Spiti road trip (Delhi-Kaza-Manali-Delhi)

Delhi to Rampur

My friend and I were planning the Spiti bike expedition for months but Spiti received heavy snowfall in 2019. Thus, it was mid June and there was no news about tentative dates for Kunzum pass to open.

Finally, it was the last week of June and we got the official confirmation about Kunzum pass and roads were open and we planned to start our expedition on 1st July 2019.

Day 1 was an easy bike ride from Delhi to Rampur (almost 500 kms), we started our journey around 5 in the morning. Took our first coffee halt at Murthal and continued our journey on NH-1. It's always a treat to ride on NH-1 and we crossed Shimla in no time. We decided to stop for breakfast post Shimla to avoid the traffic and around 2 pm we reached Narkanda.

7 days motorcycle road trip itinerary to Spiti

So far so good for the day, had momos at Narkanda, refuelled our motorcycles amd continued our journey to Rampur. Narkanda to Rampur is a very easy stretch to cover, it took us almost 2 hours. We reached Rampur by 5 pm and we had a discussion shall we ride more as we had time but we decided to stop at Rampur only. Considering, the next day is going to a long day and we had no idea about the road conditions ahead. Took a room in a guest house for Rs. 600 only. Let's call it a day.

Rampur to Kalpa via Chitkul

I was so excited for day 2 as we had to go to the last Indian Village - Chitkul, Kinnaur and the final destination was Kalpa. The places I had adore on social media. 

We started our journey early in the morning, considering it was going to be a long day. And within no time we entered the Kinnaur Valley.  Mother nature welcomed her son with the glimpse of  snow capped peaks.

We continued our journey and I was so desperately waiting for the Kinnaur gateway as I knew it would come any moment now. Riding with adrenaline rush was a different experience altogether and within few minutes I had the first glimpse of the Kinnaur gateway.

Boy oh boy it looks so surreal in real. I used to Instagram picture of Kinnaur gateway every now and then. How good it felt to ride down the iconic Kinnaur gateway. This road would be more memorable than the smoothest roads in the world.

Post the photography session we decided not to stop now for few kms since we were running behind the schedule. Also, we stopped after riding hardly for 500 metres. Not our fault, that gigantic waterfall could make anyone stop there and we were no different.

Okay no more brakes, we started riding with this thought in our mind and 10 minutes later my friend wanted to have Rajma Chawal because he read somewhere you should try Rajma Chawal in Kinnaur. We stopped at a small dhaba and had our meal and we didn't regret stopping it here. Met two French guys as well who were cycling to Spiti but unfortunately I couldn't click a picture with them.

Heading towards Chitkul now, for Chitkul we had to take a detour of good 50 kms from Karcham via Sangla. Sangla is famous for apple orchards and ride till Sangla was adventurous yet bit scary at times. Met one of my school time friend, she was coming back from Chitkul that day and I was going to Chitkul. thanks to Insta stories, we could patchup.

Continued our ride to Chitkul, as we move closer to Chitkul it's getting colder and we weren't prepared yet for the cold weather but we kept on riding. I guess we were so excited that we resisted it. One more picture that I used to Instagram was the sign board stating "Hindustan ka aakhiri dhaba" and I am going to tick that off from my bucket list soon.

And finally we made it to the dhaba and you can't afford to skip Maggi here. It's a ritual!

Few kms down the lane is the ITBP check post and no civilians are allowed beyond that point. We decided to ride till the post.

I so wish I had few extra days,  I wanted to spend a day  in Chitkul. But as they, there's always a next time. We started riding back to Karcham dam as we had to reach Kalpa. Things were going good, it was the golden hour, I had an amazing day and we were only 20-25 kms away from the Reckong Peo.

Suddenly my accelerator wire broke in the middle of nowhere, no sign of civilization for km's. My friend went ahead to some nearby village to seek some help and I tried my luck but unfortunately it didn't work for me. I had the spare wire with me I had no idea how to replace it. Called my friend to get an update and even he couldn't find any help as there was only 1 mechanic there was he was occupied. 

But miracles do happen! There was a group of 3 Gentlemen from Punjab at that mechanic shop and they heard my friend. They came all the way to help me, they fixed it temporary so that I can reach my destination and get it fixed the next day. Humanity is still alive!

I rode with the broken accelerator wire and reached Kalpa, took the very first hotel for Rs. 1000 as it started drizzling and we were exhausted as well.

And we slept with a thought of waking up to the beautiful sunrise at the mighty Kinner Kailash .

Kalpa to Tabo via Suicide point

Woke up early to witness the sunrise on the Kinner Kailash peak, rushed to the hotel terrace and as soon as I reached the terrace I was lost for a moment. I have no words to describe it, probably one of the best sunrise I have ever seen.

It looks more beautiful than the pictures I saw on social media platforms.

Walked down the lane to have a better view of the Shiva ling on the Kinner Kailash. I tried to capture it with the gadgets I had.  As per Wikipedia "The Kinnaur Kailasha is a mountain in the Kinnaur district of the Indian state Himachal Pradesh. Kinnaur Kailash has a height of 6050 meters and is considered sacred by both Hindu and Buddhist Kinnauris"

I came back to my room and yeah I had to get my bike fixed as well. Rushed to Reckong Peo, 12 kms from Kalpa and got it fixed. It took me almost 2 hours and now I was back in hotel, took a shower, had my breakfast and started our journey. 

But wait we can't leave Kalpa without going to the famous Suicide point. It's 3 kms away and we experienced some serious ascent while riding. There was a time when our motorcycles gave up and we had to help each other by pushing our bikes at an altitude of 9,000 ft.

One more places ticked off from my list.

I fell in love with Kalpa. I made a promise to myself standing at the suicide point that I coming here again, probably in winters. This place has a special place in my heart now.

I didn't want to go from Kalpa but we had a long distance to cover. We started our journey around 12 pm with no destination in mind since we were late. Plan was to cover as much as distance we can today. We started riding towards Pooh.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the moment is here and I am going to ride on the World's most treacherous road.

Also, don't forget to carry some extra fuel with you since the next petrol pump is at Kaza.

12 pm to 2 pm is the official blasting time for the BRO, plan your day accordingly whenever you visit Spiti. Post Pooh, you won't get network connections and only BSNL would work. Make sure you are calling your family/friends and update them accordingly.

We decided not to take much brakes and somehow we managed to do that as well and tried to manage a good speed.

We reached Khaab village, Hangrang valley also called the Sangam point at 4 pm. Sangam because here the Satluj river and Spiti river meets and we entered the Spiti Valley.

As soon as we entered the Spiti valley, the terrain changed completely from humongous mountains of Kinnaur to barren lands of Spiti. That's the beauty of mountains.  Since we were running late, we decided to skip the Gue Monestary.  We continued our journey towards Tabo via Nako and we were riding on Nako loops and sun was about to set.  Nako to tabo is good 50-60 kms ride and we decided to continue our ride since we had another hour before it's dark and we needed around 90 minutes to reach our destination.

We made it to Tabo well in time and stayed at a homestay next to Tabo Monestary for Rs. 600. Only BSNL works in Spiti and luckily my friend had a BSNL connection. We talked to our families and went for dinner. It was a clear sky and could see a lot of stars in the sky at 9 pm only. I was praying if I could see a Milky Way later that night.

Unfortunately, weather turned suddenly and clouds took over, couldn't see a Milky Way. But before that I decided to took my motorcycle for a short spin to Tabo helipad and got myself clicked with billion stars in the sky. A perfect note to end the day.

Tabo to Kaza via Pin Valley

Started our day by visiting the Tabo Monestary , spent a good time there since we were not in rush today. It's was a shot ride day for us as compared to the past 3 days.

Some facts about Tabo Monestary as per the Wikipedia: "A thousand years old heritage!
Thousand years and still intact is the Tabo monastery founded in AD 996, has a fort like appearance with it's thick walls and buttresses, preserving the glorious traditions and heritage in the form of artistic murals and paintings."

Tabo to Kaza is an hour ride only but we had plans to visit Pin Valley as well. You have to take a detour of approximately 30 kms to reach the Mud village in Pin Valley and trust me it's worth every single minute of your detour time.

Pin Valley being the Spiti's largest green area offers next level landscape views. I was fascinated by the views that the valley had to offer while riding. To be honest, it was never in my list but my friend convinced me to add Pin in our itinerary and I thanked him later on.

We reached Mud village, had our brunch there and spent some time in the lap of mother nature.

I started liking this place and for a while I was stuck with the idea of staying here but unfortunately I couldn't.  Tried all permutation and combination to cover the entire circuit as per the itinerary if we stay here today but it didn't workout.

Post our lunch and a small walk in the Mid village, we started riding back to Kaza and soon we hit the highway from where we took the detour to Pin. And in no time we reached the Kaza, it took us 4 days but we knew it was a result of months planning. We were on the cloud nine at that particular moment. Jumping like anything on the road.

If you are a rider and specially a Royal Enfield rider the very first thing you need to do as soon as you reach Kaza is to get your bikes checked at the Royal Enfield service centre just next to Kaza gateway.

But I got a reality check as soon as we hit the Kaza market. It was full of tourists and I had some other expectations from Kaza. I wasn't expecting this much tourists considering it to be an isolated destination but I was wrong.  Stocked up some chocolates and other essential things and we decided to continue for Langza village.

Kaza to Langza is just 15 kms drive it took us more than an hour to reach there. Considering, we had to ascent almost 2000 ft height in just 15 kms and uncountable stops for photography. Langza, situated at the height of 14,500 ft is one of the highest village in the world connected with the motorable road.

And arguably, one of the beautiful village as well with the population of 137 people living in 33 houses only.  Stayed in a homestay for 900 Rs each including per person including tea, dinner and breakfast.
homestay in such isolation was something that I had never experienced before and something I would love to experience time and again.

We all know Langza is famous for the gigantic Bhuda statue and it was just few meters away where we were staying but we decided to visit it next morning since it was pitch dark outside.  

While having dinner with the family at the homestay, out of curiosity I asked the owner if it is possible to see Milky Way today? And very casually he replied, we see it daily. You can see it from our terrace he added. I asked at what time? He laughed and said you can see it now and it was only 9 pm.

I wasn't sure if he was serious and I looked out from the window, sky was full of stars. I pushed off from dining area and rushed to terrace.  I could see a bit of Milky Way, it was not that clear but I was awe-struck for a long time. Temperature must be in minus degrees and I am sitting there at the terrace adoring the stars and Milky Way. 

And it was getting brighter with the time and I went back to the room to bring the tripod and camera stuff. I  ain't professional but tried my best to capture the Milky way.

Finally my chase for Milky was over but wait it reminded me of the Budha statue picture with the Milky Way in backdrop and there is no chance I am missing it. Somehow I convinced my friend at 12 am and we hiked to Budha statue and tried our best to capture it with the gadgets we had. 

Not that good but good enough to bring smile on my face whenever I will see it. 

It was a dream come true.  Whenever I talk about it, it gives me goosebumps like I am having it right know. Let's call it a day here!

Kaza to Chandratal via Komic, Hikkim, Kibber, Chicham and Kunzum Pass.

We started early as this was going to be a long day and we had to cross some notorious water crossings and mighty Kunzum pass as well. We cold started our motorcycles, had our breakfast at homestay and headed to Hikkim. I was surprised by the hospitality at the homestay, they served us bread omlette, peanut butter at an altitude of 15000 ft.

We reached to Hikkim within sometime and it is home to the World's highest post office. It was a different experience alltogether talking to the postmaster and sending postcards from there. Unfortunately, I haven't received it yet.  You can get the postcards from the nearby shops. Made a new friend there though I had to bribe him with chocolates, kids here damn cute.

We started riding to Komic, the highest village in the world connected with motorable road. The roads from Hikkim to Komic is full of barren lands, no human civilization for kms and humungous mountains. Had tea (seabuck if I am not wrong) at the world's highest restaurant as claimed by the locals and started our journey back to Kaza.

Re-fuelled at Kaza, the highest petrol pump in the world. Filled my tank full and I was carrying 5 litres of extra petrol with me since there is no petrol pump until Manali now.

Few hours since we started our journey today and we have been to the World's highest post office, World's highest village and the World's highest petrol pump. We started riding to Kibber and the next destination was the Key Monastery. We visited the monastery, spent some time talking to the monks. I wanted to click a picture of Key for which I had to hike but I couldn't since it started drizzling that time and we were running short of time as well.

We continued our journey towards Chicham Khas, home to the Asia's highest suspension bridge. It took 15 years to complete this bridge at an altitude of 13,244ft. Here you will find yourself gaping below, at a 1000 ft deep gorge - Samba Lamba Nallah.
Before this bridge the villagers of Chicham used a dangerous ropeway to cross this section.

We continued our journey towards Losar. Okay, no water crossing yet though we were mentally prepared and excited too. We reached Losar, had our lunch there (last option) if you're heading towards Chandratal lake. Thanks to the lady at the dhaba we had lunch, she helped us with the accomodation at the Chandratal lake. As soon as we crossed the Losar, there was a check post where we had to give our and vehicle's details. The next destination was mighty Kunzum pass.

Kunzum pass was opened very late this year because of the heavy snowfall it received. As we were approaching the Kunzum pass we could see the snow walls and it was difficult to ride since the ice started melting resulting in slush but the views made us forgot all the pain.

And I couldn't believe my eyes as we reached the Kunzum top, it was like I was riding next to the glacier. I have never  experienced something that adorable in my life, something that I can't put in words, something that even pictures can't describe.  Paradise would be an understatement and won't do the justice. Took blessings from Kunzum mata and continued our journey towards Chandratal lake.

I've heard of a major water crossing while going to Chandratal once we take a turn from the Kaza-Manali highway. It's an approximately 20kms detour and soon I saw a lot of bikers standing just before a water crossing. It was a huge water crossing with big rocks, ice cold water, deep valley on the other side and a river beneath.

I would lie if I say I wasn't sacred. I was scared but at the end I was proud when I crossed that water crossing. 

We had to cross one more water crossing though not dangerous but this time we were confident and crossed it with ease.

And we finally managed to reach Chandratal camps (not lake) around 5pm and thanks to that lady where we had lunch we had not to hunt for the camps. We got a camp for 900 per person with dinner and breakfast, it was cheap as compared to others. We changed quickly and rushed to lake. Camps are situated 4-5 kms away from the camps, you can take your vehicle's till a particular point and then you need to hike for 1.5 kms.

Chandratal mean moon lake. The name of the lake originates from its crescent shape. There are many stories associated with Chandratal, one could easily find them on internet. 

One of the belief is that fairies descend here and it's not hard to believe this considering the beauty this lake have to offer. I sat there for a good time just adoring the beauty of the lake, silence and the snow-capped mountains all around.

It was the golden hour and we decided to push back and I saw one of the most beautiful sunset of my life till date. The last rays on the Himalayan peaks were mesmerizing and beyond my expectations. I couldn't ask for more.

We returned to our camps, had our dinner and we ain't sleeping without doing stargazing and in a hope of witnessing Milky Way once more. Chandratal is the perfect place and it didn't let us down. Clicked some amazing pictures better than yesterday since there was no distortion today though it was too cold here. 

D day- Chandratal to Manali

Started my day with yet another beautiful sunrise.

We knew that it would be the most challenging day of this expedition, testing our riding skills and patience to core. We had breakfast and started riding towards Manali. Kaza to Manali is 130 kms approximately but the challenge is to reach Gramphu, the point this road meets the Manali-Leh highway before Rohtang La.

As soon as we reached Batal, we saw a bunch of travellers and bikes there and someone told us there's a landslide ahead since last evening.  Also, people who were travelling from Manali to Laza had to spend the night there only.

BRO have a scheduled routine check up on that route daily at 9 am, we had to take h halt at the famous Chacha- Chachi dhaba. The owners of this dhaba is a lovely aged couple from a village nearby. They have been recognised by government for saving many lives including some foreign nationals a couple of years back by providing them free food and shelter for days when they were stuck in a snowstorm.

Got a chance to talk to the lovely aged couple and chacha told me that real adventure for us will begin now.  Adrenaline rush hit me hard but couldn't do anything and had to spend more than a hour there only.

We saw a vehicle coming from the opposite direction and that Gentleman informed us that the roads are now open and we started riding our motorcycles.
After riding for a couple of hours, I could relate what Chacha at dhaba was telling me.

We were riding continuously on river beds, struggling and helping other travellers with countless snow blocks, water crossing and the famous pagal Nallah.

The world is crazy out there, experience it!

A sense of accomplishment, people who have completed the Spiti circuit would definitely understand this. Chandrataal to Gramphu, the most adventurous part of the entire circuit.

Riding a motorcycle there has to be one of the best ways to view, experience and discover what Mother Nature has to offer. . You're in the scene, not just watching it anymore, and that sense of presence is overwhelming.

I get goosebumps everytime I think about how I crossed the pagal nallah. No wonder it is named as pagal, unfortunately I couldn't click a picture there. I was not in a state to click a picture. Somehow, I made it and I had a sense of accomplishment when I crossed it. Helped other bikes in getting it crossed and I felt what really biking brotherhood is. We all were helping each other,  exposing ourselves to slush, riding boots in water but I guess this is what biking teaches you.

Had to treat myself with Maggi now. Last maggi in the Lahaul-Spiti district. It had to be special.

And a last picture of my motorcycle here.

And finally we were back on tarmac roads. We literally danced after parking our bikes on Leh-Manali highway.  We were exhausted completely by this time and wanted to reach Manali asap. To our surprise, Rohtang welcomed us with huge snow walls. I had been to Rohtang a couple of times but I have never seen Rohtang this beautiful.

I got chills looking at her on Rohtang top after conquering one of the most toughest terrains (Chandrataal to Gramphu), testing my riding skills to the fullest and my patience to the core.

We rushed to our hotel in Old Manali and spent the night chilling in Old Manali, the Hippies paradise.

Manali to Delhi

And finally this expedition came to an end. Nothing fancy about this day, woke up late and started riding back to home around 12 pm and reached  around 11 pm.