Spiti Valley Road Trip

We rise and shine early in the morning and get a head start on our road trip to cover 180 kilometers towards Sangla valley and Chitkul  in 6-7 hours. This small village in the Kinnaur district is the home to some of the finest potatoes of the world. Popularly known as the last inhabited village near the Indo- Tibetan Border, the Indian roads end here at Chitkul. The village is famous for its traditional pahadi houses with roofs made of either slate or wooden planks. Adorned with high snowclad mountain peaks, Chitkul is also often known as the Swiss Alps of India! After feasting on some lunch and dinner en route, we spend the night tucked in in a comfortable campsite.

Post breakfast we will check out and head towards exploring Chitkul village. Visit the Chitkul bridge and Mathi temple and have lunch at the famous ‘Hindustan ka akhri Dhaba’. After lunch, proceed to Kamru Fort in Sangla. On the way, you can also stop at the Buddhist temple in Kamroo. Post that we depart for Kalpa. Before entering Kalpa at 7549 feet, we catch a glimpse the famous Kinner Kailash Peak – said to be the summer abode of Lord Shiva. If time permits then one can also visit Suicide point and Roghi village-a place where you can witness and enjoy the ethnicity and traditions of people of Kalpa. Overnight stay at Kalpa guest house. 

Today is the day where we enter the Spiti Valley. We leave Sangla and drive on Indo-Tibet highway at Karcham and continue upstream of Sutlej river till Khab, the confluence of Spiti and Sutlej. Suddenly you can see the landscape has transformed with barren mountains all around. After an hour’s climb we reach Nako, another little village situated at an altitude of 3800m. The main attraction of this village is the artificial lake, which in the late spring is a sight to behold with pink flowers bloom all around the lake. After a brief stop at the lake we descend down to the river bed and continue upstream of Spiti crossing several villages – Chango, Shalkar, Sumdo, Gue; before we enter the town of Tabo. Chos Khor Gompa is a 1020 year monastery located in the quaint village of Tabo. You can spend some time here talking to the monks trying to understand what a thangka painting is. Spend your day relaxing in the fields of Tabo or hike up to the caves, where the monks used to meditate. Overnight stay at Tabo.

We will start our day by visiting Tabo Monastery in the morning. It is regarded as an essential monastery and is often called the Himalayan Ajanta.  After Tabo monastery, we will proceed to Pin Valley and will take a stroll around Mud Village and have tea at a local dhaba. We will be going to Dhankar, Have lunch and check out Dhankar monastery. We will proceed to Kaza in the evening. Night stay in Kaza, which is a center in Spiti with cafes and hotel accommodation.

On this day , we drive to some of the highest inhabited regions of the world. The highest village in Asia, Komik, which literally translates to ‘eye of a snow cock’, is situated at a height of 4,513 meters. Later, we drive to Hikkim where we visit the world’s highest post office in the world. If possible, you may even meet the post-master and hear his stories. After sending out a postcard, we drive to Langza. Langza village is situated at an altitude of 4,400 meters and belongs to the Sakyapa sect of Tibetan Buddhism. After that, we visit the world famous Key Monastery. The car will first stop at the base of the monastery hill for the ultimate photo opportunity of this remarkable structure. Then we will move farther up the valley to the picturesque village of Kibber. We drive back to Kaza in the evening and spend the night in a comfortable and warm Kaza hotel.

We start our journey back towards the bigger cities but not without a final blast, not without witnessing the beauty of Himalayas for one more time at Kalpa. Kalpa is a little village above the town of Recong Peo, it offers one of the most magnificent views of snowcapped peaks called the Kinner Kailash range,  winter abode of Lord Shiva. The mountain is deeply worshipped by the locals. Every year in the month of August several pilgrims scale the peak of Kinner Kailash to worship a 70ft rock which stands out from the rest. Kalpa is a great place to see the entire range. Overnight stay at a guest house.

Last day of the trip, we leave to Shimla after witnessing the beautiful sunrise against Kinner Kailash. As your minds wander back to the lives that lay ahead we bid goodbye to you at Shimla, with the breathtaking visuals of the last week leaving you wanting for more.