Mesmerizing Spiti Valley - 10 days - 2019

We reached Chandigarh via Delhi from Bangalore by flight. Our flight landed at Chandigarh in the morning 7 am. And my parents came from Kolkata and their flight also landed just few mins after our flight.

We had our break fast at Chandigarh airport and our trip driver Devendra ji also came in between. We started from Chandigarh around 9 am .

Our first destination was Shimla. Our plan was, once we reach Shimla we'll roam around at Shimla Mall and after that we'll visit to Kali Bari in the evening. But when we arrived at Shimla it was cloudy. And rain started within few hours. So we came back to hotel by evening. Our Day 1 ended with rain.

We stayed at Hotel The Royale Oaks in Shimla. The hotel is located 15 mins walk from Mall. Rooms are average. View from hotel is good if you are staying in the 1st floor.You'll get separate balcony for each room on 1st floor. Now the thing we liked so much about the hotel is, we left one bag in the hotel (a bag which my wife bought from Malaysia for my mother) and by the time my mother realized, we already came 50 km from Shimla towards Sarahan. Then we called the hotel and asked about the bag and they told that they have found the bag and they kept the bag safely. Throughout our whole trip we were thinking how we will get back the bag and luckily one friend of my father who also booked though Himachal Pradesh Helpline Tourism and they were also staying in the same hotel. So we called the hotel again and ask them to handover the bag to my father's friend. We were very thankful to the hotel staff as they kept the bag safely.

We reached Sarahan in the evening. It is a small village, here only attraction is Bhimakali Temple. This temple is famous for it's beautiful wood work. There are King's and Queen's Palace just behind the temple but it is not open for visitors. We stayed at Hotel Snow View. Rooms were good and the food was also good. Out of 5 I can give 4 stars to this hotel based on location, rooms and food.

Next day we went to Chitkul. It is the last village from Indian side of Indo Tibet border in Kinnaur valley. It is one of the most beautiful village I have ever been. The day when we reached there it was raining and next day morning it was so beautif

We reached Kalpa around 2pm. It was 3hrs journey from Chitkul. Kalpa is a small village in the Sutlej river valley, above Reckong Peo in the Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh. It is one of the most beautiful village which is surrounded by Kinner Kailash range of Himalayas. And a cherry on the top is you can see the Kinner Kailash range covered with snow from you hotel room and it feels like it is just few hands away !

After having lunch we enjoyed the view from our hotel room as it was drizzling outside. After drizzling is stopped we roam around the small village. This village is full of apple trees. We saw different types of apple garden on the way. There is one temple named Chandika Dev Temple, which is one of the attraction in Kalpa.

Next day we went to Roghi Village, which is a small village just 40 mins away from Kalpa. This village is surrounded by lovely gardens and village houses. This place is popular for its apple orchards and ethnic village life. There is one temple in the village which is one of the attraction. We took some beautiful photos and spent some time roaming around the village and apple gardens also we saw there how different shapes of apples are put in boxes using machine. After that we went back to our hotel at Kalpa and stayed there for that day.

After having breakfast at Kalpa, we started our journey towards Tabo. It was a long journey as on the way we visited Nako Monastery. We reached Nako village around 1pm and hade our lunch at famous Somang Dhaba. This dhaba is located on the main highway near the entrance to the village. However, it is recommended to have lunch here. The Somang Dhaba and the adjoining retail shop is run by an elderly couple from Nako. Nako village situated at an height of 11,893 ft. You start to get a feel of the Spiti Valley after crossing the area. We visited the beautiful Nako Lake and after taking few snaps we started our journey towards Tabo Village and reached there around 4 pm. We stayed that night at Tabo.

Next day our plan was to travel to Kaza, which is 1 and 1/2 hour from Tabo. So before starting our journey towards Kaza we went to visit Tabo monastery. Tabo monastery is one of the oldest monastery and it is said that it is thousand years old. Photography is not allowed inside of the monastery. It will take around 1 hour to see the monastery. After spending some time there we headed back to our hotel and started our journey towards Kaza. On the way to Kaza we visited Dhankar monastery. This beautiful monastery is locked between the rocky spurs at the top of cliff in the Dhankar village. After taking few photos and enjoying breathtaking view from the top of the monastery we headed towards our destination Kaza. The town of Kaza is the sub divisional headquarters of the remote Spiti Valley, situated on the bank of Spiti river.

Next day early morning we started for local sightseen from Kaza. We went to Langza, Key Monastery, Kibber, Hikkim and Komic Monastery. It took whole day to visit all these beautiful places.

Next day our returning journey started. We started from Kaza for Manali around 3 am. On the way we visited Kunzum Pass. One of the height motorable road. Then we went to Manali via Rotangh Pass and reached Manali in the afternoon. It was a long and tiring day but the scenic beauty of the road removed all our tiredness. After reaching Manali we roam round the mall and enjoyed our last day of the trip.

Next day morning we started our return journey from Manali to Chandigarh in the morning and reached Chandigarh in the night. It was very long journey and our trip also ended.

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