happiness and food

A road trip to Spiti Valley was on our minds since we first heard about it on our travel to Ladakh in 2017. A lesser popular yet equally mesmerizing sibling of Ladakh, the Spiti valley is known for its rough terrain and gorgeous landscapes.

This year, we blocked our calendars for the trip in August.

The recipe for a good road trip is research and preparation. We spent some good time talking to experts (read Kumar HV Sir) and went through blogs and travel tales. Good for us that the trip was scheduled in the last week of August. By then, the weather had improved and it had stopped raining.

We set out in the last week of August in my father-in-law’s car, Alto K10. With two weeks in our hands, we were part excited and part anxious about what was to come.

Our trip began with a flight to New Delhi and then a train to Kurukshetra. We had planned one full day in Kurukshetra to load up and get the car ready for the next two weeks.

Our journey began the next day from Kurukshetra and below is our day-wise itinerary.

Day 1: Kurukshetra to Rampur Bushahr

Some stats:

• Distance covered: 360 kms
• En route: Mohali, Solan, Chail, Kufri, Narkanda
• Total driving time: ~11 hours including breaks
• States : Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh

If you look up maps, you will see that reaching Rampur Bushahr should not have taken that much time. But two things were different on this day. We wanted to take a detour to Mohali to visit a Gurudwara and our route was more scenic. The road via Solan, Chail and Kufri was green, hilly and beautiful. This road gave us the first look of the apple country, Himachal Pradesh. On the way, it drizzled on and off and on some roads we saw the havoc landslides had caused. Some roads had caved in or had got washed away. The good thing was that repair work was in progress all around. As planned, we reached our hotel before it got dark to rest and get ready for the next day.

Day 2: Rampur Bushahr to Chitkul

Some stats:

• Distance covered: 150 kms
• En route: Bhimakali Temple, Jeori, Karchan
• Total driving time: ~8 hours including many breaks
• State : Himachal Pradesh

The drive this day was going to be short and scenic. The first thing for us to do this day was to visit the Bhimakali Temple in Sarhan. One of the 51 Shakti Peeths, this temple is one of its kind. The western Himalayas seem to guard the temple which has a unique architecture and resembles a monastery. One needs to cover their head with a cap provided in the temple and cameras or mobile phones are not allowed inside. We were lucky to be a part of the morning aarti and with fewer people around, the experience was one to remember. Sarhan is at an altitude of ~700 feet and known as the gateway to the Kinnaur Valley. By 4 PM, we had crossed the beautiful landscapes and small streams of Karchan to reach Chitkul.

Chitkul is the last village on the old Indo-Tibet trade route and the last point until where Indians don’t need a permit. It is small and picturesque and the first village on the banks of river Baspa and its valley. We spent our time walking around the village, watching Baspa flow with force and and soaked in the beauty around.

Day 3: Chitkul to Kalpa

Some stats:

• Distance covered: 65 kms
• En route: Rakchham, Sangla, Karchan
• Total driving time: ~4 hours including breaks
• State : Himachal Pradesh

This day started with a rainbow that I spotted in Chitkul. A full rainbow and nature’s marvel. The route tugged along river Sutlej and offered many views that made us admire India’s beauty. A little after noon, we had reached the hotel where we had to stay. Our room had splendid views of the Kinner Kailash mountain and the help in the hotel guided us to the exact point we should be looking first thing in the morning to spot the peak.

The Roghi cliff is a famous cliff on a bend in Kalpa. Popularly known as the Suicide Point, we drove up to the point after a light lunch to feel what it means to be on the edge. Kalpa was a quiet and small town and geographically a part of lower Kinnaur valley. It is famous for its apple orchards, pears and apricots.

Day 4: Kalpa to Tabo

Some stats:

• Distance covered: 190 kms
• En route: Nako, Gue Monastery
• Total driving time: ~9 hours including stops at Nako lake and Gue Monastery
• State : Himachal Pradesh

We started early to cover destinations on the route. The terrain was going to be tough with increasing altitude. Our first stop on this leg was the Nako Lake. Surrounded by willow trees, Nako is a high altitude lake and considered sacred. We spotted kids fishing in the lake. The reflections in the lake showed the beauty of the region. Nako village has few options to stay and many travelers on the route choose to stay in the village and hit Tabo the next day.

From Nako, we headed to the Gue Monastery. This was going to be a planned detour. Gue Moanstery is home to a mummy. Over 500 years old, this mummy sits as if staring at you. The mummy is not embalmed or covered but seated in a small room. A thin sheet of glass separates humans and this mummy. After spending time looking around the small village and what surrounded it, we headed to Tabo.

Tabo is a small village on the banks of Spiti river and is a part of the Spiti Valley.

Day 5: Tabo to Kaza

Some stats:

• Distance covered: Let’s forget about the distance. It doesn’t matter.
• En route diversions: Dhankar, Mudh in Pin Valley
• Total driving time: ~10 hours including stops at Dhankar Monastery and Mud in Pin Valley
• State : Himachal Pradesh

We spent the previous day in Tabo roaming around the famous Tabo monastery and eating apricots. Tabo is a very small village in Spiti Valley. I sat under a tree right in the middle of the road and wondered about the life people lead in Tabo. The village was around the monastery. I spotted a small hospital and a school and then the people who had made welcoming tourists their source of income.

We started from Tabo in the morning and by 7 am we were on the road heading to the Dhankar Monastery. The monastery overlooks the confluence of Pin and Spiti rivers. It is at a height so one has to climb up to visit this monastery which is home to over 150 monks.

From Dhankar, we took a diversion to get back to our route. It was now time to deviate towards the Pin valley. Our destination was Mudh, a small village in the valley. Quiet and away from the world, Mudh is not yet on the tourist map. The locals who we met were helpful and kind. They told us that the Pin Parvati trek starts or ends at Mudh. We did not stay at Mudh for long. After soaking in as much we could, we headed back on the route to reach Kaza. The journey was beautiful and along the Pin river. By 6pm, we were in Kaza. While VT was chatting with the owner of the place where we were going to stay, I ordered a bowl of maggi for myself. I knew all I needed was some unhealthy warm food.

Day 6: A day in and around Kaza

Kaza is the biggest township and commercial center of the Spiti valley. It is located at a place where there are many small villages and monasteries to explore. I met tourists who were only visiting Kaza and I felt that they had a decent plan too. If you have fewer days in hand, you can fly to Manali and book a cab to Kaza. Then spend three days in Kaza and explore the best of what the Spiti valley has to offer.

Our Kaza plan came with AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness) . I did not pay attention to those evident symptoms. Kaza came to us as a good break. We had a day to take rest. I started medication and taking precautions and the next day we took off for Langza, Komik and Hikkim. Each of these places had unique things to offer. My favorite was Hikkim – the highest post office in the world at 15,500 feet. We were done by 1PM and that was good for me to rest and get ready for the next day.

If you have time, there are many other places around Kaza. Key Monastery, Chicham bridge (the highest bridge in Asia) and Kibber to name a few. To our luck, on the way back we crossed these places though we did not halt to explore.

Day 7: Kaza to Chandra Taal

Some stats:

• Distance covered: 75 kms to Kunzum La, 10 kms deviation towards Batal and then another ~15 kms to Chandra Taal camping site.
• En route : Losar, Kunzum La
• Total driving time: ~7 hours to reach the camping site
• State : Himachal Pradesh

Chandra Taal is a mountain lake in the Spiti valley. It is beautiful beyond what words can describe. I am already falling short of words but let’s try. Picture a lake that’s surrounded by mountains. It is a sacred lake and prayer flags are tied around it. These flags flutter with the wind and it feels like they are talking to the lake. When the Sun changes its position, the water changes color as if trying to tell something. We reached the lake by 2PM and had plenty of time to admire the beauty of the lake. When back to the camp site, we stayed in a tent and like Tso Morriri, here too the temperature dipped at night.

If you plan to go see the Chandra Taal, you must stay at least for a night. The feel of the place changes at various times of the day and that experience is hard to put in pictures or words.

Day 8: Chandra Taal to Kaza

This was our day to travel back to Kaza. There are two ways to exit Chandra Taal.

1. Go back to Kaza and trace part of the route back.
2. Head towards Manali from Kaza and explore the other side of Himachal. This is what is known as the Lahaul region.

We chose the first route via Kaza to head back. The second route is tough and the terrain is hard. Cars with big engines also struggle to cross that route so we chose not to expose our Alto to hardship. However, luck wasn’t on our side that day. Our car broke down enroute Kaza and the rest is an even bigger story. I will leave that for another day. In a nut shell – we had to leave the car on the road, hitch a ride and then hire a truck the next day to take the car to Mandi. So you know what all we had to do.

But hey! Here is what’s to note. Road trips are unpredictable. No one can foresee what will happen in future and when you are on the road by your own, things get even more unpredictable. Roads get closed, cars can break down and help can be far away.

I am grateful that our car did not give up at an uphill or down hill. We met some good people who helped us without expecting anything in return. Our car was left unlocked by mistake for over 24 hours and nothing from our car went missing. We were safe and we had time with us. We reached home a few days before we had originally planned and that was good. Parents loved that we were able to spend time with them.

So what did we lose?

Money and opportunity to explore a few other places. But I am comfortable with that loss. Money is meant to travel from one hand to the other and there will be another opportunity to explore Jibhi, Parashar Lake, Trilok Nath temple and the places around.

This was our fifth road trip since we started in 2017 so I am happy that Spiti and Kinnaur happened. Big shout out to H V Kumar and his guidance all through this trip. With his support, VT and I were sure we are not all alone on all our trips.

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In August 2019 – VT and I went on a road trip to Spiti and Kinnaur Valley. This post is a detailed account of the trip. Watch the space for more travel tales from the valley.