Snowfall and peaceful climate. usually snow fall starts from mid November, depending on the weather conditions. After December it will be like Nightmare, The more Beauty with more difficulties, Like the water will be freezed, Dry Toilets to be used, Difficult Road conditions, Freezing tempearature, limited hotel facilities, but among all these the expereince of Spiti in Winter is once in life time experience. See the video of Mud Village in Winter, Linked below.
Drive Difficulty level 🏍
The entire stretch from in Spiti Circuit is among mountain curve roads, Stright roads, loops, Cliff Roads, Hill Top Roads, Riverside Roads, Rocky Roads, Every type of road condition we will see in this Spiti Circuit. The road condition is very good through out the journey, somewhere on new landslide areas some construction will be going on. So i say it is easy to moderate, but must have driving skills and mountain sickness might be a nightmare.
Time required - Spiti Needs minimum 8-9 days to complete the Circuit in On Season, in Winter also it can be done 9-10 days, Depending on weather & last minute climatic conditions.
Accommodation / Camping
Many budget hotels available in the complete Spiti Route. Online booking also available sometimes, but no worries you can get once you reach the place.
Camping can be Done anywhere in the complete stretch of Shimla to Spiti, except few Military Grounds.
Food 🍎- Forget about the star hotel food in this route, but the Qulaity of the food is much more awesome than star hotels, In many regions, In Many of the Resorts/Hotels all types of Food will be availblae. No Worries at any time.
Permission
A checking from the BRO happens sometime at the check post of Kinnaur, Sumdo, Kunzum, An ID is enough to pass through.
Things to carry - Since it is complete mountain ride, take care of your stomach very well, As you reach the higher altitude might get headache and stomach upset. take necessary medicine kit. A must Camera is compulsory. 😀.
Precautions
Driving safe is the first precautions, Landslide might occur very often which may change your travel time. Bikers be careful all the time.
Experiences
Stay at mountain is the best moment of our life, Sunrise/Sunset beauty is mind blowing, Billion stars to see at night. Wide range of white mountains beauty is unexplained.
Cinematic Spiti
TRAVEL PLAN
The detailed travel plans for spiti with various options are explained on the Travel Plan page.
Check the link below for more information.
An overview of the the travel plan is described below.
😎
Ride to Spiti
My Travel Story to Spiti valley in June 2022 | 8 Days | 9 Riders | Spiti Circuit
I visited Spiti for the second time for an official trip. You might wonder how it’s an official trip since there are no IT or BT companies there. I’m a mechanical design engineer working on train design in a 9-6 job, but my passion is photography. I take photos and videos, edit them, and share on Instagram and my blogs to help others explore these places.
While it’s been challenging to consistently post on social media, by June 2022, I had shared enough content to consider my photography page somewhat professional, rating myself 2/10—there was still much to learn.
Now, regarding the official trip to Spiti, I came across a Facebook ad looking for a passionate photographer to join a team in Spiti Valley. The ad stated they needed someone to capture moments in photos and videos and create a cinematic or documentary video of the area, promising that all expenses would be covered.
at first i didn’t see this ad, my friend Amit has saw it,, and he tagged me in a comment section… like Amith, there were 💯 comments of different people with different photographers,, like a competition,, so after the tag, i thought a sec,, it’s 8days trip, i need to take 1 whole week leave,, and i don’t know there ll be any pay or something,, as they mentioned everything ll be taken care.. but still it was a great opportunity to visit spiti in On season,, my first trip was in November kind of winter spiti…
so i decided, let me see if i can grab this or not.. i sent a message to the person who posted the ad. sharing my instagram profile, my Travel blog link,, and informing about my recent spiti trip,,
You know what, like me others also would have been done that..
luckily,, That person saw my profile,, he liked it and he responded back to give a call.. and we spoke… finally He confirmed me… Along with a Official payment for my photography… It was a miracle chance but yet worth it… i felt proud myself to be chosen among many to this spiti tour..
When u start getting payment for your passion work,, from there u need to start thinking about making passion as your full time career,, and it shows how u respect your passion… There was a saying.. “if you’re good at something, never do it for free”… 😍… do i need to?????
So , Flight tickets booked by them, all set,, RIDE TO SPITI started from there..
It was an 8-9 days trip,, from saturday to next sunday..
9 People, 4-5 people are around 50+ Aged,, yes,, Look at the spirit,, at that age travelling to a Cold desert in a bike for 8 days.. it’s not an easy ride,, it’s extremely adventurous… yet most impressive to youths…
Let’s get into 8 Days trip.., There is a complete Travel film RIDE TO SPITI , which shows 8 days of this Spiti tour,, have a check in video section or it is linked above,,
Day 1 - Chandhigarh to Narkanda
We started at 6am., all set with a grand opening from a grand Hotel,, flag off,, banner set, headed to narkanda, around 180km 6hr straight drive., as usual after few km some one missed the route,, google maps was playing games 🤣.. somehow all r reached Narkanda destination around 6pm. still 30km to go.. the stay was “Agyast Vaas”., one of the costliest or i would say amazing location and high peak resort in Narkanda,, almost 1km before Hatu peak, which is highest point in Shimla, Narkanda region.,
Damn f**king cold,,.., Fire camp,,, Peg whiskey 🫢., chutta.., 😁.., crystal clear sky.., what else required to relax..,
Actually,,9 riders,, 9 bikes,,,among them 1 BMW GS, 1 Ducatti, remaining are Himalayan,, 😎..,
For me,,????? A Fortuner car 😎., With a Tour organiser Nikhilesh,, hmmmmhmmmmmmummmmmmm.., 😅
after the party,, the local resort guy said, there is a sunrise point,, 1hr walk., and to be reached by 5.30am to witness it.,, so 4am should wakeup n start trek., now. the time is 1am.. everyone said, not possible., but i wanted to go to capture sunrise.. i said yes.. one more person accompanied me and said he will join., he is Mr. Zubaid, around 50 Age., awesome., impressive., after having 2-3 rounds 🥃., sleeping at 2am., waking up at 4am., do u think it’s possible?????
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.., A big No for a lazy fello like me…
i woke up at 6am., from 4am alarm was beeping.. f**k phone.. i thought i can’t go for trekking.. but i can capture the sunrise by flying the drone higher right?????
nkn… immediately i flew the drone,, it was a beautiful moment captured.. but the thing is.. in Himalayas.. sunrise happens at 5.30 itself in june… so it was ok to capture morning vibes.. suddenly i saw someone coming from the path.. it was Zubaid,,yes., he woke up at 4.30 and he left alone to that place.. amazing human being… 😊.. i felt ashamed of myself at this age.. ☹️… still inspired…
so.. Day 1 done with safe drive,, and exhausted.. too much to see and learn… was completed.
the last village is calling us for day 2 🤠
Day 2 - Narkanda to Chitkul
The plan is to reach Chitkul - The last indian village in kinnaur region by 6PM to see sunset and stay at Rakchham village., just 11km before.,
But When you are in Himalayas, Your plan won’t work 100% all the time., ☹️
As we started around 9am from Narkanda, By the time we reach cliff hanger road - Rampur, Rain started heavily ⛈️ ., Already cold climate, in that rain.. in bike, wet shoes, wet clothes, even though jackets were there it wouldn’t be a perfect easy drive when it rains., it was around 12pm.,
but the lucky thing is , when we stopped the bike because of rain. there was a heaven.. which means there was a Tea shop 😅 ☕️., nkn., What a moment to enjoy the Tea., 😁.,
After an hour of rain, it stopped and we headed to cliff hanger road., my plan was to capture by drone. but due to heavy wind speed i couldn’t make it.. disappointed… but was ok to capture by camera., Nikhilesh was already planned a lunch at Bhaba nagar., Beautiful valley 😎..,
The drive on cliff hanger road and the wide open valley of Bhaba nagar route is one of the must experience everyone should feel.. watching the Kinnaur kailash parvath region enroute and fresh air., bike ride., soothing music, amazing roads, it’s a life time experience 😍😘🥳…
It was already 4pm by the time we reach Karcham village. where we have to take left deviation for Chitkul via sangla valley., but this was our most challenging drive in this tour… because we have some 40Km to Chitkul and come back 10km to Rakcham for stay.. and the roads are in very bad condition, with this we have a drizzling and muddy slippery roads… uffffff.. so we decided to reach homestay and plan chitkul on next day morning..
One of our teammate was feeling too much cold and was unable to ride anymore,, so we put him on the car and i took the bike… The Himalayan… not BMW.. please wait 😛.., So after a slight snack and chutta, we headed praying in god… it was started to get dark and scared of icy muddy roads… somehow we reached the stay around 7pm., after 2 hr of hectic drive… oh man.., tiiirreeddddddddd…,
The stay was amazing and the campfire was set ready for us., everyone got fresh and started a relaxing party.. but being a photographer my job started now.. copying all the footage to harddisk and emptying the cards for next day footage.., gopro cameras card has to make it empty of 3-4 bikers.. put all batteries for charging.., ufff.., what a wet day it was…
we settled after the party., slept off., lights off
Day 3 - Chitkul - Tabo
Today's drive was almost 200km ride, yesterday we slept early around 11pm itself to have a good active mind for nextday, as i mentioned we were in the Rakcham village, which is 12km before Chitkul. Our first target was to reach Chitkul - The last Indian village and head towards Tabo.
It was around 7am, everyone was damn ready and on time to depart, a fresh tea and chutta made us even more fresh,, yeahhhh... 😁.., without wasting more time, we start driving, the last 12 km was a very bad road, full of rocks,,, muds,,, slugs,,, you name it.., it took almost 45min to reach chitkul,, finally after reaching everyone was mesmerized to see the beauty of chitkul,,
it was like a,, painting,,, of imagination in reality,,,
amazing,,, everyone must visit Chitkul in their spiti tour,,, keep in mind that, during winter chitkul wiil be closed due to snow,, you can't drive..
after taking photos, videos,, drone shots,, we had light snacks and breakfast and we even had a Indian flag with us.., It was great photo we took at the border,, Jai Hind. 😊
Now, the return journey starts, I mean around 45km we have to drive back to reach Karcham, a junction point of spiti highway, where we took left yesterday to reach Chitkul. yeah,,, same point,,, in around 2 hour we drove to Karcham,, this drive view was really stunning,,, and challenging,,, complete drive at the cliff only,, yesterday it was almost dark when we were driving we couldn't see the beauty of Sangla valley,,, of course it was raining too, we were happy to drive back on the same route to witness the beautiful valley,,
Karcham to tabo is a national highway with beautiful amazing roads,,, less traffic,, sunny day,,, cold breeze,,, whereas the trees start to disappear and cold desert landscapes are welcoming you,,,
around 2pm we reached POOH, a very small village,, we had lunch,, aloo paratha subji,, some sweets,,, sitting at he balcony seeing the beauty of Himalayas and having a lunch was amazing experience.., 😋
we crossed Ka loops,, It's kind of big long curve roads,, uphill drive,, thanks to BRO,, and then we reached NAKO,, another small village at top of the hill,, highest region near by,, it was around 5pm,,, as we go higher we started feeling low oxygen level,, we planned to take rest every 2 hr drive,, after taking ka loops drone shots,, and tea coffee snacks at Nako village,, our next stop was to tabo itself,, as it was getting darker.., and,,
Nako to tabo is not a good road,, full muddy, rocky roads,, dust winds,, and it's a downhill,, as tabo is lower than Nako,, at sumdo a forest checkpost , military people usually checks for the entry,, we got clearance and headed towards tabo,, it was almost 8pm,, still 20km ahead,, no lights,, pitch dark,, our way was only through bike lights,, and continues dust from the front bikes,, chilling breeze,, hands were shivering,, ( I was driving the bike, because our friend was not good at driving at dark,, so he asked to take his bike, so he will come by car safely. ).. finally we reached tabo around 9pm,, Homestay guy was waiting for us,, beautiful traditional rooms,,, hot soups,, hot rotis and satisfying dinner,,, it was a very tired day,,, I took all camera cards again to empty it,, it took further 1hr for me to finally take rest, putting all batteries to charge for tomorrow,,, safe drive,,
Day 4 - Tabo - Kaza
Our day started at 6am, I planned to take them to Gue mummu lava temple, which is 30km from Tabo not towards Spiti, it's back towards Sumdo.,, few didn't come,, but few were excited to see,,, anddddd we left,,
We went in car,, so we reached in just 30min., & we saw the mummy temple,,
here, actually your phone will show Chinese timings,,, yess,, it's true,, its's china border,, 🤩
Just one big mountain away,,, Gue village is very small traditional village,, beautiful valley,,, must visit place,, after taking some shots, we headed back to tabo,, back in tabo,, everyone was ready to depart and all set,, luggages were packed on pickup truck,,, bikes were cleaned and all set,,
Today's plan was Tabo - Dhankar - Mud - Kaza. around 130km only,,
After breakfast we headed to Dhankar monstrey,,, beautiful roads,, uphill curve roads were awesome,, dry desert,, very sunny, crowded place,, from the monsatrey we can witness the confluence of Spiti revier and Pin river. Beautiful valley.. 🫠
Mud village is like a offbeat place of Kaza,, it's the end valley of kaza region,,, from the spiti highway around 35km we have to drive inside from the confluence after taking left crossing the spiti river,, this drive is one of the amazing ride of spiti tour,, Never ever miss Mud village,, We reached around 3pm,, we didn't had lunch that day,, we packed with some breakfast and snacks to have on the valley itself,,
Mud is an lost type village,, with old tradition,, vintage homes,, amazing valley,, snow peaked mountains,, endless beauty,,
there is only 1 or 2 shops to have some snacks,, we had tea,, luckily we got a bit drizzling situation,,, it wasn't lucky,, our bike seats soaked and our jackets got wet,, it's already cold, on top of it, it’s raining,, nakkan,, but it didn't last more than 15min,, we took some photos, time-lapse videos, drone shots,, and headed towards Kaza, the same 35km muddy road we have to drive back,,
Finally the time has come to reach KAZA,, The Spiti.. it was around 6pm,, we straight away went to petrol pumps to refill, for tomorrows journey around Kaza,, because morning it will be crowded So,, we got our stay at 7pm, it was beautiful ride with eyeful satisfaction,,, we got ready,, planned to visit some club,, yeah,, now spiti is like a big city, you have everything,,
My dream was to capture the Milkyway from spiti,, 🤫
Milky way rises around 12 and will be visible till 4.30am only,, I had my dinner,,, freezing cold,, I waited till 12 midnight,, I went upto terrace, setup my tripod and,, blindly spotted camera towards sky,, I didn't know which side milky way will be visible,,, it was my first time experience,, never went for skygazing,, it was really freezing clodd, I couldn't took off my clothes to setup camera settings,, but i had to do,,, 🥶 somehow managed to find the right angle,, In spiti with bear eyas you can slightly witness the Milky way clouds,, i had memorized some setting earlier from youtube videos and blogs,, I did the same way,, first photo was about to see,, but it was blurry,, not in focus,, not inright angle,, i tried almost 4-5 times,, finally got it,, almost 45min i was in terrace at mid night,, around 1degree temperature,, I finished around 4 chutta,,🤥 nakkan,, due to cold i couldn't breath,, i started getting headache due to altitude,, but being brave and god's grace,, i finally got he shot and it was amazing,,, well satisfied,, came back,, with a happy photo,,
happy memory,, happy adventure,, i finally slept happily,,
Day 5 - Kaza | Spiti
Today's places was around Spiti only, like
Spiti - Hikkim (World's highest post office) - Komic (Worlds highest village) - Langza Buddha statue - Chicham bridge (Asia's second highest hanging bridge)- Key Gompa - Spiti
all this can be odne in a single day,, around 80-100km.. follow the same order,
the roads are somewhat good and somewhat bad,, dusty rocky roads,, good BRO roads,, you face everything,, corwd at highest post office was yuck,,,,,🫡 too much,, we all sent a letter to our home itself just for fun, you will get aletter and stamp there only,, it's higher altitude makes everyone sick, so be careful with altitude sickness,
later we went to komic and had some snacks at world's highest hotel,, 🥹, the hot fudge chocolate was awesome at that cold weather,, give a try,, then we went to Langza,,, again crowd,, then head towards Chicham bridge,, it was really breathtaking bridge,, a must visit in spiti valley,, there are some options to stay in chicham too, but it will be very cold at night,,, be careful,, but for stargazing it's awesome,, later at eveing we came to Key gompa monastery,, the very famous spot of spiti,, we had some snacks and spent some good time and witnessed an amazing sunset... came back to Kaza.. tired,, happy,, amazed,, finally spiti was awesome,,,
our next journey is to the Heaven of Spiti valley,, yeah,, baby,, It's Chandratal lake..
SPITI GALLERY
Day 6 - Spiti - & Chandratal & Batal
Today's plan is Spiti - Kunzom pass - Chandratala lake.
Staying at Chandratal lake 🥰 is one of the beautiful nights for every traveller, it's a must thing to do in Spiti tour, but unfortunately we couldn't get any huts or tents to stay at chandratal lake, it was booked long ago for that particular night,, we tried many option before coming to spiti, but we failed,, rather we stayed in Batal,
Chach Chachi Dhaba.. 🫠
(Story of chach chachi dhaba, couples who lived in batal for so long in that inhabitable very cold weather, once a school kids stuck in cold weather due to sudden snowfall, these chacha chachi resued them and gave shelter in batal in their home,, later they were rescued by helicopter, )
so, thats where our stay was,,
so, back to kaza, we started around 7am, route was good, weather was sunny, ambient, we took breakfast parcel from hotel and planned to had on the way., you also plan like this only to have food enroute the road,, it's an amazing experience,, complete silence, cold breeze,, sunny weather,, calm, peace,, satisfactory breakfast, yet,, after having it we reached the toughest road,, Kunzum pass,, the roads were really bad,, rocky roads,, dusty roads,, on the shadow side of mountains you get black ice,, it was creepy ride,,, and it's speechless ride to kunzum pass, we reached around 12pm,, from there headed towards chandratal,,
once again muddy roads,, dusty roads,, and best part is we have to cross some water streams,, it's so fun,, 😀 ,, 🥶,but its so cold,, that you had to put your leg on the water to balance the bikes,, for cars it's awesome,, but for bikes it's double awesome,, don't go in speed, go slow and with proper balance,, if you fall, then it's a nightmare,, so be carefull,
we reached Chandratal around 2.30pm,, lunch was arranged,, after lunch, it was the tough time, we had to trek further 1.5km from the base,, at that altitude,, and rain clouds were about to arrive,, there was a dilemma, do we need to visit Chandratal,, 50% voted cancel,, 🤮., 50% voted,,, yess we must goo, after all these hurdles,,, and so faaar from home,, we must go there,, with own spirit and inspiring speech,, we all decided to go,,, after 30min hike, finally we reached, It was really a heaven,, 💕 There is no other lake in this world like this,,, no comparison to anything,,,
it was really a good decision to hike and watch,, I took a drone shot,, that's my one of the top best drone shot so far,, it was around 5pm,, we were so lucky,, it started drizzling and it was actually zero degrees, we got a slight snowfall too,, 🫰 that's my first time experience of snowfall,, those who experience the snowfall only can feel the happiness of it,, no words can explain the same.. we all were satisfied form heart,, felt very happy,,, and called
Spiti we love youuuuuuu...
that was our final destination of Spiti,, we came down, took our bke headed towards Batal, in just 1 hour, we came down and got settled in Chachi Chachi dhaba, we had drinks,, we danceds, we duns some songs,, we shared individual experiences,, we laughed,, we enjoyed,, we also saw milkyway again through my camera lens and photos,, that was the greatest cold party ever had in my life,,, since i had bit more,, it was a night mare to me with lot of headache,, of almost dying,,, somehow managed till morning,, and took some paracethamal after having coffee,, our next stop is Manali,,
everyone slept,, good nighttt,,,,💤💤💤
Day 7 - Batal - Manali
The final drive Batal - Grapmhu - Manali.
Batal - Gramphu is just 50km drive, but you need 2hours,,
because there is no road at all,, 😶🌫️
we have to drive oin the complete rocks only,, one small tilt we will be off to Chenab river,,, from batal river looks like small stream but as you go further slowly it becomes roaring river crushing all rocks,,, 😓 might Himalayan river... after 2hours of very very bad road ride,, we came near Chatru,, it's just a small river cross with some shops,, there are some camping sites and aventure activities available,, after having a light lunch,,
we started climbing high to reach Gramphu,,, oh my god,, 🤒 this was the most toughest ride so far i say,,, climbing high in that dusty rocky road, with pebbles everywhere,,, definitely not for beginners,,, it's highly risky who don't know how to drive in mountains,,,
finally we all reached Graphu, where suddenly a second tarred road we meet, which is the highway of manali Rohtang la,, wow,, 😚
everyone cheered like anything to see the tarred road after 3 hours of humpy dumpy ride,,, it was amazing,,, we came to manali via Atal tunnel,... a cheerful celebration.. finally we all came safe without any harm,, except some bad roads, some minor injuries,, we were all safe and sound,, that night we had great party for succsefully completing the Spiti circuit,, one of the great circuit of World.
👍
Day 8 - Manali - Chandigarh
On the last day,, we headed back to manali, it was around 300km,, with the same spirit,, we all drove safe,, roads were good,, some in-between construction was irritating,, yet,, we all reached safe finally,, 💯
later next day,, with a big applauid everyone departed their hometown.
This is my Spiti story. 🤝
This entire story is documented in a you tube video, Don't miss ot watch the same
"Ride to spiti"
Thank you all | Drive safe
Thank you
😉
😀
Once again…,
Spiti tour in chilling winter…
This Story was my First Time visit to Spiti Valley in Novmber 2021 | Winter Ride in Ford Ecosport
This tour happened at last minute, our friend Manjunath wedding was planned at Chandigarh, It was a love marriage... hope you understood why in Chandigarh,,, yeahh,,, bride home place,, since we were from Bengaluru,, traveling all the way to north was costly and no money also,, but I had a plan,,, we have solid reason to go to north now,, and... what if,,
A plan of 1 week tour and see some places and marriage too,,, it will be worth to visit during early winter,,, November,, I informed in the group maximum people didn't agree,, but only 2 said yes,, famous bachelors of my group Mr. Arun & Mr. Prajwal,, yeahh,,, so now,, 4 confirmed,, including me & my wife,,, leaves were planned,, budget planned,, Tour planned,,, and it was the time my dream destination finally coming alive,,, It's nothing but Indian's bucket list place "The Spiti Valley". NKN 😁
After the enquiry, got to know that Kunzum pass is closed due to heavy snow,, we were all heart broken,,, but seeidaysng Kaza in winter is something amazing & adventurous,, but we can reach till Kaza and return back,, I explained this to others,, they agreed and the trip was finally on..
Plan is,, Reach Chandigarh by flight, get a zoom car for a 8 days,, route is Chandigarh - Shimla - Kinaur Kailash - Nako - Mud - Spiti & Back to Chandigarh or Back to Manali via Rampur Bushahr - Banjar - Kullu. let's see what we did,,,
The plan was Chandigarh - Spiti and come back, as Chandratal was closed due to snowfall at Kunzum pass.
Day 0 | Friday
It was Friday evening, our rerun was Sunday after 9 days,,
We boarded the evening flight to reach Chandigarh by night,, 3-4 hours fly,, and we reached 10pm,, on time,, yeah,, but we booked Zoom car at 12am midnight,, incase if flight delayed,, we didn't had any options other than waiting at outside the airport, in parking,, As Chandigarh airport is very small and we can't stay inside for more time,,,
Actually we can stay,, no one tells you to go out at night,, but we wanted have a tea and chutta,, so we came out,, once we are out from exit gate,, we can't get in,,, At that time Chutta was more important in the cold weather,,, chilling breeze,,, and after a flight and reaching north,, something was great,,
We all came out,, my wife sat near the gate waiting area,, we 3 came to parking and started puff,, puff piufff,,, wow,, what a feelll,,, awesome,, we waited and around 12.30 got a call form zoom guy to deliver the car,, we examined the car,, done some test drive,, some paper work,, and finally it was really good car,, a FORD ECOSPORT,,DIESEL,,
our journey started to mighty Himalayaaassssssss.....🗻
We actually didn't had dinner,, it was too early in Bangalore and too late in Chandigarh,, and there was no hotel at airport for dinner,, so after taking a car,, we decided to hit Shimla highway to have some food in Dhaba.. yeah,,, The road was nearly empty in Chandigarh street at midnight,, but red lights are there in all the signals,, even if we cross at midnight,, a fine will register over car,,, na na na,,, this was told by zoom guy,, so we stopped all signals and finally reached Shimla highway and found one Dhaba around 1.30pm,,
We had super duper Aloo Paratha with Dal & butter,,, 😋 it was hot at the cold weather,, there was already a fog on the highway,, Dhaba was actually crowded,, surprised,, we had a full meals,,, on top of that cold Lassi, ha ha ha,,, outside also cold,, inside also cold,,, I know you will be thinking what type of English sentence it is,,,, I don't know how to express that feeling,,, anyway,, you got the point right,,, yeah,, so our destination was to reach to..
..Kalpa - Reckong Peo. Which is 300km via Shimla - Narkanda - Bhaba Nagar - Karcham Junciton.
Day 1 | Saturday
We crossed Shimla round 5am,, we didn't stop, because seeing was not the part of plan while going to spiti,, it was an option while return if we had time,, So after Shimla we came to Narkanda around 6am,, it was still dark,,, our stomach was making noise,, it was high time to get to rest room,, but you can't find any toilets there,, it's damn cold,, couldn't see any public toilets,, even though if we found,, it will be awesome clean right,,, just kidding,, guys,,, but we had to go now,, what to do,,, ?? 😶
at that early morning all shops were closed,,, no good restaurants will be open right,,, so stopped near a lodge,, the reception lights were on,,, we went and requested to use the bathroom only,,, somehow he agreed and we are all happy,, ahhhh,,, what a relaxxxxxx,,,, chusssss,,,,,, now is the best part,,, you know what,, the water is damn fuc*ing cold,,,, then how the fu*k we wash now,,, it was nearly around 8-10degrees,, and damn, water will feel more cold,,, bloody hell we didn't thought about this,,, but we don't have any option,, by holding breath we washed,, uffff,, day 1 itself amazing adventure,, right,,, ufff,,, In Narkanda only like this,, then in Spiti,,
I think we have to sit and slide in ice,,, hahaha,,, 🤭
We had breakfast in Rampur bushahr,, same aloo paratha,, and we crossed dangerous Kinnaur Kailash Cliff hanger road,, You can find this place is as Kinnaur Gate (Photography point) in google maps,, be careful to drive here,, your journey is entirely an cliff and mountains roads only,,
we didn't had lunch,, on the way Maggie,, break omelette was sufficient enough for travel we reached the point where to take left deviation to Reckong Peo on the Spiti highway,,
From here further 15km to reach the peak of Kalpa region,, this drive is an amazing drive through to witness the Kinnaur Kailash mountain range,,, never,, ever miss this ride in your Spiti tour,, we reached our stay at the peak,, it was around 4pm,, out stay was actually at top,, I booked this earlier by looking at photos in google maps,, I wasn't wrong,,, 2 rooms,,, balcony facing the mejastic Himalayan Kinaur kailash mountains,,, we literally can see the Actual Kinnaur Kialsh shivling,,, you can see in the photos,, if you don't know what am talking about search google about Kinnaur Kailsha shivling,, it's a sacred stone,, standing still with miracle,,, yeah,,, Om Namah Shivaya,,, 🙏
After seeing the sunset from the balcony itself,, we had beautiful coffee and of course Chutta,,, weather was really cold,, I think it was around 8degrees,, we had a good dinner and slpet around 8 itself,, for the next great day,,
Day 2 | Sunday
Goooood morning,,,⛺ today's plan was to near by attractions of Kalpa and reach Tabo village of Spiti region.
We saw suicide point, Roghi valley, Narayana temple, The last village of Kalpa is Roghi., it was actually the dangerous road,, be careful while driving here,,, till this time I wasn't driving,, only my 2 friends were driving from Chandigarh,, I was taking photos, videos and enjoying the valley,, but now they gave me the car,,, you might thinking it's good I get to drive,,, fact is,, I was having mountain sickness slightly, 😵💫, and was feeling headache,, was not in mood to drive,, but not that much I couldn't.., same time,, they got some Apple wine from Roghi village,, these buggers,, including my wife,, started teasing me,, that This is the ultimate wine ever tasted,, it's giving kick,, yeahhh,, awesome maga,,, super drink,,," but they didn't give me a sip,,, nakkan,, because I got to drive,,, right,,, we cam back to Reckong peo around 11am,, had some breakfast,, teasing continued,,,later we joined to spiti higheway where we took left yesterday noon,,, yeahh ,,,, now from here 150km drive,, I was angry and also having headache,, additionally teasing over great apple wine,,, nakkan,, but later they told,, it's just apple juice Baba,, nothing else,, I knew they were teasing,, I just managed,,, hehehe,,, 😁
From here,, the green mountains starts to disappear,, the BRO roads are amazing,,, the desert landscapes starts slowly,,, traffic becomes less,, shops,, homes,, are all gone,,,, you get to see a small shop or village for 30-40km only,,, beautiful drive... amazing,,, we came to Ka loops,,, trust me,, buying drone was the best thing I ever did,, You can't see the beauty of some places,, you need some drone shots to witness the same,,, these ka loops are one among them,,, amazing BRO roads,, from here we start to ascend to village NAKO, It's a small village at top of the mountain and has a sacred Nako lake,, It was around 4pm,, we visited lake,, it was already dark,, as it is winter,, sunsets early,, there is a small circle at Nako top,, we have few shops,, having tea at that place,, with some snacks,, chutta, beautiful sunset,, some monsoon clouds,,, white mountains,, that was an unexplainable feeling,,, there was no snow actually,, but we could see further higher some snow mountains,, we did some shopping,,
..cold was getting started to fu*k us,,, 🥶
Still we wanted to drive further 60km to Tabo, which is a downhill drive, on a complete muddy road with small pebbles,, dust,,, trucks in between,, and cold weather,, pitch dark,,, obviously cliff road,, narrow passaes,, sometime we have to see if any vehicle is coming up, so we have for him to cross first,,, it was really a daring drive that night,, we came to sumdo,, A Military check post,,,
They were humble with AK-47,, hehe,, 🥵
they just enquired with some questions,, and suggested to reach Tabo early,, as night gets more cold,,, -with very cautious we reached Tabo finaly around 7-8pm,, There are many homestays in Tabo,, You can book prior or onspot you can find them,, but prior booking is safe and avoid last minute hurdles,, if crowded,,, I forgot the name of our stay,, it was awesome and Buddhist style homestay,, with very warm bed,, we all took bath on hot water and got completely fresh,, dinner was ready,, amazing aloo paratha,, momos,, hot curry,, tea,, weather was around 2-5degrees, it was really damn cold when we came out for chutta,, hehee,,
We all slept,, good night,,
Day 3 | Monday
Monday - After getting fresh and breakfast,, we visited Tabo caves, Tabo monastery,,, beautiful location, weather was sunny and pleasant,, cold,, standing Infront of sun in that cold early morning weather,, wow,,, those who experience only can feel it,,,
Today's plan was Dhankar - Mud - Kaza.
This is kind of zig zag route on the spiti highway, Roads were not bad,,, tarred roads with some patches,,, complete desert landscapes,, you can witness spiti river,, and Needle formation rocks,,, some places are worth for stopping and taking photos,,, spending few minutes,,, fulfill your eys with those landscapes,, drive was smooth,, dusty,, cold,,, amazing,, we went Dhankar monastery,,, road to the peak is narrow, steep, muddy,, but manageable,,, we can witness the great confluence of Spiti River & Pin River,,
We cam down and strted towards Mud village, which is 35km left deviation form the Spiti highway, In fact form this point Spiti is just 25km,, It was around 1pm,, I was commited to go to Mud village,,, I heard so many things about this place, it's a hidden gem of spiti,, a complete unexplored pin valley,,, beautiful landscapes,, and higher than spiti,, where we get to see and touch snow for sure,,, it's the last village of Spiti towards pin valley,, I wanted to go anddddddddd weeeeeee went,, yeah,,
After crossing the Spiti river,, the moment you enter pin valley mountains,, you start saying.. 🫰
…"this is the most fuc*ing amazing landscape ever witnessed",,, yes,, I bet when you see it,, you will tell the same,,,
The stretch till the Mud is spectacular,, we started getting snow on the mountains,, later on the road itself,, but it's not good, on the shadow sides of the road, there were fully Black ice with mud,, it's super slippery,, difficult to cross,, we managed with slow drive,, we came to a point with some 100m of thick black ice,, we stopped to examine the situation, whether we can able to cross or not,, beside is the cliff,,, and Mud is just 3km ahead,, there was no one,, it was already 3pm,, we actually decided to go back,,, yes,, not to take much risk,,, it's not 4x4,, disappointed,, confused,, bad luck,,, but,,,
we saw one pickup jeep coming towards us through that black ice,, it was local working jeep,, we asked them about crossing here,, they said drive slow and follow patches of watery track,, we got some encouragement and we decided to cross very carefully,, you know what,, sometimes we have to take the leap of faith to move further,, we crossed incredibly without any skid or drag of wheels, it was our luck,,, finally we drove to Mud,, the moment we reached Mud,, it was full white everywhere,,, river bed was white,, mountains were white,,, except the roads,,,
it was "The Heaven on earth",,, 🫡
I have never seen anything like this before,, beautiful landscapes,, I never imagined that our India was so beautiful,, I went to Uttarakhand, Badrinath Tungnath before,, but this view is outstanding,, do not miss this place,,
there is only 1 or 2 shops for snacks,, we had some and I took some drone shots,, and we knew night will be difficult to drive back, so we decided to drive back by 4pm,, with careful driving,, we came back to Spiti highway around 5.30pm,, it was already dark,, we were happy and satisfied and finally reached Spiti street around 6pm,,, Spiti street is awesome and the valley itself,,, perfect time,, perfect trip,, perfect group,, I booked our stay actually further far to spiti which is Rangrik... I didn't wanted to be in bussy roads of Kaza,,, the costs were high,, too much crowded,, etc.., etc.,, Our stay was elegant,, with a small Chimney on the room itself to make the room warm,,,
It was 7pm,, pitch dark outside,, weather was minus already,,, we were prepared with clothing,, I mean wearing Thermals inside the actual dress, it is must in winter at these places,, Dinner was ready,, aloo paratha, momos,, tea,, rice,, dal,, amazing,, actually the dinner was setup on the homestay guy home itself,, in the kitchen only,, it was an old tradition low height home,, warm inside,, great food,, great people,, Me and Arun were exhausted already,, but Prajwal was still energetic,, he actually local drink with homestay guy,, we didn't had,, I was having mountain sickness,, Arun was having some gastric issues,, but Prajwal was enjoying like anything,,🥸 we were all wearing Jackets, he was in just normal t-shirt,, yeah,, really,, that local drink effect he was chill and instead cigarette he took some Beedi from that guy and started smoking,, eventually they both became close friends,, hahaha,, part of the travel, it was a great moment sharing thoughts with them, talking with them,, there was one cute little girl too,, my wife played with her,, we finished dinner and came to our room to sleep,,
we kept the chimney on with some wood, so the rom will be warm,, but you know what happened at night,, fire was gone and the room was full filled with smoke,, it was completely submerged in smoke,, Me and Arun were dead sleep,, Prajwal and my wife saw and immediately opened all the windows to clear it up,,, we were lucky nothing happened,, God's grace.
later,, after few minutes,, we all slept again,, it was the coldest stay so far,,
Day 4 | Tuesday
Tuesday - Plan is Local sightseeing of Kaza, Kaza - Hikkim - Komic - Langza - Chicham - Key Gompa - Spiti.
This stretch can be done on same day,,, 😮
We woke up around 6am, Obviously i got pressure to go rest room, there was no tap, we have to take the bucket, I found one there and went to get water from the drum,,,, it was already freezing,, I mean the temp was below 0 degrees,,, The water in the drum was frozen,,, yess,, nkn,, it was having thick layer of ice on top,, we have to broke the ice to get water,,, if so, then how the fu*k we wash our as*,, right,,, suddenly, homestay care taker came and he told, don't use restroom, the water in the pipe will be frozen,, FU*kkkkk,,, now what,,, he brought some hot water and poured to toilet,,, after few seconds he gave some more hot water to mix with normal water,, ufff,, seeing that was the most happiest moment ever,,,, finally we all got fresh,, had beautiful breakfast,,, momos and noodles,, aloo paratha,,, some eggs and tea,, later chutta,, hehehe,,, tonight stay was at the same place only, so we left all our bags and left,,
Round trip was less than around 100-125km,,
We reached Hikkim - highest post office in the world, just like everyone we also wrote and dropped letters to our home itself,, funny,,, then went to Komic, Had hot chocolate on the World's highest restaurant,, Then visited langza,, and reached Chicham bridge by 2pm,, There are no hotels in Chicham village,, we were really hungry,, as i explained in the previous story all these places are heaven,, cold desert with beautiful landscapes are spectacular,, At least once lifetime, people need to see these places,, especially Indian must see, back to Chicham village,, we were looking for some shops to have at least some snack,, we couldn't find any, same time,, we asked localities about hotel, they said no hotel here,, but there was a small function,, you can have food,, we saw that home and some people were having food,, we asked,, they didn't even hesitate,, they welcomed like their own kids,, wow,,, after having food,, amazing home food,, we were full and then we asked what is the function,, they said..
"Grand mother funeral",,,, WTF,, yeah,, 🤯
…hehehe,, we were shocked,, but,, we didn't feel much,, we were actually laughing looking at each other,,, we thank them and left,,
we came to Key gompa,, amazing monastery,, saw the Spiti river,, there were some small monks were playing,, almost evening time,, felt very good, we had coffee at the shop,, completely satisfied with the Spiti beauty,, It's different than leh,, the people, the places,, the homes,, the roads,, the weather,, the greetings,, the journey,, everything was amazing,, Wishing to re-visit ASAP on my Isuzu Dmax 4x4,,
With this Spiti tour was ended,,, 😩 we couldn't go further as Knuzum pass is closed,, our next journey is back,, but to where? today is still Monday,, wedding is on Saturday,, where did we go ? what did we do ? nkn,,,
Day 5 | Wednesday
Wednesday - On Tuesday we stayed on SPiti only as i said earlier,, and Tuesday we woke up,, regular toilet struggle,, had breakfast at 7 itself,, and we decided to go Manali,, yeah,, but how? as kunzum pass is closed,, we drove back all the way to Rampur Bushahr - Luhri and took right to go Kullu road via Anni - Banjar,,, This is a 500km drive,, we decided to drive continuously with no stops to rest,, I mean for stay,, we started around 8am,, reached Luhri by evening 6pm,, same route,,
Tabo - Nako - Bhaba nagar - Rampur,,,
From luhri to kullu road,, is really damn small road, it's a complete hill top road,,, around 50km,, you drive like 30degrees only,,, yeah,, damn,, road,,, you can't even overtake,,, you need to wait for few km to get some place to pass over,, it's a short cut to reach kullu, than going to Narkanda and Shimla highway,,, only skilled drivers can drive here,, so think before you choose this route,, after driving 50km full steep,, a sudden curve comes to start descending,,, damn,, man,, from here complete descent,, we thought it's one big mountain,, so shortcut,,, it was around 2am,, I was driving,, still now we were safe,,, we were descending casually, suddenly i could see a truck standing in the middle of the road,, yes,, exactly on the middle,,,
it's ascending and may be something broke and stopped in the middle,,,, WTF,, 😡🤬
may be just few min, back it happened,,
I was the first one to came,, we got down,, it was relay chilly,, we went near the truck,, the driver was making bed to sleep,, Mother fuc*er,, 👺 we asked him,, what man,, what happened,,, he said,, Truck broke,, nothing can do now,, its in steep,,, we can't get any help,, morning will see,, and he went to sleep,, the truck location was so bad,, no car can cross either side,, one side mountain,, another side cliff, few vehicles started coming from both ways,, they also came,, they also saw,, examined,, everyone realised,, no one can do anything now,, few went back to their vehicles and slept,, few started putting camp fire there only,, it was really damn cold,,, we also collected some wood in that dark night using torches,, and small camp fire raised,,,
It was a good experience,,, chutta,, 😙 chocolate were good partners that time,, my wife slept in car only,, after few minutes we couldn't bear the cold,, we also slept,, morning around 7am,, we woke up,, many people were gathered,, it was a long que pf traffic,, because there is no going back,, it would be 50km return,, yeah,, hell no,, some mechanic came,, some local people also came and everyone started to think and did some mechanic work,, and after 2 hours,, truck was ready,, meantime,, 1 800 car guy came,, he crossed in the small pass,, damn local daring Himalayans,, awesome, in-between some Panjabi guy tried the same stunt in his tata pickup,, he lost the break and car started to come back and it was about to fall on cliff, my friend Prajwal passed some big stone to tyre,, luckily it stopped,, if not,, he would have died at that time,,, good spot thinking by him,,, great,,, right,, 🫠
so,, road cleared,, we came to kulu highway around 10am,, we had breakfast,, booked some hotels in Manali for that night stay,,, reached and took some rest,,,
worst thing about Manali was,, our room was not cleaned,, we could see some flowers on the bed itself,,, someone had first night ,, nakkan,,, hahaha,, we complained,, they gave another room,,, evening we went to Manali streets to spend some good time,, we had hot jamoon, we did some shopping,, we had booze,, non veg,, it was damn crowd on week day itself,, great journey so far,, we all slept,,,😴
Day 6 | Thursday
Thursday - We wanted to see Rohtang tunnel, I mean Atal tunnel,, we check out the room and went straight to Atal tunnel, it's an amazing journey,,, amazing tunnel,, and at the north side,, as we came out,, complete white mountains,,, drastic change from south side to north side,, it was the great experience of driving through that tunnel, we came back to some spot and have some games,, me and my wife went for paragliding,, it was great experience,, i was scared,, later managed,, after having lunch,,
we travelled to Kasol,, we reached around 5pm,, Kasol was more crowded than Manali,, WTF<,
yeah,, complete pubs,, bars,, hookah,, 🥶
great to see, but culturally was gone,, we spent some time,, we didn't stay there,,, we planned to drive to Chandigarh,,,over night,, yes,, 250km,, 7-8hr,,
Day 7, 8 & 9 | Friday, Satrday & Sunday
We reached Chandigarh early morning 6am,, got the room,, full relaxed,, Friday evening and Saturday morning was the wedding,, We had lot of enjoyment on north Indian wedding,, Thursday evening full booze,, dance,, song,, awesome,, and Saturday morning good wedding,, beautiful arrangements,,Saturday night was our return flight,, we reached Bangalore on Sunday early morning,, finally Spiti valley completed,, 😶🌫️
No more words,, No more explanation,,, Just visit,, Am sure i will visit again and again,, no matter what,,
Thank you for your time to read my travel story,, if you felt anything wrong,, kindly leave a comment,, 😊
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