Day 7,8,9: The return Journey.. From Kaza - Nako - Kalpa - Chail - Delhi

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

Kaza to Delhi.. Day7: Kaza - Kalpa (12 Hrs) + Day8: Kalpa - Chail (10-11 Hrs) + Day9: Chail- Delhi (7-8 HRs)

Now we had come to the returning part of our journey. My initial plan was to return via Manali through Kunzumla & Chandrataal, but that could not be implemented as the route wasn’t open. So we had to take the same route while returning.

As per our manager there were few fresh landslides on the route we had to follow, making it more difficult to travel back. On top of it our only working mobile (BSNL) also stopped catching network as the BSNL tower was down due to the storm last night. With a brave heart we started towards Kalpa. Our first halt was supposed to be Tabo for breakfast at the Monastery Café. We ate there and while returning our car got stuck in one the drain passage built on the side of the road of Tabo Village, within no time around 30-40 (almost entire village) people came to rescue us and within 15 mins people lifted our car and pulled it out of that drain. By this time I became a “Big time Fan” of the helping nature of the people residing in this region which is rare to find in metro city like Delhi.

The obvious choice for our next break was Nako Helipad.. as we couldn't halt there earlier.. Helipad at such remote villages are common sight as helicopters remains the only mean of transport or rather rescue whenever the roads gets washed away due to landslides.

Nako Helipad

View @ Nako Helipad

The route till Kalpa was even in the worse condition than before mainly because of the fresh landslide which occurred just a day back, but that made the journey even more adventurous and eventful.. and the feeling of proud pumped our hearts when we saw the sign boards such as below. 

one of the many signboards

After the strenuous drive we reached Kalpa, and stayed at the same hotel but a room with better view so much so that you feel that there is no one in front of those huge snow-capped mountains but you and they are intruding your privacy by giving you a continuous gaze.

While having dinner we got to know that there has been another landslide near Wangtoo and it was so fearsome that people has cancelled their trips and returned back to Shilma. I was scared only with the thought of it as my boss would kill me if I dont attend the office on monday!!

We started at 5 AM to cross cholling through the upsi bypass before it closes for our side of traffic.We managed to do that without much of delay we reached the other side of that bypass. Luckily for us the residue from Wangtoo Landslide had been cleared and we didn’t face any problem because of that.

Spent our evening relaxing in Chail, and walking around the small market place. Next day morning we started off little late as todays’ journey was going to be much easier and smaller compared what we have experienced. With a heavy heart we bade a final goodbye to the mighty Himalayas but only till our next trip which was due in August J J

Nako & Tabo: Here we enter the Spiti Valley

Day4:

Detailed Route: Kalpa – Reckong Peo – Powari  – Riba – Jangi – Spellow – Pooh – Kashigs – Nako – Malling Nala – Sumdo – Tabo

We started at around 9.00 in the morning, today was supposed to be the longest and one of the most exciting days of our journey. Our plan was to reach Tabo via Nako. Unlike rest of the trip there was a huge “Karavan” of vehicles. Soon we got stuck because of traffic jam near Shongtong, which cleared soon and we moved forward. There is a bridge somewhere near Riba which is a single lane bridge and while we drove on it, the movement of wooden logs underneath can be felt and heard easily. The one way route means again a wait of arroun 20 -30mins.

Wooden Bridge

Few kms ahead of it, land clearing process was going on. There had been a landslide due to the blasting of mountains. We waited there for around half an hour under the scorching sun and chilly wind, what a combo!!  By now, my nose had become Reddish-pink and Patchy.. Kudos to the Heat of Sun!!

Once bulldozer cleared the road we resumed our journey amidst of dusty and broken path. Soon we found a small tea counter managed by Indian Army in the middle of nowhere. You can find good tea, coffee, biscuits and clean washroom here for free. Once Hats-off to our Diffence Services!! After refreshments we started again on the dusty road and every now and then there was a signboard saying that “You are travelling on the world’s most treacherous road” filled our chest proud and sense of achievement.

We had to halt at Jangi check post to get ourselves registered. Once you cross Jangi the tarmac is excellent. The roads kept improving from the moment, we witnessed the confluence spiti & Sutlej river. Here we entered the Spiti region, inhabited with Tibetan people and highly influenced with Tibetan culture. The Villages having entrance through beautiful arches, white & maroon mud houses built in small groups, lots of villages having population of 30-100, white golden stupas just confirming the arrival in Spiti Valley.

Arches for entering the village

Kashigs has a freshly laid jet black road, full of curves which welcomes you while ascending towards Nako. Hereon the views on both sides of road were exhilarating.

We reached Nako at around 2.00-2.30PM. First thing we did, was to head for lunch and try to charge our camera, but to our bad luck there was no electricity. After lunch we started to explore the village and Nako Lake. We took a walk around the village and the lake. The Lake was beautiful but not as magnificent I had imagined in my head, but it gave some clear reflections of the brown mountains and trees standing at its bank. Spent some time talking and walking around the lake. Visited the monastery and headed back to our car. It’s a small village having quite a few staying options.

Nako Lake

 

Nako Lake 2

Nako Village

There was a small group of cute little children which was happly playing, falling and posing for photgraphs. By the time we reached our car it was around 4.00 PM, we quickly got into the car and started our journey further.

The road till Malling Nala was in very bad conditions after that there were some good and some bad patches but the tarmac were awesome. The sheer glimpse of the landscape was enough to take our breath away. Soon we crossed Sumdo and there was a stretch of flat road, not much ascends or descends make up for a quick drive. Suddenly the sun wasn’t that sharp, wind was chiller, silver glaze was created by the reflection of sunlight through the river, dark blue/black mountains on one side and shining golden mountains on the other side of the road made a sight forced us to immediately stop the car,  step out to have closer and longer look at this scenery of nature.

En-route Views

 

en-route views

Tabo a beautiful quite village at the foot of huge barren mountains. It was one of the most beautiful village we encountered during this trip (not to mention we encountered so many such villages during this journey). Very small village having its entrance through the beautiful green arch, having verses written in Tibetan  language.

We stayed at Hotel Dewachen, the best hotel in Tabo, it’s the same hotel where star cast of “Highway” stayed while shooting. Luckily we got the room with best view from the balcony and believe me you don’t wanna miss sunset while sipping tea in your own personal balcony having such magnificent view.

View From our room



View from other side 

 

After getting refreshed we went ahead for the walk around the village, the Tabo Monastery was closed by the time we reached there, so it was postponed for the next day.

Stupa Outside Tabo Monastary

The Monastery Restaurant is a must try, we got the most delicious and awesome Tibetan food of the entire region. While having food you can chit chat with Monks, as this is the common stopover for them. We were off to bed soon after having dinner thinking that our adventure for the day has ended, but there was something more to it..

Suddenly, at around 3.30 AM there was a loud bang on the door, Rahul went out to check, it was our driver having some symptoms of Altitude sickness, acute chest pain & breathlessness. So Rahul took him for a walk at those wee hours and gave him zintac to relieve him from gastric problem. Finally we went back to sleep.

Next leap would be towards our last destination of the Tour Kaza...

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.