Spiti Again ! An incredible solo journey to where it all started !!

A flight to Delhi from Bangalore and then a bus ride from Delhi ISBT to Manali at 11:00 pm, wherein I was the only person traveling to Manali. I had started talking to the few other people who accompanied me to Chandigarh. The driver was friendly as well and due to some road mishap, the bus got well delayed. We did have lunch and enjoyed a bit of chat. I had jumped into clicking mode and clicked the mighty Sutlej and Beas. The water levels were high but not high enough for discomfort.

I immediately started capturing the snow-capped peaks and we were having a good discussion and realized we were people with similar heads, both being passionate about contributing to Music but hadn’t pulled up our socks yet. The mesmerizing views kept on captivating us all the while. Come Chatru, Airtel disappeared, the bus didn't stop and the green surroundings started to change to the cold desert ones. It was all nostalgia for me. There was Angela from Manchester the seat behind and then Dhawal had a Japanese girl as a seatmate.

We woke up a bit late after the strenuous journey of the day before. The Japanese girl (I forgot her name) wished to go to the Key monastery and left. Angela tagged along with the Belgian couple for a trek. We wanted to do a nearby circuit of Key-Chicham-Kibber but were not getting people to accompany at the taxi stand (Cons of Budget traveling). We had breakfast near the bus stand, and I captured the bus schedule pic that was supposed to help us for the upcoming days. Luckily we got a group who had booked a tempo traveler for Hikkim-Komic-Langza-Kye-Kibber-Chicham circuit. This is a total of 90 km circuit and can be an easy day travel, with the time taken somewhere around 5-6 hrs. Each of the places has its own significance. The group was again a mixed one wherein there was a Mumbai couple, a solo traveler from Bangladesh, a solo female from Bulgaria and 2 friends from Bangladesh. Viktor joined us and wanted to get down at Key after completing the 3 villages tour.

We got ready as early as 4:30 for the Chandrataal trip. The lake was missed the last time and after a year of regrets, I was heading towards it. A group of 3 from Delhi had joined us now. Dessy being unwell, skipped the journey. So we were a total of 10 people.The driver was late and we started around 5:30. Early morning journey did allow us to get a glimpse of the prettiest sunrise we had witnessed ever.

I and Dhawal decided to do a budget travel to Tabo and Dhankhar and caught the bus to Reckong Peo at 7:30. We got the last seats and had a very bumpy ride once we crossed 20 km from Kaza. The Dhankar side has a different topology with needle type and similar rock formations. The desert had now given way to greenery and we were approaching the end of the Spiti valley. Apple orchards were present in large numbers.

We reached Tabo at around 10:30, had breakfast and proceeded to the old Tabo caves, which had a proper path. Another of the beautiful Spitian hamlet, the view of the town from the caves was splendid, after which we came down and visited both the old and the new monasteries. The old monastery is more than a thousand years old and has a unique cave kind structure.

We reached Dhankhar and now we had to trek to the lake in the sultry heat. We had to take numerous stops for this 1.5 km stretch, but the views did encourage us to keep the trek on. We finally managed to reach the lake in approx 50 minutes. The trek is composed of 2 parts. One is a steep ascent till the point of the Spiti-Pin river confluence view, that 60% of the trek, the rest trek is of moderate level. We were welcomed by views that looked straight out of a wallpaper. I was busy shooting while Dhawal took rest in a bit of shade by the lake. After spending around 40 mins, we started the descent.

We went to the Spiti festival and it was great to see the locals perform. We had food and the eventful crazy day came to an end. A day where only the places to be covered were known, but not the modes of transport. From HRTC to Tata Ace to Alto to Enfield Classic to Alto again, we traveled in all !! A combined team effort. Cheers Dhawal !! An epic day to remember forever!!

Travel expenses:

HRTC to Tabo : 7:30 bus , 75 INR

HitchHike From Tabo to Schilling - NA

Schilling junction to Dhankar cab - 800 INR for 2

Dhankar to Schilling junction bike ride - 300 INR for 2

Schilling Junction to Kaza cab - 400 INR for 2

After the epic previous day, woke up a little late at 9 only to find that both Dhawal and Viktor had left. Surely they might have knocked, but I was in deep deep sleep and had missed the knock. I was undecided what to so next and was deciding amongst hiring an Aprilia sr scooter and redoing the nearby circuit or catch the bus at evening for Pin valley. After having lunch, I did go to the Tibetan shop again in search of the woman from whom I had purchased the last time, she was there and took a little time, but did recognize, giving the details of my rucksack color as well. I was shocked at her memory powers. We had a good half an hour talk and did a town walk, capturing the Kangyud monastery and the stupas and post having lunch, I kept the rucksack at the owner’s brother hotel and set out with only my messenger bag. The owner is pretty much hard to reach on phone and is seldom available at the place.

The HRTC ride that started at 4 was again picturesque. I traveled WT as the conductor told me he will give the front, that was a seat reserved for him. Just for the experience, I did agree. Pin Valley starts from the Kaza-Tabo road diversion at the Attargo bridge and the views again are enthralling with Pin river now flowing along the road.

I woke up, had tea at the terrace that greeted me with some amazing views and was talking with the lady again. This chat comprised mainly of how they stock up food for their cattle, for the harsh winters when they hardly get to move, owing to the heavy snow, then I told my wish to walk down to the river nearby and she did start guiding me, screaming at her full voice from the terrace though I was almost 100 meters away from her. I reached a point where it presented a peaceful view wherein yaks, horses and cows were grazing in harmony amidst the rivers and the colored mountains.

Caught an early 6 am bus from Mudh to Kaza and was again treated with the pristine sunrise moments of the valley. There was a marriage in Sagnam village the last day and many in the bus were discussing it.

We reached Kaza by 8:30 and I went to the place of my stay and was lucky to catch hold of the owner guy and occupied the same room. I had hardly taken good shots of the Kee Monastery and wished to do so as I had the entire day by myself. I had breakfast and reached taxi stand yet again, looking for fellow travelers. After half an hour of waiting, we became another team of 5, wherein there was a mom son duo from Bangalore and a very young couple from Delhi and all were Monastery bound. The Delhi couple had just begun the Spiti tour and I passed on as much information as I could.

We reached the monastery in some time and I walked some 150 m to the Giant Buddha statues, which provided some captivating clicks of the monastery amidst the mountains and the river. I trekked almost 300 m upwards and after satisfying my clicking urge, I came down to the school nearby wherein I interacted a lot with my young monk friends. I then hitchhiked back to a point 2 km from Kaza wherein there's an art spot built out of plastic that travelers left behind.

After stopping for a while, I then walked back to Kaza and met Angela at the same stay. She was amazed to see me but was sick due to stomach issues. I took a bath and went to my lunch place where I met Diana from Canada, who was in the return bus from Mud in the morning and had come post a Dhankhar trip. We became friends in no time but she was tired and took leave, promising to come at evening near the bus stand.

We had to book tickets for the next day to Kaza. But this scenario had changed from the last year and it was in the morning only that one could occupy the seats after coming as early as 4:00 on a first come first serve basis. We did a bit of shopping at the Spiti Souvenir shop ,where I got a tee and apricots and she got apricots as well. She wanted a pair of woolen socks as well, and we searched a lot of shops and finally, she got one. We had dinner together, after which I dropped her at her stay and bought one more tee at the Tibetan shop and headed back to my room. I tried with some night shots, packed all my stuff and slept early, heavily sad as it was my last day in the valley.

Travel Expenses:

Mud to Kaza HRTC: 80 INR

Kaza to Key : 200 INR

I didn't have a good sleep due to anxiety and reached the stop as early as 4:00 am, only to find a crowd of people. The crowd kept on growing, Diana too came soon and the doors were only opened sometime past 5 to which there was a huge rush for seats. The rucksacks had to be put on the bus terrace. It was highly irresponsible on Conductors part as he was late and didn't even open the box behind to keep the bags. The bus with a 37 seat capacity was filled with more than 60 people.

I met a group of 3, with whom started yet another of the travel stories. Kajol from Delhi and Sonali from Mumbai and Pushpinder were solo travelers who had met a few days back and were Chandrataal bound. We put the rucksacks between and found ourselves sitting with occasional naps in between. It was quite a difficult journey as getting a seat on such tough terrains is of utmost importance. We started a few talks and after crossing Losar, it started raining.

As we started Kumzum ascent, we started witnessing one of the big moments in our lives, the snowfall. We started taking as many videos we could but little did we know of the impending troubles. The overcrowded bus stopped a place near the ascent and waited to inquire about the snow from the vehicles coming in the opposite direction. It was advisable to return back. Few people started the trek to Batal which seemed a risky task for us. Diana too left for the trek. And we started thinking about our way next. I had the next day as a buffer, which I was supposed to spend in Manali.

The bus came back to Losar again and we were told it would leave for Manali only when the weather cleared out, and asked us to accommodate in Losar meanwhile. After talking to locals, it seemed that going to Manali was not an option atlas for the next 3 days. We started persuading vehicles to take us back to Kaza and we found a gem of a man who was not Kaza bound but agreed to us and we started another of the journeys with a new team now. We 4, then there were 2 guys from Chandigarh,3 bong guys and 2 guys from Kerala. This man took us to his village for tea and chapatis and dropped us in Kaza by afternoon 2.

We booked a vehicle to travel to Shimla. Most of us had flights from Delhi back a day after. Still, we were a team of 11, wherein the guys from Chandigarh were replaced by a young couple from Kanpur who were among the bus travelers. We had lunch and started the journey, the journey against time and the harsh weather conditions wherein it was super cold and the nonstop rain.

We started introduction rounds of each one and people were all rejuvenated, exchanging seats every now and then and talking amongst. We crossed Spiti valley and entered Kinnaur valley by late evening. The networks started to reappear and just when we sure to reach Shimla the next morning, we found big rocks on the road due to a landslide. We had to come back to Pooh, the nearest village and had to spend the night there and restart in the morning, hoping for the rocks and boulders to be cleared by then.

Travel Expenses:

Kaza to Manali HRTC: INR 300

Losar to Kaza Vehicle:INR 200 each

An early wake by 6 and we started for Shimla. The roads were cleared and we were charmed by the greener Kinnaur valley mountains and the mighty Sutlej views throughout. We continued our conversations and it was more of a family know, having fought more than half the battle against the crazy weather.

We restarted the journey and reached Shimla ISBT by 6 where it was raining crazy. The bong group, Abhishek, Rajashri, and Bidish , had to get a cab booked as Abhishek had an early flight the next day. I tagged along with Pushpinder, Adnan and Mustafa, the Kerala guys and the couple, Mohil and Priyalika. We bade a farewell to Sonali and Kajol and booked a private Bus to Delhi. We walked up to the stop, had our dinner at a dharamshala nearby and the bus started around 11.

The feeling was great, as not one moment was anyone down, all were upbeat that we will reach the destinations. The obstacles kept on coming and we kept on fighting, playing songs, talking to each other and sharing travel experiences.Cheers to the team who kept their warrior spirit alive throughout. And we did make some amazing friends and it was an eventful 2 days as the conditions had worsened up with rivers rising up to dangerous levels in Manali with highways shut down and with more snowfall in the Rohtang and Kumzum passes, Spiti was cut off from Manali side. I sincerely hope the people who started the trek from the Kumzum stop did escape the harsh conditions unscathed.

We reached Delhi ISBT by 6 and hugged the people and bade them a goodbye. Mustafa and Adnan went to their friend's place. Pushpinder to his stay place and Mohil and Priyalika to their place. It was quite an emotional moment and I had made some good friends here. I had to go to Ghaziabad to my friend and booked a cab for the same. Roshan is one of my school buddies and we engaged in nostalgic conversations and the short stay here like always was a good time and caught a flight back to Bangalore at evening.

Travel Expenses:

Kaza to Shimla vehicle : INR 1500 each (Vehicle was 15000 plus some extra we paid to the driver for the huge contribution that he had in We reaching on time and safely)

Shimla to Delhi bus: INR 838 (A private bus,booked through redbus)

Trips like this do help when you are going through rough times. The 7 days spent without network was indeed the best week of the year so far wherein I was one with myself. The best part was the second half wherein I stayed at Pin valley. I had already known the people of mountains had a golden heart but the warmth I received at the stay was something beyond words. It did give me a feeling of a bonding so strong which I had always craved for. Surprisingly, I got a call from Gatuk around 14 days later when he was in Kaza for some work. The network doesn’t exist in Mudh and I was heavily overwhelmed by the gesture.

So, I had made Kaza as my base and was traveling to places in and around. Apart from Kaza, the only place i stayed was Pin valley. The bus timings are a bit odd, as most of them start at evening and come back the next morning for places in and around Kaza except the Dhankar side comprising of Nako and Tabo though can be done by staying at the villages if one wishes to do a budget travel.