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.
Day 4: Tabo, onwards to Dhankar and Pin Valley
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.
Reading this post made me want to go back there. This was a very detailed and helpful post for anybody who is planning a Lahaul-Spiti trip. Looking forward to the next part.
This whole trip is sooo dreamy! I would really want to visit there in the future. It was also neatly organised! Thank you so much for sharing xx Penny | http://www.whatdidshetype.com
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This trip looks like a great experience to have. You have shared great detail. Thank you for sharing this blog post.
Lauren
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