Road Trip Through Spiti Valley

Tripoto
8th Aug 2014
Photo of Road Trip Through Spiti Valley 1/24 by Aniket Thakur
Key Monsatery
Photo of Road Trip Through Spiti Valley 2/24 by Aniket Thakur
Mount Kailash
Photo of Road Trip Through Spiti Valley 3/24 by Aniket Thakur
Road block
Photo of Road Trip Through Spiti Valley 4/24 by Aniket Thakur
Chandratal Lake
Photo of Road Trip Through Spiti Valley 5/24 by Aniket Thakur
Dry Monsoon Clouds
Photo of Road Trip Through Spiti Valley 6/24 by Aniket Thakur
Flora
Photo of Road Trip Through Spiti Valley 7/24 by Aniket Thakur
Cold Desert
Photo of Road Trip Through Spiti Valley 8/24 by Aniket Thakur
Inside a gompa
Photo of Road Trip Through Spiti Valley 9/24 by Aniket Thakur
Nako Village
Photo of Road Trip Through Spiti Valley 10/24 by Aniket Thakur
A Cairn
Photo of Road Trip Through Spiti Valley 11/24 by Aniket Thakur
Kalpa
Photo of Road Trip Through Spiti Valley 12/24 by Aniket Thakur
Chandratal Lake
Photo of Road Trip Through Spiti Valley 13/24 by Aniket Thakur
Demul Village - Highest Village in Spiti Dist
Photo of Road Trip Through Spiti Valley 14/24 by Aniket Thakur
Photo of Road Trip Through Spiti Valley 15/24 by Aniket Thakur
Car Wash
Photo of Road Trip Through Spiti Valley 16/24 by Aniket Thakur
Waterfalls along the way
Photo of Road Trip Through Spiti Valley 17/24 by Aniket Thakur
Waterfalls along the way
Photo of Road Trip Through Spiti Valley 18/24 by Aniket Thakur
Wanderers
Photo of Road Trip Through Spiti Valley 19/24 by Aniket Thakur
Dusk near Nako
Photo of Road Trip Through Spiti Valley 20/24 by Aniket Thakur
Losar
Photo of Road Trip Through Spiti Valley 21/24 by Aniket Thakur
Stone tunnels
Photo of Road Trip Through Spiti Valley 22/24 by Aniket Thakur
Giu Monastery
Photo of Road Trip Through Spiti Valley 23/24 by Aniket Thakur
Our Ride
Photo of Road Trip Through Spiti Valley 24/24 by Aniket Thakur
Kinnaur valley

Firstly, the cost mentioned above is for two people excluding air travel. We were four of us travelling from Mumbai. We had hired a Mahindra Scorpio from Shimla for 10 days @ a cost of about Rs. 3000 per day. Note that the cost of travel is high in Spiti due to its demanding terrain and altitude which lowers fuel efficiency. Our plan was to travel rigorously for about first 7 - 8 days and the remaining 2 - 3 days were for rest at a serene destination within Himalayas/ Himachal.

Day 1: Aug 8 – Arrive at Chandigarh via flight from Mumbai and take a cab to Shimla. Night stay at Shimla

Distance: Chandigarh to Shimla – 120 kms / 3 - 4 hrs

Hotel Cost: Rs. 800 per room for two

Day 2: Aug 9 – Meet up with a pre-booked SUV ride for the road trip. Leave early morning at 8 am. Breakfast at Kufri valley. Lunch at Rampur. Night stay at Sangla.

Distance: Shimla to Sangla – 280 kms / 7 – 8 hrs

Hotel Cost: Rs. 800 per room for two

Day 3: Aug 10 – Leave after breakfast from Sangla. Drive to Karcham-Wangtoo Dam and take the route towards Spiti valley. Drive to Kalpa via Reckong Peo and halt for lunch. Beautiful views of Kinnaur Kailash Mountain. Visit the Kalpa Gompa and leave for Nako village. If you have an option or time, ensure to stay overnight at Kalpa. Night stay at Nako on the banks of Nako lake.

Distance: Sangla – Kalpa - Nako – 140 kms / 6 – 7 hrs

Hotel Cost: Rs. 900 per room for two

Day 4 : Aug 11 – Leave after breakfast for Tabo. Visit the Giu Monastery en route. Lunch halt at Tabo. See the Tabo monastery. Drive to Dhankar. Check out the amazing views from Dhankar Gompa during sunset. Night stay at Dhankar.

Distance: Nako – Giu – Tabo – Dhankar – 140 kms / 6 – 7 hrs

Hotel Cost: Rs. 700 per room for two

Day 5: Aug 12 – Drive to La Lung village after breakfast and visit the village monastery. Drive to Demul village. Halt at Leo village for lunch. Spend some time and have tea at Demul with the locals. Drive to Kaza. Night stay at Kaza

Distance: Dhankar – La Lung – Demul – Kaza – 100 kms / 7 – 8 hrs

Hotel Cost: Rs. 600 per room for two

Day 6: Aug 13 – Visit Kaza monastery after breakfast. Drive to Key monastery. Visit Kibber village and halt for lunch. Spend some time at Kibber and then drive to Losar. Night stay at Losar.

Distance: Kaza – Key – Kibber – Losar – 70 kms / 7 – 8 hrs

Hotel Cost: Rs. 600 per room for two

Day 7: Aug 14 – Wake up early morning at around 5 am and leave for Chander Taal Lake. Have breakfast before leaving as there is no place to have breakfast at Chander Taal. Halt at Kunzum La Pass. Spend quality time and relax at Chander Taal. The lake is beautiful. Leave for Manali by 1 pm. Halt for lunch at Batal. Night stay at Manali.

Distance: Losar – Kunzum Paas – Chander Taal – Batal – Manali – 170 kms / 8 - 10 hrs

Hotel Cost: Rs. 900 per room for two

Day 8: Aug 15 – Leave for McLeod Ganj after breakfast. Halt for lunch after Mandi on the highway. Finding a hotel is difficult in McLeod Ganj on a long holiday weekend. Leave for Kangra. Night stay at Kangra.

Distance: Manali – Kangra – 270 kms

Hotel Cost: Rs. 1000 per room for two

Day 9: Aug 16 – Leave for Barot after breakfast. Stay at Barot for two nights.

Distance: Kangra – Barot – 120 kms / 3 – 4 hrs

Hotel Cost: Rs. 800 per room for two

Day 10: Aug 17 – Drive around Barot. Enjoy some Trout fishing. Rest comfortably through the day.

Distance: No travel day

Hotel Cost: Rs. 800 per room for two

Day 11: Aug 18 – Drive to Mandi an early lunch at Barot. Take a Volvo bus to Chandigarh. Night stay at Chandigarh.

Distance: Barot – Chandigarh – 270 kms / 8 hrs

Hotel Cost: Rs. 800 per room for two

Day 12: Aug 19 – Leave for Mumbai via flight.

Contacts: Tenzing (owns a Mahindra Scorpio) and is the best option for the road trip as he is a local of the Spiti valley. he took us to the best budget homestays and lunch and dinner places in Spiti. His mobile number is: +91-941-84-33973

Road Trip google map - Here is a link to a custom map for the roadtrip we took for anyone to follow with stay and sightseeing options: http://bit.ly/1zKVjKk

Stay on the outskirts of Shimla - preferably towards Kufri

Photo of Shimla, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India by Aniket Thakur

This is the last place you will get cell phone signal. Beyond this point no network in entire Spiti valley except for BSNL

Photo of Sangla, Himachal Pradesh, India by Aniket Thakur
Photo of Sangla, Himachal Pradesh, India by Aniket Thakur
Photo of Sangla, Himachal Pradesh, India by Aniket Thakur

The most beautiful and peaceful town we came across on the trip

Photo of Kalpa, Reckong Peo, Himachal Pradesh, India by Aniket Thakur

A nice quiet village. It has a small lake called the Nako Lake. Visit the Giu Mummy and monastery on the way to Tabo next day

Photo of Nako, Himachal Pradesh, India by Aniket Thakur
Photo of Nako, Himachal Pradesh, India by Aniket Thakur

Tabo is hotter than other villages. It is in a valley and is famous for its famous monastery - Tabo Gompa.

Photo of Tabo, Himachal Pradesh, India by Aniket Thakur

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