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.
Wow! Such beautiful places! Loved the cone-shaped village of Key and monastery!
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