Kalpa - Incredible Kinnaur

Reckong Peo

Reckong Peo is is the headquarters of Kinnaur District. It is located 232 KMs from Shimla. Good number of buses plies between these two cities. It is located 12 kms from the main highway and can be reached by taking diversion from the highway after Powari. One can get down at the Junction and take another bus going to Peo or Kalpa.You can get bus after every 15 minutes from the Junction.

Kalpa

Kalpa is about 5 KMs from Reckong Peo. Both private and HRTC buses ply between these two places.

Things to do in Kalpa

1. Beautiful Kalpa-Roghi walk
2. Suicide Point
3.  see the huge mountain Range from Buddhist and Hindu temple
4.  try some super delicious tibetian food in Kalpa Market.

Where to Stay 

Option 1- There are lot of stay options available in Kalpa and Reckong Peo. If you have planned for Spiti as well then I will Suggest to stay in Reckong Peo as the bus to Kaza leaves at 5'30 AM and you are not going to get anything from Kalpa at this Hour. You will get a decent room in Rs. 600-800. And dorm at Rs. 200ight.

Option 2-  In case you have no plan for Spiti, then you should stay at Kalpa. You will get one in range of 600-800 around market with a good view.

My Experience -

After spending a beautiful day at Chitkul, I took a early morning bus to Reckong Peo which is also the headquarters of Kinnaur District. I reached Reckong Peo at 1 PM. I got accompany of one more traveller going to Spiti the next day. We decided to look for a room with decent view. We got one and got fresh quickly went out for Kalpa and suicide point. Initially, we planned to cover all by walk but It was raining so we decided to book taxi which costed us 500 Bucks. We headed towards the famous Suicide Point, Roghi.

After 15 mins of beautiful drive from Peo to Roghi, we reached to this very famous Suicide Point. The view from the point was magical. Tried looking through the gorge but it was damn deep which took the breath away for a while. I walked through the roads around this point and took some beautiful photographs of this point..

After 15 mins of beautiful drive from Peo to Roghi, we reached to this very famous Suicide Point. The view from the point was magical. Tried looking through the gorge but it was damn deep which took the breath away for a while. I walked through the roads around this point and spent good time at this place before rain invaded.

After the suicide point, we headed towards Kalpa. Kalpa can be easily accessible by following the same roads that leads to Reckong Peo. Its about 3 KMs from Peo and buses ply after every 15-20 minutes from Peo to Kalpa. Or one can hire a taxi to get there, charges - Rs. 250.

Kalpa offers Spectacular View of Kinnaur Kailash Range and Shivalik Range. Indeed Kalpa offers a confluence of Hinduism and Buddhism with a colourful Buddhist Temple and intricate Hindu Temple in the same complex. Both the temples have some most magnificent view of the valley and beautiful ranges. And have some spiritual significance for the Locals of Kalpa. And also, don't forget to try the tasty tibetian delicacies at the Kalpa Market.

After exploring Kalpa, Roghi and having some tasty tibetian momo and thupka, we headed to the Peo bus stand to enquire about the Kaza bus. "They told that a landslide has happened 3 days ago due to which the Kaza bus is not plying. But. The bus will go late tommorow around 8 AM." This line brought a smile on our face.

We returned to room to get some sleep after a tiring day of travel. I went outside to check wheather its raining or not. To our luck, the rain had stopped and clouds were moving away. They started to play hide and seek. Finally, the stars were visible and clouds started to fade away. The moon started to throw its light of hopes on us. And after a few moments, I saw one of the best sight of my life. The whole Kinner Kailash range was in front of me with stars twinkling above it and on my right I saw the glimpse of Kinner Kailash top. I prayed to god to take me to Spiti Valley tommorow and thanked for keeping me safe in these harsh weather conditions. For a second, tears rolled down my eyes that I am going to make it to Spiti tommorow.

Where did I stayed - Nirvana Guest House, Main Road, Reckong Peo.
Cost - Rs 800/night.

Budget for Kalpa -

1. If you are exploring by walk or bus then around 600-900 will do.
2. If by taxi, in my case then 1000-1200.