This is my first post which includes my trip to Himalayas.This is a part of my 45 day trip that included Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh.
Lahaul and Spiti is known to be Biker’s destination-challenging roads with lots of altitude gains and numerous streams along the way.But there’s more to this which is why this place is highly recommended by me.
12 Reasons why Lahaul and Spiti is a must visit:
- The first thing that comes to mind when Lahaul and Spiti is discussed about is rough roads,beautiful snow-clad mountains and small villages with cultural diversity .And not to forget-several waterfalls!
- This circuit(Shimla-Kinnaur-Spiti) covers a lot of destinations and all of them are spectacular to watch-starting from Shimla till you reach Gramphoo from where either you can head to Manali or to Keylong -Leh.
- Starting with Chail-its a small hill station 44 km drive from Shimla.It doesn’t fall in Spiti valley but yes its a tourist spot that falls on the way.
- Fagu-another hill station that is good to visit if you are in Shimla in winters.
- Narkanda-with this name you can relate to apple orchards and beautiful green landscapes around!Not to forget -the Hatu Mata Temple from where you get to see snow clad mountains in midst of greenery!Still we haven’t made an entry into Spiti Valley but these places can be visited if you are travelling by road!(Thats the only way by the way folks.So why not visit them and add to our memory blog!)
- We enter Kinnaur Valley via Rampur Bushahr where there are atleast two places worth visiting-One is Kalpa which offers you a magnificent view of Kinner Kailash Peak and Chitkul(60-70 kms diversion southward from Hindustan Tibet road-Shimla to Kaza-Keylong road) which offers you camping and bonfire beside a beautiful stream and pretty snow clad mountains.-
- NOTE:This place MUST NOT be SKIPPED!Why? -read on to know more….
- We further come across several mountains and high altitudes and reach finally Tabo-via Pooh.Tabo has some good monasteries and landscapes .Do check out!
- Further we come across Dhankar Valley where there’s a beautiful monastery and a lake at top-a 45 min trail from the monastery.This is another beautiful place to visit!Don’t miss this one as well folks!
- Then comes a beautiful place named Kaza-yes,you are right-Spiti and Kaza are so relatable-Its not a place to be missed as you see some of the highest Habitated villages of the world-Komic,Kibber,Hikkim alongwith beautiful landscapes which is a treat to watch!Alongwith this don’t forget to see Geyu Mummy at Langza.
- Thereafter, we come across Chandrataal-one of the most beautiful lakes out there in Himachal!The lake is big (your eyes won’t get to see the end of the lake!) with snow clad mountains surrounding it and water is transparent and green(glacier water)!The lake is not just about this-being here sitting here for sometime and watching the landscape is what is lovely!Trekkers-attention please!This must be included in your Trek list !
- Thereafter you can continue towards Keylong which is a part of Lahaul and Spiti via Gramphoo.This stretch of road is most treacherous just because you’ll see uncountable waterfalls and streams falling over the dusty muddy bad shaped roads-that’s the reason it’s Biker’s Paradise -just see the number of Royal Enfield bikes here :-()
- Keylong is a big city in Lahaul and Spiti and the surrounding landscape is pretty-snow clad mountains with shades of greenery alongwith a barren landscape .There are monastries to visit as well and the path to these monastries are tiresome (but easy well defined paths)but lovely views nevertheless!
Location:
If you ask me the location of this valley then it’s on eastern side of shimla towards Tibet.There are two ways to enter into Spiti-one from Manali and other one from Shimla side.(Manali if you are short on time!)
Tourist Attractions in the Spiti:
Nako,Tabo Monastery,Gyu Mummy,Key Monastery,Dhankar lake,Kaza,Hikkim,Langza,Mudh Village,Komic,Kibber,Chandrataal,Kunzum pass ,Pin Vallet,Baralachala to name the important ones!
Tourist Attractions around Lahaul and Spiti:
Fagu,Chail,Rohtang Pass,Narkanda,Chitkul,Rampur,Kalpa to name the important ones!
Distance Charts:
Distance from Kaza:
- Shimla: 411 Km
- Manali: 202 Km
- Tabo:50 km
- kalpa: 197 Km
- Chitkul: 248 Km
- Narkanda: 348 Km
- Bangalore: 2930 Km
- Thiruvananthapuram: 3655 Km
- Delhi: 746 km
- Chandigarh:507 km
- Leh:544 km
- Dehradun:556 km
- Kolkata:2241 km
- Mumbai:2147 km
How to Get here:
Road Routes:
From Shimla side:
You have to take the road to the right that is the Hindustan Tibet road.The route will be-Shimla-Chail-Fagu-Narkanda-Rampur-Pooh-Nako-Sumdo-Tabo-Dhankar-Kaza-Gramphoo-Keylong/Manali.
From Manali Side:
You have to go from Shimla to Manali first and then from there to Kaza.The route will be-Shimla-Mandi-Kullu-Manali-Rohtang Pass-Gramphoo-Kibber-Kaza…
RAIL:
The rail connectivity is only upto Shimla through Kalka/Chandigarh from Delhi/UP side.Thereafter road is the only option!
AIRWAYS:
The air connectivity is again limited to Shimla but Shimla is well connected to cities all across India.After Shimla need to use roadways!
ROAD:
From Shimla you ll get car rentals at approx 3500-4500INR (driver inclusive) on per day basis .You can take 6-9 days and visit the whole circuit starting from Shimla and ending at Keylong or back to Shimla via Manali(The charges will be taken as a circuit trip(same point is source and estination after a round trip)).It is economical as well as convinient if you are in a group of 2-6 people as you can cover all the places in less time and with less hassle.If you are on a solo trip like me ,either avail a costly option like a car @3000Inr /day or if you have time in hand then,you can get buses upto Kaza directly from Shimla ISBT(depends on season).
What’s the best way is take local buses and hitchhike upto Rampur-you’ll get many options upto Rampur.After Rampur,you need to rely on state run HRTC buses which may or may not have seat availability(do check online for available seats if its a reserved one).These buses will help you reach atleast upto Kalpa/Reckong Peo.For Chitkul again get buses from Peo.But see the timings and plan accordingly.From Peo you’ll get buses to Nako-Tabo-Kaza.Drop where you want to ,visit that place and get another bus the next day.From kaza,buses do run for Komic,Langza.Hikkim but the frequency and timings are in such a frame that it ll take a lot of time to cover these villages(upto 3 days!).From Kaza,there are buses to Manali on a regular basis.As far as i Know,for Chandratal,you need a private vehicle as the road is bad as well as narrow.
You’ll end up taking 12-15 days if you use state transport and 7-8 days if you take car rental.You can hire bike as well (prices start maybe at 1500 Inr/day exclusive fuel) and you are good to go(better to be a part of bike expedition team-check online for details) especially in June-Oct Corridor.From Manali side,there are regular buses to Kaza depending on snow clearance at Rohtang Pass.From Shimla to Manali there are regular buses.You’ll get buses even from Delhi/Chandigarh upto Reckong Peo!!!
MAP(SHIMLA-KAZA-MANALI):
ITINERARY:(By bike/car)
- Day 1:Assuming you have seen Shimla,its Shimla-Narkanda(See Kufri,Chail,Fagu)-Reach Narkanda by Evening(62km)
- Day 2:leave early (5 am or so)for Hatu peak(only by car/by foot it ll take more than half a day).Narkand-Hatu Peak-Narkanda-Rampur-Sangla-Chitkul(210 kms)
- Day 3:Stay at Chitkul and move to Reckong Peo /stay back at Chitkul
- Day 4:Reach Kalpa and see the view and move to Nako.Kalpa-Nako(165 kms) for staying Overnight/accomodation options.See the Nako lake for sure!
- Day 5:Nako-Tabo-Dhankar-Kaza(110 kms).Stay at kaza
- Day 6:Kaza-kibber-hikkim-langza-koumik-kaza.Stay back at Kaza.
- Day 7:kaza-Dhankar-Mud-kaza (its optional if you dont wanna see Pin Valley)
- Day 8:Kaza-kunzum pass-Chandrataal(125 kms).Stay back at Chandrataal
- Day 9:Chandrataal-Gramphoo-Keylong(leave early)-111km
- Day 10:Keylong-Rohtang Pass-Manali(after local site seeing)-115 km
- Day 11:Manali local site seeing-Kullu-Shimla-250 km
ITINERARY(by state bus)
Now this is going to be interesting!I ll give you a rough idea for even this trip:
- With respect to Delhi take an overnight bus to Shimla(prebook in online website) 9.30 pm bus is a good option I feel!
- Day 1:I wont consider the local site seeing of Shimla here.You can add a day fro this if you want to.Take local buses and shared taxis to Kufri,Chail,Fagu.The distances between them is hardly much.From there you can take buses to Rampur and drop at Narkanda.(You ll get a bus at around 5 pm (Shimla-Rampur/Shimla-Pooh)from kufri).If you can leave early from Kufri say by afternoon then you may reach Narkanda by around 4 – 5 pm. Take a hotel(approx 1000 Inr or tent at 500-700 Inr (2018 rate))
- Day 2:You can trek to hatu Peak .Consider 6 hours with buffers for the same from Narkanda-Hatu Peak-Narkanda.Catch any bus to Pooh(1 pm onwards) and drop it at Powari .The sooner you can leave from Narkanda the better it is.From there its 10 kms to Kalpa/Reckong Peo.You may get buses/shared taxis/hitchhike!
- Day 3: See the morning view from Kalpa and catch bus to Chitkul which leaves at 9 am.(You ll get buses from main road at Karchham if you miss this bus to Sangla.From Sangla again you need shared taxis/hitchhike).Stay back at Chitkul.
- Day 4:You can stay back if you wish to else take a early bus to Peo/Main road and drop at Karchham or Peo.From Peo/karchham take a bus to Nako.(1 pm from Peo/1-2pm around from Karchham(approx,please reconfirm with conductor/driver))
- Day 5:See the Nako lake and Nako Monastery .I can’t comment much on seeing Giu Mummy which is not on main road because what I feel is you need to hitchike/take a private car which is unreliable/expensive.If you are considering it ,then expect to return to Nako by maybe afternoon if luck is with you!Your plan then should be to reach Tabo.Get any bus coming from Peo/Shimla/Delhi/Pooh/chandigarh (towards kaza)and drop it at Tabo.You ll get buses uptil 3-4 pm (for you to reach before night at Tabo)
- Day 6-See Tabo Monastery and head towards Dhankar lake/Monastery by bus.Either hitchhike or wait till afternoon for bus.You can see Dhanakar lake by say 5 pm and hopefully get hitchhike/bus to kaza on same day.(kaza is 1.5 hrs approx from Dhankar)
- Day 7:Cover the villages in following sequence:kibber-komic-Hikkim-langza-kaza.Buses are not so frequent on these routes so don’t rely on them much.Leave early and cover all of them by afternoon.Leave for mud /pin valley by 4 pm bus from kaza
- Day 8:From Mud,catch the bus to kaza.(not sure of timings).You must reach kaza by 10 am or so.You can reach Chandrataal the same day but I ll tell you to start early morning the next day because of nallahas and pathetic roads.
- Day 9:Catch morning(4 am)bus to Manali and drop it at Batal.From there either hitchike or keep walking a stretch of 14 kms with nallahs in between.Reach Chandrataal and get a tent there(600-3000 INR tents available).Overnight stay here!
- Day 10:Leave as early as possible.Ask someone for hitchike for next day and reach kunzum top somehow by 8 or 9 am,.(You may get the 6 am bus to Manali )From kunzum, again hitchhike unless you reach Gramphu.From Gramphoo which is on Manali-Leh highway,you can either go to keylong or to Manali by bus.Buses are available time to time.So dont worry!NOTE:Raods are pathetic (waterfalls and uncountable potholes/nallahs)between Btal and Gramphoo so be safe be cautious!
- Day 11:If its keylong stay a day here and see the monasteries and suraj taal if possible and leave for Manali the next day by morning bus(regular buses to Manali/kullu/Delhi)
- NOTE:You can cover Spiti Valley by Manali-kaza-Nako-Tabo-Pooh-Narkanda-Shimla route as well but you need to have permit for rohtang pass .The no of days needed will be approximately same.Bus timings will slightly differ!The above route that is explained is ideal route preffered by most of the people .
IMPORTANT NOTE/MY SPECIAL EXPERIENCES:
- When you travel from Shimla to Narkanda get the bus before 4 -5 pm as a safe side because buses upto Rampur/ Narkanda seem to run less in evening slot.I left Shimla at around 7 pm and then I got stuck at Theog.From there at around 9 pm I somehow managed to get a shared cab upto Narkanda.On top of that ,no hotel rooms were available in Narkanda.Luckily I got a tent at Rs 500 from Shyamjee’s Hotel to spend the night decently.
- There are plenty of hotels in Chitkul so no need to worry about that part.I ll request you to spend one full day there.Thank me later;-).Check the weather though beforehand as clouds spoil the party(sunrise-sunset views) at times:-\
- Khab Bridge,Karcham Dam,Akpa are worth giving a bit of time !
- Dhankar Lake is a treat to watch.Don’t miss it.Just a little trek a little effort and you are rewarded for your effort!
- Don’t miss Komic the so stated highest inhabitated village in the world.
- Chicham Bridge is a approx 4km above MSL bridge.Its adventurous to see that depth from the bridge along with some wildlife around(from Kaza towards Manali )
- Keep 2-3 days buffer for any adverse situation like landslide(which I faced twice),bad weather(abrupt unpredictable)
- Batal-Gramphoo stretch is pretty adventurous.All the best for having a non stop bumpy ride over stony path ,coming across waterfalls every now and then alongwith nallahs, and landslide areas. .Don’t ask me how it feels if I were on a motorcycle!Its no fun business …Drivers need some serious patience here!
Best time to Visit:
Early June-Late July and September(better month to see autumn) are best months to visit Spiti as well as Kinnaur valley wrt opening of all routes,less water in nallahs,clear weather,less rains and snow.
Spend Time With:
Friends(who have the stamina and no problem with altitudes),solo,group trips(Family or honeymoon trips I personally don’t recommend unless all the members are adept to hilly conditions and altitude adaptation!)
Food and Lodging:
This is a important aspect in your travel itrinanary.In Shimla ,you’ll find many hotels but mind you,if you go in months of May-June,you’ll hardly find vacancy in hotels and, even if you are luck enough, you’ll end up burning your pocket.My suggestion is see a bit of Shimla making Mandi as base or say Narkanda as base, as the hotel prices at Shimla may be 3-4 times more than these places.Also,you’ll face no problem in Narkanda as tents are also available alongwith hotels.
Hotels in Nako,Peo,Tabo,Sumdo,Chitkul are easy to find and cheap as well in most places(500-800 INR or even less!).Talking of food ,make a habit of Aalu Paratha as breakfast,and standard indian meal for afternoons and Chapati,momos for night.the food won’t be a problem at any point in villages and cities.In kaza and Manali as well there are plenty of food and lodging options.In Chandratal you can get tents at varying costs(I feel you can spend a day here as it’s worth it!)
Also,you’ll face no problem in Narkanda as tents are also available alongwith hotels.Hotels in Nako,Peo,Tabo,Sumdo,Chitkul are easy to find and cheap as well in most places(500-800 INR or even less!).Talking of food ,make a habit of Aalu Paratha as breakfast,and standard indian meal for afternoons and Chapati,momos for night.the food won’t be a problem at any point in villages and cities.In kaza and Manali as well there are plenty of food and lodging options.In Chandratal you can get tents at varying costs(I feel you can spend a day here as it’s worth it!)
Hotels in Nako,Peo,Tabo,Sumdo,Chitkul are easy to find and cheap as well in most places(500-800 INR or even less!).Talking of food ,make a habit of Aalu Paratha as breakfast,and standard indian meal for afternoons and Chapati,momos for night.the food won’t be a problem at any point in villages and cities.In kaza and Manali as well there are plenty of food and lodging options.In Chandratal you can get tents at varying costs(I feel you can spend a day here as it’s worth it!)
Expense:
- Food:avg:breakfast-Rs 60,Lunch-Rs 100,Dinner-80,snacks-50(In INR/DAY).totalled:300INR/DAY
- Transport:I took a car @3000INR/DAY from Narkanda(for 8 days )[frankly if you want to be solo and cut expenses either contact travel agents in Shimla or Manali or Narkanda beforehand and ask them for group tours-it ll fall to 1000-1500INR per day per person but,getting window seat or middle seat in car can be a problem(tours start in mid june and continue upto sept month approx).I hope you got my point!Buses are there …From Shimla to Peo…Peo to Chitkul…Shimla to Theog/Rampur,Peo to Nako/Tabo….Nako to Kaza/Shimla to kaza….kaza to Manali…Manali to Shimla/kullu..all details you can check here(HRTC website link).It all depends on what distance you cover (1.35 inr/km for ordinary bus-don’t expect luxury buses everywhere…you are getting bus connectivity thats a big thing my friend!)And prebook if its available either online or at counter at evening time a day before /early morning around 4 am or so the same day (depends -ask beforehand from local shops/bus conductor).Caution:It ll take nearly double the time you cover the distance by bus.So keep 13-14 days in hand including buffers.Don’t worry about connectivity.Once its the month of June, most of the routes open.
- Lodging:No whopping high prices…So,Expect INR 300-800 per day excluding meals.I rough it to INR 600/DAY (X8)
- Entry Fees:Very rare Negligible
NEARBY ATTARCTIONS(AROUND LAHAUL AND SPITI):(Ex KAZA)
- Narkand(348 KM)
- Kalpa(197 KM)
- Chitkul(248 KM)
- Kufri(396 KM)
- Fagu(391 KM)
- Shimla(409 KM)
- Manali(202 KM)
- Kullu(242 KM via Manali)
- Chamba(450 KM via Keylong-Killar)
- Kangra(418 KM via Manali)
- Dalhousie(485 KM via Keylong-Killar)
- Dharmashala (420 KM via Manali)
- Chandigarh(510 KM via Manali/Kullu)
- Bir Billing(360 KM via Manali)
- Tosh/kheerganga/Malana(300 KM approx via Manali)-Trek points
- Sach Pass/killar(336 KM via Keylong)
- Triund/Indrahar Pass(Trek-3-4 days)(425 KM via Manali-Palampur)
