Kinnaur & Spiti Valley

Kinnaur &  Spiti Valley  

Itinerary Followed: 

Day1: Delhi - Sarahan (12-13Hrs) 
Day2: Sarahan - Sangla
Day3: Sangla - chhitkul & Rakcham(4 Hrs) - Kalpa (3 Hrs) 
Day4: Kalpa- Tabo (10-11Hrs) 
Day5: Tabo - Kaza (2-3 Hrs) 
Day6: Kaza -Lasar- Kunzum (3-4 Hrs) - Kaza
Day7: Kaza - Kalpa (12 Hrs)
Day8: Kalpa - Chail (10-11 Hrs) 
Day9: Chail- Delhi (7-8 HRs)

Now when Ladakh has become such a popular travel destination, I had to look for another Offbeat location in Himalayas which can be a gateway to another world with exceptional views, different culture, adventurous road travel, untouched / unspoiled beauty and not much commercialization, the obvious choice was Kinnaur and Spiti Valley. I had been longing for this trip for last 4 years now (soon after I returned from Ladakh :-) :-) ) and finally Rahul (my husband) agreed to accompany me on the trip.

So there started the ‘Marathon’ Planning phase with lots of secondary research for the places to be visited and the routes to be followed. First thing I did was to freeze the itinerary depending on the road conditions, landslides occurred recently, opening and closing of passes and many other things, also to have atleast one Plan B if KunzumLa doesn’t open on our travel time, keep 1-2 days extra in our original itinerary to accommodate the longer return path.

As our tenure had two weekends so hotel booking on those dates was bit of a concern, as on those days we were at very famous tourist destinations, so getting the rooms at run time might be a difficult task. Read lots of hotel reviews as I wanted to stay in good hotels, few places in our itinerary were really remote so getting much option/reviews online was really difficult, but somehow we got the best rooms we could have managed.

We were all set for our journey and on Friday evening (6^th June) we started our trip to Spiti Valley with a plan to travel though the most treacherous road in the world.

Friday night we stayed at Kumar Hatti, and considering it is a hilly area, the weather was pleasant during the night. But I couldn’t sleep properly because of the excitement of the upcoming trip.

Day1: Sarahan: We entered the Land of Gods

Itinerary Followed: 

Day1: Delhi - Sarahan (12-13Hrs) 

Day2: Sarahan - Sangla
Day3: Sangla - chhitkul & Rakcham(4 Hrs) - Kalpa (3 Hrs) 
Day4: Kalpa- Tabo (10-11Hrs) 
Day5: Tabo - Kaza (2-3 Hrs) 
Day6: Kaza -Lasar- Kunzum (3-4 Hrs) - Kaza
Day7: Kaza - Kalpa (12 Hrs)
Day8: Kalpa - Chail (10-11 Hrs) 
Day9: Chail- Delhi (7-8 HRs)

Day1: Next day we were all set to start (9am) our real journey to the Spiti valley via Sarahan-sangla-kalpa. I wasn’t feeling good may be because of paucity of sleep, so most of the route I was sleeping in the Car.  

Route to Sarahan

We reached Sarahan at 5 in the evening. The first view of the village is very calm and peaceful. The small city/village is en-circled with snow covered mountain range peeping through every corner of the city and right in the center there is “Bhimakali Temple” which is also a “Shakti peeth”.

View from our room

In the evening we went to the temple for Arti. There is a “dharamshala” in the corridor of the temple where stay arrangements can be made. And a basic canteen is also available in the temple corridor. After crossing that area we entered the main temple building, we had to leave mobiles, watches, wallets, belts and all leather things/equipment outside the temple. The main building has a small but beautiful entrance. It is a padoga style temple having delicate wood carvings on each corner possible. There is a small staircase which takes you to the main temple. The idol of Devi is on the 3^rd floor of the building. Walking through the narrow pathway we reached the place.



Main Temple

Rahul in front of Shiva temple

The aarti was at 8.00PM, so we spent sometime in the open area in front of the temple & went back again and believe me the way people do arti here is an experience in itself. It starts with the chants of the priest and ends with the joyful sounds of various musical instruments.

View from the Temple Complex

After aarti we took a walk through the small village, purchased few medicines for our journey ahead and went to sleep in our hotel room with a thought that we should have planned for an extra day for Sarahan, being unaware of the fact what lies beyond.

We stayed at a Green Valley Hotel contact no. 98166-86789, 98161-85518, 94180-92894. HPTDC hotel is also there at a very good location but unfortunately it was full on the day we needed. Also stay arrangements are available at the temple.

Day4: Leh...

Day 1: Delhi – Manali (Volvo)

Day 2:  Manali– Jispa (Car)

Day 3: Jispa– Leh (Car)

Day 4: Local Sight Seeing (Car)

Day 5: Leh– Pangong (Car)
Day 6: Pangong – Leh (Car)
Day 7:  Leh – Nubra Valley (Car)
Day 8 & 9: Nubra Valley– Leh (Car) + Leh – Delhi (via flight)

Day4: This was a pretty relaxed day compared to the previous 3 days we had. We started our day at around 10 AM.

Landscape near leh

Moving out of the city Leh

This day we visited Alchi Monastery, Likhir Monastery, Confluence of Indus and Zanskar river. We handed a copy of identity proofs to our driver to get us the inner line permit for Pangong and Nubra, which is easily available.

Near Magnetic Hill

On the way to Alchi we halted at a place having magnetic hill phenomena. If you leave your car in neutral it will start climbing the hill, against the gravity. We actually experienced the phenomena.
  

Confluence of Indus and Zanskar

Then reached Alchi. There are huge prayer wheels outside the monastery and they are filled with prayers printed on paper. It is believed that more you turn the wheel, the more the prayers are recited and sent around the world. Let's turn the wheel for good-luck for our trip....



Alchi Monastery

At the entrance of Likir Gompa

Entrance

Views from the Monastery

Main structure of Alchi Monastery

Outer View of the Monastery

Spent our evening roaming in the local market of Leh.

The Unforgettable Laddakh: Day 2: Manali to Jispa

Day 1: Delhi – Manali (Volvo)

Day 2:  Manali– Jispa (Car)

Day 2:  Manali– Jispa (Car)

Day 3: Jispa– Leh (Car)

Day 4: Local Sight Seeing (Car)

Day 5: Leh– Pangong (Car)

Day 6: Pangong – Leh (Car)

Day 7:  Leh – Nubra Valley (Car)

Day 8 & 9: Nubra Valley– Leh (Car) + Leh – Delhi (via flight)

Day 2: Next Day we started our journey towards Leh. Our driver told us to start at 4.00 AM to escape from Traffic Jam at RhotangLa* due to the landslide. But we couldn’t make it at 4 and finally we started at 5.00 AM in the morning.



The early morning views of Manali @ 5.30  AM

One of the many lush green mountains @ Manali

We were all sleeping in the car till we reached the landslide area at around 6.30-7 in the morning. Suddenly out of nowhere we saw a huge queue of trucks and cars waiting to go to the other side of the land-slide. We couldn't have done anything about the situation except for starting early (which could have saved 2-3 hrs). As we were stuck, we all got down from the car started roaming on the roads and enjoying the weather..

Queue of Vehicles near the Landslide

View behind the traffic Jam

We were carrying cup noodles which helped a lot in that particular situation. Every now and then small stones were falling from the top, and there was a huge slush on the road making it difficult for vehicles to cross. There were two bulldozers to help vehicles to cross that landslide area. Most of the trucks and small vehicles were pulled or pushed by the bulldozers to cross the landslide area.

The LANDSLIDE

 Finally after spending 9-10 hours there, our Innova managed to cross that slush without the bulldozer’s help. But we had lost precious time and Aakash and summi were feeling sick because of the sharp sun they were exposed to.

RohtangLa Amidst of Clouds

@ Rohtangla

We had to deviate from our original plan of staying in Sarchu. We had to take shelter at Jispa for the night and cover the remaining distance in next day.

On the way to Keylong: 1

On the to Keylong: 2

The place we stayed, Jispa is small village having the river Chandra flowing by one side and a huge mountain range on the other side. The river was 10 mins walk from our hotel, we could easily hear the sound of water from our room. Stay was very comfortable and good break after such long a day. The place is very scenic, it’s a small adobe in the lap of Mother Nature, surrounded by nothing but mountains.  

Somewhere around Jispa

Our hotel was very comfortable, but there was no networks in the mobile phone till you reach Leh. Only BSNL phone will work for some distance. The hotel manager was a very helpful guy, he gave his phone, so that we can make calls to home.

*LA means Pass in Tibetan Language

Stay tuned for the rest of the Journey...

The Unforgettable Laddakh: Day 3: Jispa to Leh via Sarchu, Pang, More Plains

Day 1: Delhi – Manali (Volvo)

Day 2:  Manali– Jispa (Car)

Day 3: Jispa– Leh (Car)

Day 3: Jispa– Leh (Car)
Day 4: Local Sight Seeing (Car)
Day 5: Leh– Pangong (Car)
Day 6: Pangong – Leh (Car)
Day 7:  Leh – Nubra Valley (Car)
Day 8 & 9: Nubra Valley– Leh (Car) + Leh – Delhi (via flight)

Day 3: On Monday we started at 8.AM towards Leh. The landscape was changing every 15 mins from the time we started. Our first halt was at a small lake, having clear still water to give perfect reflection of green mountains.

Deepak Tal around 20 Km from Jispa

As the altitude was changing very quickly, it was little difficult to acclimatize our self to atmosphere. The only saving grace was awesome and ever changing surrounding, I felt as if I have entered a different world. Life is so still that the only the moving the is your imagination, so quite that only noise you can hear is of your own heart beat, the only thing you see are those huge barren mountains, in different shapes, sizes and colours, creating breathtaking landscapes on the canvas of nature.

Suryatal @ 9.40 AM in Baralacha Ranges

Our Next stop was at Barachala Pass, the route passing through the snow patches. We were excited to see and play with snow at this point.

 @ Baralacha La

Our driver warned us to take baby steps and walk slowly to avoid breathlessness, so we followed his instructions. The barachala pass is a beautiful sight having snow on both the sides of the road and having loads of stone piles which are considered auspicious in Tibetiyan culture.  

Few miles ahead of Baralacha la

After spending sometime there we moved forward for our journey. Our next stopover was sarchu.. There stood huge barren mountains gazing at you from the height of few thousand meters and in its laps, a small establishment of camps ready to provide shelter to tired travellers. Though we couldn’t spend much time here due to our tight schedule. 

Landscape @ Sarchu

Sacrhu lies at the border for Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashimir. Once you cross sarchu you have entered the blissful land of Kashmir. The mud mountains, strange sand formation are common the only landscape available.

Camps at Sarchu



Mountains covered with beautiful clusters of clouds

The road we travelled

Sand Formations on the mountains

At the beginning we were excited with the tarmac but as we travelled further altitude sickness started taking over our heads. And we were all down by the time we reached pang. Pang has 3-4 small shops to help you acclimatize with high altitudes. We halted here to take some refreshments, the aunty who was running the shop was very helpful, she made tasty garlic soup for us, and believe me garlic soup is like an ultimate remedy for altitude sickness. We bought some munchies and juices from here and continued our journey further. 

Aunty who saved our lives ;) @ pang

Morre Plain is a desert mountain plateau, surrounded by the Nakee La Pass and the over 5000m high mountain Lachulung La. Its an amazing experience to drive through a 40 Km stretch of straight road at the altitude of around 4000 meters, while being accompanied by the breathtaking views of the valley on the one side of the road. 

By the time we reached here Two member (Sumi and Aakash) were totally down, they didn't get down from the car. Myself and lalit didn't wanna miss even smallest of the opportunity to embrace this beautiful landscape and here it was the Baap (father ;-)) of all opportunities.. 

Without a wasting even a Nano-second we jumped out of car, and started suddenly a thorn pierced my feet that's when I realised I was bare feet. Myself and Lalit spent some time in open.

I was awed with the magnificence of nature. I had never-ever witnessed something like that in my life didn't know how to vent my joy out so kept mum and just admired the nature with bare eyes and bare feet too.. 

More Plains:1

More Plains: 2

We resumed our eventful journey from here didn’t stop till Taglang La, this is the world second highest pass. We crossed it in the evening and the wind was on full blow at this our. Me and summi decided not to go out, but the other two guys went out to get the feel of chilled wind.

@Taglang la

Finally we got relived once we plateau by the river side and Leh was around 70 Kms from here, but the journey was much more relaxing as we were not going up and down on the mountains.

First Sight of Vegetation after a Looooooooong Day :)

We reached hotel at 8 PM had our Dinner, and were off to bed after a few gup-shup. This was the end of the most difficult and beautiful day of the tour.

Stay tuned for remaining journey....