An enchanting tour to Spiti valley- " a world within a world" * !
In the mountains, there you feel free ! T.S.Eliot
After 2 years of suffocation and misery due to the pandemic, finally got a chance to revisit the mountains when I saw an ad by Mountain Academics in my runners group in social media. Having made few preliminary queries, I decided this is what I wanted to do and connected few people in my community TRITVAM and Sobha City. Gradually the team of 12 was formed and we boarded flights and trains to arrive in Chandigarh on 21st Sep 2022.
The route :
There is one more map that shows various valleys we encountered on the way.....
Arrival : Sep 20th
Kochi-Chandigarh flight was comfortable. So was the stay at Holiday Inn Chandigarh. Got introduced to the team and party started at hotel room straightaway ! Narayanan Kutty from Sobha, Pady & Ambika from Tritvam joined me and my wife Suma from Kochi, Shaju joined from Abudhabi, George and Shirley from Wayanad.
Day 1 Sep 21: Chandigarh to Narkanda
We started around 11 and passed Solan, Shimla and Kufri enroute to Narkhanda. Stayed at hotel AAA Temp was 18°C.
We were total 12 people in Tempo Traveler including tour guide Arjun and his friends Gokul, Sanal and his wife Swathy.
Day 2 Sep 22 Narkhanda to Sangla
Started by 9 am, temp 12° C. Lunch at Badhal 2.00pm. Crossed Karcham Wangtoo hydel power plant 1100MW and 300MW Baspa project on the way to Sangla valley, reached 5.30pm. Managed to see the Kamakhya temple and Kamru fort while others explored the apple orchards near the hotel ( Negi's).The Kamru Fort has a graceful wooden balcony and at the top of the building is an idol of Kamakhya Devi (Kamakshi Devi), which is worth seeing. The idol is believed to have been brought from Guwahati and is of great importance for the people of Sangla village. There is also a Badrinath Temple in the Kamru Fort, which dates back to the 15th century and serves as the venue of a fair, held once every three years in the honor of the deity. In the procession that takes place at the time of fair, the idol of the deity is taken to Gangotri, the origin of the River Ganges
Day 3 Sep 23 Sangla to Kalpa via Chitkul
Took a stroll into Negi's Apple orchard. Started by 9.00 am. Reached Chitkul by10.30. Temp was14 deg C. Chitkul is at a height of 3450 Meter. This is the last village of India to the side of Tibet border and this beautiful village is also by the side of Baspa river.
Trekked uphill 150M in to Indo Tibetan border and returned by 12.40. Late lunch at Reckong Peo. Reached Kalpa by 5.45. Went to see suicide point. Sheer deep gorge. Back to room by 7. pm. Temp 13. Happy hours with mutton arranged by Arjun. Prem Singh, the local coordinator arranged Kinnaur apples as samples. These tasted heavenly and sizes were huge !
Day 4 Sep 24 Kalpa to Tabo via Nako Kwab
Watched the majestic Shivlinga peak in the Kinnaur Kailash range. Started by 9 to Tabo. Passed Kwab sangam (confluence of Sutlej and Spiti) around noon. Sutlej from Tibet and Spiti join at Kwab. The Alpine lake in Hangram was mesmerizingly beautiful ! Felt as if in Switzerland !
Day 5 Sep 25 Tabo to Mudh village via Dhankar
Visited Tabo monastery of 995 AD. Fantastic wall paintings of Buddha and other monks. Walked up to natural caves. Visited Dhankhar monastery on a cliff. Dhankar was once the HQ of Spiti. Wonderful sight from top. Spiti is joined by two rivers. The whole route is painted with natural rock formation like anthill. We entered Pin Valley National Park by early evening. The beauty and serenity of this village is beyond ones imagination. Reached Mudh village by 4.45. Biting cold due to previous day rain. Beautiful sights from hotel Ibex and nearby places we walked in the morning.
There was no electricity in Mudh and we managed with torch light and cold water ! According to the guy who manages the hotel, flash floods caused silting in the water used by the Hydroelectric Plants which are shut down to prevent damage to the machinery from silt, cutting power to the villages fed by the same.
Day 6 Sep 26 Mudh to Kaza via Pin valley, Hikkim, Langcha and Komic
Enjoyed fantastic scenes in the morning. Went for trekking down to river 2.6 km. Started to Kaza by 9.15. went to fossil village, Langcha. Took pictures of the majestic golden Buddha statue.
Then to Komic, claimed to be the world's highest village with motorable road and highest restaurant. Posted cards from the worlds highest post office at Hikkim.
Reached Kaza by 4pm. Stayed at Lhasa Norling hotel. Went for shopping at the Kaza market. Got my trekking shoes repaired..The cobbler, a Punjabi, was living in such a remote place as Kaza for past 13 years. He moved from Manali as he hates cities ! His philosophy of life amazed me......He earns just enough to meet each day's expenses and is a very contended person !
Nigh temp was 6 Deg C and then fell to -2 Deg C in the dawn. The sky was crystal clear with most constellations visible to naked eye. Incidentally, Jupiter was very clear being the closest to earth since several decades ago. We lay on our back on open terrace despite chilling temperatures and enjoyed the star-studded clear sky.
Gokul captured Milkyway using his camera and it was awesome !
Day 7 Sep 27 Kaza to Losar via Kibber, Kee Monastery, Chichum & Kumzum
Went down to riverside. Start by 10.30. Reached Kee Monastery. Kye Gompa is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery of the Gelugpa sect located on top of a hill at an altitude of 4,166 metres. Perched on volcanic-shaped hillock, the monastery has many faintly lit rooms with windows opening in to beautiful view outside. Meditation rooms offered calm, cool and sacred place to spend some time away from mundane material world. We were offered different varieties of tea and coffee by the monk.
Reached Kibber at 4328m and 8°c. Lunch was refreshing. Crossed Chicham bridge, said to be highest hanging bridge. 125 m long. Built across 150 m deep gorge. This bridge cuts down the distance between Kibber and Losar villages by 40kms. The gorge is called Samba Lamba Nalla by the natives.
Since Chandrataal campsite lacked facilities, we decided to stay at Losar.
Reached Losar by 4.45. 4100 m high. Very cold. Photo session near river with tent. Enjoyed campfire in the night. Captain Kutty was at his best ! Samsong guest house and hostess were exemplary given the scant resources available.
Day 7 Photos
Day 8 Sep 28 Losar-Chandra Taal- Manali
Started early to Chandra Taal. Went past Kunzum La pass at 4564 m ( highest point of our tour ) on the way. Chandra Taal lake was so beautiful that people got engaged in meditative moments, non-stop photo sessions, push ups and planking. Chandra Taal, meaning "Lake of Moon', is a deep blue crystal clear water body in a crescent shaped valley. The surreal beauty of the Chandra Taal looks as if heavens have meticulously hand-painted this Kohinoor of nature with their own palette.
The Chandra Taal lake flamboyantly nestles under the azure blue skies. The lake glitters like a turquoise pendant against the cold-barren mountains of Spiti valley. The divinely beautiful lake reflects myriad hues ranging from reddish-orange to turquoise blue to shiny emerald as the day progresses. The changing colors add an element of mystery to the magical ambiance of the lake.
On the way to Manali, we stopped by Chachi Chacha restaurant in Batal and had lunch. The old couple had been manning the place for past 50 years !!
Batal to Spiti cut road was very tough and is said to be the most treacherous roads in the world. Reached Atal tunnel by 6.30...it was 9 KM long ! Stayed at Naina hotel in Vasisht in Manali. Good hotel with view of the mountains from balcony. Hats off to Shanu the driver, who brought us safe to Manali, driving on the most dangerous road I have ever seen. At many places, we were sitting on the edge of our seats as the vehicle zipped past off-road tracks and often on wet river crossings and huge pebbles.
Day 9 Sep 29 Manali sight seeing and trek to Jogini falls
Second night at Naina hotel. Visited Vasisht temple on the way to Jogini waterfall It was tough but awesome trek ! Went close to the waterfall and felt out of the world !
Did Zip line on the way back along with Captain Kutty. Great experience !
Sumptuous lunch at Freedom cafe. Went for shopping at Mall road, truly a shoppers paradise !
Day 10 Sep 30 Manali to Delhi
Started by 7.30. Bought apples on the way but it was no where near the Kinnaur quality or size ! Crossed Aut tunnel 2.6 km long. HPs first tunnel. Lunch at Shivam dhaba. Bid farewell to some of the team members at Chandigarh by 7 pm. Delhi bound car started by 7.20 and reached room by 1.00 am. It was quite tedious journey all the way from Manali and took more than 17 hrs ! The National Highway Authority of India is building 14 tunnels between Manali and Chandigarh. It will reduce the travel time between Chandigarh and Manali from 9-10 hours ( probably with no traffic ! ) to nearly 7 hours.
Slept well at RedFox hotel near Delhi airport and reached Kochi on 1st afternoon !
Tail piece
Thanks to Mountain Academics and a great team for making this tour such a wonderful experience that would stick to our memory for a long time !
Special thanks to Subin of MA for explaining the tour details ahead of his trek in Uttarakand ( glad we got him back after his weather aborted attempt ), Arjun who managed the whole tour very well in his absence and Jayakrishnan for remote support.
Food
We enjoyed excellent food in all places we stayed and small eateries on the way. Mostly Parathas, Dal, Sabji Achar and Butter dominated the menu. The local food items that one should not miss include Momos, Thukpa ( noodle soup) , Butter tea etc The smaller hotels or home stays at high altitudes are run by ladies who work hard by maintaining the property as well as cooking food for guests. Govt banned liquor in some places to prevent men folk from getting drunk and ignoring family duties ! Everywhere we got hot tea or coffee early morning followed by Bread Omlette, Poha or Aloo Paratha in the morning to kick start our day
Weather and Altitude sickness
Most places we stayed had quite comfortable weather. The temperature dipped to minus 2 deg c at Kaza but I felt Mudh was colder due to rain in the previous eve.
Kaza has been rated as Highest inhabited village in the world at an altitude of 4587 M (14,830 ft). As the oxygen level was below normal, few of us felt some heavy breathing but in general we didn't face any major issue due to altitude.
Brief History of the Spiti Valley
The history of Spiti can be traced to Mesozoic Era. Around 150 million years ago, the landmass on earth was split into two continents – Laurasia and Gondwana. Tethys Sea, the only ocean, used to be between these continents. These two continents started drifting towards each other resulting in a collision and formation of the Himalayas. Tethys Sea disappeared and the once-living creatures of the sea died and turned into fossils. Spiti Valley is the part of the trans-Himalayan range where the Tethys Sea used to exist and the fossilized creatures can still be found in few areas of the valley. Fossil imprints on stone are easy to find and we came across local people selling them in Spiti Valley.
Social and environmental aspects
In the past, the tribal villagers of Lahaul and Spiti have organised several campaigns to oppose new hydel projects in their region. Himachal Pradesh has a total identified potential of 27,400 MW, of which only 10,519 MW has been generated so far. A majority of the projects are proposed in Lahaul-Spiti, Kinnaur and Chamba districts. All these dam projects require blasting and drilling of hills, and constructing tunnels in the mountains. “We have seen what happened in our Kinnaur district, where a large number of such projects are under construction. All the debris is dumped along the rivers, which flows into them. Rivers are being killed,” said a local NGO. To mitigate power shortage, HP govt is mulling a World Bank-funded solar project in the idyllic Himachal region which poses a threat to local tribals and rare animals. Residents of Tashigang, Gete, Kibber and Chicham villagers who graze their livestock in the proposed site are worried. The 800MW project by the Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd is set to come up on 3,104 hectares of land, spread across six villages. Read here for more details.
Courtesy :
* A world within a world- Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling had described Spiti valley as 'a world within a world' in his celebrated novel Kim. Over a century has passed, but not much has changed in this world, as it continues to remain relatively unknown, hidden between multiple folds of valleys and mountains, a world within another world. The name 'Spiti' means 'The Middle Land', i.e. the land between Tibet and India. Bordered by Ladakh in the north, Tibet to the east, Kinnaur to the south east, and the Kullu Valley to the south, this peculiar cold desert spans an area of almost 8000 sq km.Pictures : From team members especially the stunning post card magic by Gokul Bro !
Travel notes : George and Shirley
How to reach Mountain academics ?
https://mountainacademics.in/
+91 99466 61234
info@mountainacademics.in
RANDOM PICTURES :
RANDOM PICS and CLIPS ( click to watch )
My previous treks :
ABC Trek ( only pics)
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Narayanan kutty