March, 2022 - Nils Around The World

The Spiti Way – An 8-day Lahaul-Spiti Experience

Asia, Himalayas, India, Travel / By Nils / March 10, 2022 April 18, 2022

The year – 2019. The place – Himachal Pradesh. The travelers – my husband and myself.

One of the most scenic and traversed routes in the Himachal is the Spiti and Lahaul Valley circuit. It takes a minimum of 8 days to cover the bare essentials of this gorgeous trip; ours was of 9 days. It is somewhat of a hectic trip but being surrounded by nature’s serene beauty, it didn’t feel that way at all.

The Route

Spiti and Lahaul valley is dotted with numerous villages along its entire route; however we chose our circuit based on distances and locations we wanted to visit most and were feasible in the time span we had.

Our final route, starting from Shimla via car was:

Sarahan – Kalpa – Pin Valley – Nako – Tabo – Dhankar – Kaza – Ki-Kibber – Langza-Komic-Hikkim and finally the star Chandratal Lake! We ended our trip in Manali via Rohtang Pass.

Some of these were small villages we visited enroute to our final destination for the day while the rest were our night stops in major (relatively) towns. While most people do the circuit the other way round – from Lahaul to Spiti – we chose to do it the Spiti-Lahaul way.

The Valley

Lahaul and Spiti is the desert of the mountains. Nestled among The Himalayas, it is an area which receives minimum rainfall; in fact, rainfall is actually harmful to majority of the region. The two valleys are separated by Kunzum Pass or Kumzum La. The average elevation is around 14000 ft. which gives it pleasantly cool weather during the summer and monsoon seasons and biting cold during the winter.

Preparations

Conveyance: Spiti can be reached via air, bus or car. The best way to travel though, is by car. One can get to enjoy the scenery of the land and the mountains while traveling in a car. We hired a car from Chandigarh (start) to Manali (end) to cover the entire circuit; this was done with references online and then via phone.

Bookings: We only booked our hotel in Kaza for 2 nights’ stay and that in Manali for 2 nights. The rest of our night halts were on the advise of our driver who guided us to the best places to stay in locally.

Itinerary

Day 1: Shimla to Sarahan

We flew from Mumbai to Chandigarh on an early morning flight (read: inhuman hour) and then took a cab from Chandigarh to Shimla. After a quick lunch in Shimla, we started off.

Here onwards started our trip – from the Shimla district. While our initial plan for the day’s pit stop was Narkanda, we finally drove further on to end our day at Sarahan. It was night by the time we reached so we freshened up and just crashed for the night.

Day 2: Sarahan, onto Kalpa

The next day dawned bright and clear. We woke up early to poke around Sarahan a little bit and to look at the views. Sarahan is known for the Bhimkali Temple which is the home of the revered goddess Bhimkali. We offered our prayers and receives blessings from the goddess for our onwards journey.

At a tiny eatery nearby, we had a breakfast of Maggi and momos and we were ready for the day. We started for Kalpa, driving along the Sutlej River to enter the Kinnaur. The gushing river, the tall mountains and the greenery along with the cool weather made for such a pleasant journey. After all, it’s the journey that matters!

We reached our day’s destination in the early evening. After we put up at our hotel, we set out on foot to explore Kalpa.

KALPA

The three main attractions in Kalpa are:

Narayan Nagini Temple
Hu Ba Lan Kar Monastery
Kinnaur-Kailash Range

We visited the beautiful monastery and paid our respects but unfortunately the temple was closed. We admired the beautiful pagoda style architecture and the splendid view of the mountains from the temple’s courtyard. After a leisurely walk around the village, we returned to our hotel.

Over hot pakodas and tea, with a view of the gorgeous Kinnaur-Kailash range, we spent our evening chatting away. It was such a relaxing day – an idyllic location, comfort food and great company.

Tip: Other things to do in Kalpa –

Visit Sapni Fort
Go to Roghi Village
Hiking to Chaka

Day 3: Kalpa to Nako & Tabo

Once again, we had an early start to the day. In the hills, that’s the way to be. One hot breakfast later, we were on our way to the Spiti Valley. Driving through gorgeous mountain scenery, still following River Sutlej, we were enchanted. At Khab Sangam, we stopped for tea and to stretch our legs. This was the confluence of the rivers Sutlej and Spiti. We broke off to the left to finally enter Spiti Valley. Here the river was more voluminous and deep – the lifeblood of the valley.

NAKO

Our first stop in Spiti was Nako, where we reached in the afternoon. We stopped here for lunch and for Nako’s most famous atrraction – Nako Lake. This mountain lake, surrounded by trees is considered to be a scared lake by the locals. We spent a serene hour sitting at the lake and admiring the beautiful surroundings.

Tip: Other things to do in Nako is to visit the Nako Monastery.

TABO

Soon it was time to get back on the road to our sojourn through Spiti. In the early hours of the evening, we reached Tabo. This charming town was our halt for the day. Eager to explore the town, we quickly dumped our stuff and took off walking. Soon we came upon a path taking us up a hillock overlooking the town and set upon it. Huffing and puffing our way up, we reached the top and sat down on a rock to look at the wonderful panorama in front of us. Cute little houses interspersed with greenery nestled at the foot of the Himalayan mountains – what a sight to behold. We sat there till the light faded away and we returned to a sumptuous dinner at our hotel.

Tip: There are actually some caves atop that hillock and the more adventurous person can venture inside but we opted out due to tiredness and the imminent darkness.

TABO Pt. 2

Today held something exciting for me – I was going to go on a mini trek. But before that, there was Tabo to discover to our heart’s content. After breakfast in the quaint little dining room of our hotel – wooden benches and floor seating -, we went walking around Tabo.

The Tabo Monastery is over 1000 years old! It contains hand painted murals, painted tapestries, scrolls etc. The monastery grounds contains other structures built of clay and mud, and there are collections of flat stones which the Buddhists amass for good luck. The stones are inscribed with their prayer – “Om Mani PadMe Hum”.

There’s also a newer monastery – Chorten – which is a modern brick structure and more colorful and sporting and beautiful stupa. We couldn’t enter this one though, because it wasn’t open yet.

From there, we took a walk down to the river bank where the Spiti river flowed gaily. We did some shopping of prayer flags, artefacts and such. Then came the time to start our day’s journey – onwards to Dhankar. It was noon by the time we reached.

My Spiti story continues in the next part, coming soon! There’s so much still left, keep an eye on this space.

The Highest Ground – An 8-day Lahaul-Spiti Experience Part 2

Asia, Himalayas, India, Travel / By Nils / March 9, 2022 April 18, 2022

The year – 2019. The place – Himachal Pradesh. The travelers – my husband and myself.

We were on Day 4 of our trip. Read about the first 3 days and the first part of Day 4 here.

Day 4 Continued...

DHANKAR

Immediately on arriving, we embarked on our hiking quest; destination – Dhankar Lake. It usually takes about 3 hours total to complete the trek. We needed to climb up one hill, and go down the other side where the lake lay and then come back the same way. It was high afternoon and extremely sunny and hot, so we carried supplies like water and biscuits. We crested the hill, saw the lake from afar and then made our way back; all in less than 2 hours.

The trek itself was a satisfying one; the amazing scenery, the adrenaline high and the adventure was wonderfully enervating. But, the lake was a let-down to be honest. There was barely any water and one lone stupa guarded it. This, plus the heat and hunger, prevented us from going all the way down and so we made an early escape. Back down, we had lunch in a blessedly cool eatery and recharged our batteries.

Tip: Post monsoons, the lake would be lovely and should be worth a visit. Carry sunblock and hats, shades and wear comfortable shoes for your trek. Water is of course of utmost importance.

After lunch, we visited the Dhankar Monastery. The monastery is built on a clay mountain outcrop, finely balanced and overlooking the confluence of Spiti and Pin river. It almost looks as if its teetering on the edge of the whole mountain! In the monastery, we were served tea which came long with some stories of the gompa and its monks and then guided through the monastery itself.

We restarted our drive after lunch towards Pin Valley which was to be our halt for the day. As always, the stunning scenery was our companion. Our driver advised us to stay the night at Mud village, and then visit Pin Valley the following day. Accordingly, we traveled to the small Mud village. We walked around to enjoy the beauty of nature – there were the mountains, the Pin river and a small half frozen waterfall. We put up at a homestay in Dhar Pilsur on the outskirts.

Day 5: Pin Valley, Key, to Kaza

PIN VALLEY

Early the next morning, after a breakfast of local breads and eggs, we visited the Kungri Gompa (Monastery) to see the festival held there. There was an hour of dancing by the monks in colorful costumes – the devil dance. Outside, the locals were selling various handicrafts and homemade items – like egg noodles, gloves, socks etc. The whole affair was fascinating! This was the Tsheshu Fair, held across all monasteries in Spiti, turn by turn.

After we had enjoyed the festival, we started our day’s journey which was to end in Kaza. Our first stop after Kungri was the Key (or Kye/Ki) monastery located in its namesake. Perched atop a hill, the Key Monastery was beautiful and the whole picture it presented with the brown mountains, blue river, green fields and white clouds floating above was absolutely stunning! We toured the place thoroughly and looked around the area, simply savouring the solitude and nature’s gifts.

Next stop was for lunch in Chicham Khas and then finally onto Kaza in the late afternoon, where we were to stay for the next day as well. Rest of the day – evening and night – was spent in exploring around in Kaza, some shopping and dinner with live music. Vacation goals!

Day 6: Langza - Komic - Hikkim

Today was to be a half day trip from Kaza to the nearby villages of Langza, Komic and Hikkim, each of which were known for some reason apart from their pretty locations among the Himalayan mountains. First up, Langza which is known for its giant Buddha statue situated on the mountain top overlooking the valley beyond. When we went there, the statue was undergoing restoration works but we could still see the magnificent statue of the serenely seated Buddha gazing down at us. Langza is also known for its fossils which one can find if they went on an expedition.

From there, it was a quick drive to Komic. Komic, at over 15000ft, is the highest village connected with motorable road. One of the highest monasteries in India is located here. We went inside and offered our prayers at the monastery and the head monk gave us his blessings with a shawl adorned with their prayers! At the “world’s highest restaurant”, we had maggi and tea to refresh ourselves before moving on to visit our next and final stop.

Next up was a fun place to visit – Hikkim. While it is lower in altitude than Komic, Hikkim plays host to the highest post office in the world! This post office is still functional though I think a lot of its mail is outgoing – from the highest post office to various parts of India. We too did the same; we sent postcards to our parents back home in Kolkata. It gave me a thrill to drop those postcards into the box.

After this, it was time to return to our base location, Kaza. We had a late lunch at Hotel Deyzor; an amazing local Spiti dish – the thentuk. In the evening we chances upon some people we had met in Dhankar and had a lovely time chatting to the group and then retired for the night.

Day 7: Kunzum Pass, Chadrataal

CHICHAM & KUNZUM LA

The next day, on e again, we were up early. One hot breakfast later, we continued on our Spiti voyage to the final destination – Chandrataal Lake. From Kaza to Chandrataal is the most stunning scenery I had ever seen or would see. This mountain desert with its bare faced slopes with spur-like outcrops and the Spiti river meandering in between, is unbelievably beautiful. I ran out of adjectives eventually.

One of the most exciting event of the day was crossing over the Chicham bridge. Chicham Bridge, connecting the villages of Kibber and Chicham is the highest bridge in Asia. It stands over a gorge over 1000ft deep! It literally gave me the shivers looking down into the gorge below. Earlier, villagers used to travel via buckets on rope suspension! Can you even imagine?

Our next stop was the Kunzum La (Kumzum Pass). Located at a height of about 15000ft, Kunzum La connects Spiti Valley to Lahaul Valley. Some truly magnificent sights awaited us here. Snow capped peaks all around and the wind whipping hard at us. We paid homage at the Kunzum Stupas and prayed for a safe journey ahead.

CHANDRATAL

As we entered Lahaul Valley and journeyed northwards, the weather started getting cooler and we could see snow gathered by the roadside. By early afternoon, we reached this day’s last stop. We were going to do camping! That is to say, we would stay the night in camps amidst the mountains, near the Chandratal. The tents weren’t as basic as the ones during my trek. There were proper beds with bedding, toilets and even a chair and table in the tents along with gas lamps! Then there was a communal dining tents with tables and benches for meals. We had our lunch upon arrival and then we were off. We were going to trek to the lake!

Tip: We did the booking for the campsite via phone after online research. Ours was Parasol Camps and it is closest to the trek trail.

Follow the remainder of my journey in the upcoming post – Part 3 of the Lahaul-Spiti experience. Keep an eye on this space.