For holiday packages to Himachal and other domestic/ international destinations, please email goaroundtours@gmail.com or call +919024115731.
Julley. Mountains, lakes, rivers, starry sky, greenery, snow and what not! Himachal is full of all of it. Most of us are either dreaming about going there or are actually living the dream. So our love for mountains took us there again. This time we decided to cover the Shimla Spiti Manali circuit. We had 8 days time so we covered it in 8 days. This we realized later but we could have covered it in 7 days as well! But to enjoy every destination and not just be on road, this itinerary should be covered in 12 days approximately.
Itinerary
Day 1- Delhi/Chandigarh to Shimla/Kufri/Narkanda
Day2 – Shimla/Kufri/Narkanda to Chitkul.
Day 3- Chitkul to Tabo via Khab, Nako, Giu. Night stay in Tabo.
Day4 – Tabo to Kaza via Dhankar, Pin valley. Night stay in Kaza.
Day5 – Nearby villages of Kaza (Komik, Langza, Hikkim, Ki, Kibber, Gette, Chicham). You can return to Kaza or can directly go to Losar from Chicham. Night stay in Kaza/Losar.
Day 6: Kaza/Losar to Chandratal base camp. You may take a tent there and go to the lake either by trekking from the camp or by vehicle till parking and then on foot from there. Night stay in Chandratal base camp.
Day 7: Chandratal to Manali/Kullu.
Day 8: Manali to Chandigarh/Delhi.
No permits are required to visit Spiti if you are an Indian citizen.
How to Reach:
- By Air : If you plan to start your travel via shimla side, then nearest airport to Shimla is Chandigarh airport. Incase you plan to start from Manali side, then nearest airport is Bhuntar.
- By Train: You may reach Chandigarh/delhi by train and book a cab from there for onward journey. Train also goes uptill few stations in Himachal. Information is available on irctc website.
- By Road: Himachal pradesh is easily reachable by road from all prime cities and nearby states. There are sufficient number of interstate bus services available. HRTC buses cover the entire shimla kaza manali route. Online information of these buses is easily available.
Best Time to Visit:
Spiti can be visited all year around. Every season has a different view, different reason to visit. Best time to visit in summers is June to October or else visit in winters for snow. We visited in July first week, but it was very very hot during day time.
Accomodation:
There are many accommodation options like hotels, homestays, tents available as per the location. Higher you go, lesser the number of stay options. Many are not available to book online though! You can go there and easily book offline.
Food:
The food was not much of a problem for pure vegetarians this time. Most of the places had veg food available. Even Jain food was available. The homestays and camp stays all provided Jain food/veg food upon request.
Things to Carry:
- Trekking shoes/Sports shoes
- Clothes in layers (Days were really hot in July first week and nights little cold)
- Raincoat/Umbrella
- Woollen socks + summer socks
- Wollen cap
- Inner thermals
- Sunscreen with high spf
- A pair of sunglasses
- First aid box
- Power bank
- Camera, extra battery
- Good plastic bag to protect your camera from rain
- Torch
- Light snacks
- Reusable water bottles (for keeping environment clean)
Mobile Connectivity
Airtel and Jio worked almost everywhere. Chitkul had Bsnl, Jio connectivity. There was no connectivity at all after Losar till Chandratal and Chandratal till Gramphu.
Journey details
Day 1- We reached Chandigarh at 7:30 in the morning. We had to wait for two more people, so we changed at the station and went to Sukhna lake in the cab we booked. The lake was calm and beautiful in the morning with very few people around. We sat there for some time.
Later we decided to go to Elante mall. We had already visited Rock garden and few other places last time we visited Chandigarh, so this time we didn’t want to go back there, so we went to the mall. Later when the other two people arrived, we left for Shimla at 3pm. Our initial plan was to reach till Narkanda, but couldn’t. So we stayed in Shimla for the night. We reached Shimla in 3 hrs. We booked the accomodation upon reaching there. The weather was very nice in Shimla. Clouds touched us on road. Even though we were late, we walked to the mall road. It was beautiful at night. Most of the shops were closed, only restaurants were open. So we took a stroll on the road. Later we had dinner in Pakwan restaurant. It was pure veg restaurant. After doing some time pass there, we walked back to the hotel and called it a day. Also, The driver we were with today was not good at all. He was very rude. So we booked another cab with another driver in Shimla.
Day 2 – Left shimla at 8:45am. After an hour or so, our driver stopped the car at a beautiful location (Charabra) for breakfast. The view from there was amazing. Photos never justify the actual view.
We had breakfast there and left for Chitkul after soaking in the view. The journey was long today. We were mostly on the road. After few more stops in Sangla and Karchham, we reached Chitkul at 7pm.
The homestay we thought of booking online was in Karchham actually, but they had mentioned the location as Chitkul. This we realized after reaching at the location. Our driver asked us to stay in Chitkul because of the views, and thank God we listened to him and decided to go to Chitkul instead. We booked Hotel Samaa there. It had pure veg and Jain food available. The rooms were big and clean. We requested the owner to cook dinner for us. They had their inhouse restuarant and so he happily agreed. It started raining outside when we reached, so we couldn’t explore anything at night. We had our dinner and called it a day.
Day 3- Chitkul is wow. I have seen very few villages this beautiful. I woke up early in the morning and went to the river side. The view, sound of water, sound of wind and birds felt amazing. I just sat there for an hour or so. No one else had awaken by that time so I was alone there sitting and smiling satisfactorily. The clouds were touching the river and the mountains around. Such places make the travel worthwhile.
Chitkul is a place you will fall in love with in monsoons. Everything was green and beautiful. Later I returned to the room, woke others up, got ready, packed, had breakfast. Then we went to explore the village. Its a very small place with a couple of temples. The village was soooooo pretty. No words to describe it. You just have to go and see for yourself.
Then I took everyone to the riverside again. We enjoyed there for a while and started for Tabo later.
Tyre of our car had some trouble so the driver got it repaired in Sangla. Meanwhile we had breakfast there. We finally left the valley at 11am. Once we reached the on the main road to Tabo, weather changed and it got very hot. The sun was burning too bright. We stopped at Khab which is a confluence of Spiti river and Sutlej river. One can escape this stop.
Next we headed to Nako and visited Nako lake.
Later we proceeded to Tabo.
We stayed in Budha homestay there. It was a decent place. At night we sat on the roof and enjoyed the stars and milky way above. The sky was very clear here and beautiful.
Day 4 – We got ready in the morning and visited Tabo monastery. There is one old monastery and one new monastery side by side. Tabo monastery also provides accomodation to tourists.
We left for dhankar at 9am and reached there in an hour. We had read a lot about Dhankar lake and monastery so we decided to trek till Dhankar lake. It is a 2km trek. The heat was scorching at that time. We reached at the lake only to find that the lake had almost dried up and only ‘chullu bhar pani’ was there! We got so pissed!
Anyway we returned and told others not to go as well! To add to the frustration, Dhankar new monastery for closed and we couldn’t visit it as well. Again to add to the frustration driver had parked the car outside old monastery and we were in no mood to walk more in the heat. Moreover his cell phone was off and we had to take the help of the locals to contact him and call him to our place. Half of the day got wasted here. We were supposed to go to Pin valley as well, but looking at the heat we skipped it and just left for Kaza and reached there at 3pm.
We couldn’t get a proper meal since morning, so first thing we did in Kaza is to have some food. I had read about Sol cafe online. It was a pure veg place. We headed straight to it. The place is really nice. It is a cafe run by the ngo. Do try the local seabuckthorne juice there. Pizza, pasta etc. everything was yumm. They provide free water so that people can refill their bottles there. They even showcase a movie every evening. The people who run this place are really nice. They gave us lots of useful information. The vibe of this cafe is chill. Do check it out if you ever visit Kaza.
After having a sumptuous meal we looked for the accomodation. We booked Norbukhang homestay. It is in the main market of Kaza, so all the shops and cafes are nearby. Kaza has frequent power cuts. There was no power when we reached. We dumped our luggage in the rooms, requested the owner for home cooked meal for dinner. She agreed to cook Jain food as well. No one wanted to rest, so we went to Komik, Hikkim and Langza for sightseeing. Although it is advisable to rest in Kaza for proper acclimatization, but we were never the rest types! We roam around even if someone has fever or AMS or whatever! Although it turned ot to be a good decision to visit these places in the evening because few hours after we returned from the sightseeing, rain poured heavily causing landslides and road blockage. Had we waited to visit these places in the morning, we wouldn’t have been able to, because of the road block. So everything happens for good 🙂 Also, I heard next day morning that due to the rains, roads from Tabo to Kaza had been blocked and later we got to know that road remained blocked for 2 days. So, luckily we left it at the right time.
We left for Langza at 4:30pm. It has a big beautiful Buddha statue. The views were really beautiful, plus it was raining a little bit making the surroundings more pleasant.
After spending some time there, we left for Komic. Komic, located in Spiti valley, is the highest village in the world. It has a monastery. When we reached there, they were preparing for some festival, so all the decorations were underway. Because of the rains we had to leave quickly from there as well.
Next stop was Hikkim. Hikkim houses the world’s highest post office. People take stamps available there and post it to their loved ones. Unfortunately it was closed when we reached there. So clicked a few pics and returned for Kaza.
On the way, the driver stopped at a place from where whole of Kaza was visible. The weather and views made it look all the more beautiful.
Finally we left for Kaza and reached back by 7:30pm. Meanwhile the food was being prepared at our homestay, we explored the main market of Kaza. It has all the basic shops and some interesting cafes. I have already mentioned Sol cafe earlier. When we were returning from the market to the homestay, a dog almost bit me! Was rescued by the homestay owners :D. Got away with a scratch instead of a bite, but twisted my finger in the process which still hurts! Rest all is well thankfully 🙂 Later we had dinner and called it a day.
Day 5 – In the morning after breakfast we left Kaza at 10am. First we went to the Kee monestary. It is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery located the the top of a hill. This monestary looks beautiful both from far and near. The meditation room it had had strong vibes. We sat there for a while and soaked in the soulful vibrations. After that we toured the entire monestary.
Next we left for Gettey village.
Few treks start from that village. Gettey had just two religious buildings. Thats it. No one lives there as such. Our driver told us that people come here only when their auspicious Guru comes and delivers sermons. Ours was the only car up there when we went. The surrounding view was awesome. The mountains enroute Gettey contained fossils. Even our driver was able to find one. That area is famous for wildlife as well as fossils. But those wild animals come down usually during winters in snow. We played there for a while, clicked pics and left for next destination. Enroute was Tashigang village which also had only a few houses. If I remember correctly the population of that village was 12! Not sure though. We didn’t stop here. Next we passed through kibber village. Kibber was a big place comparatively. Many tourists stay in Kibber because of the surrounding view and to enjoy the spiti culture. This place is best explored on foot. We didn’t stop here either. Next we went to Chicham bridge.
Here we stopped to enjoy the winds and to have food. There are two food trucks just beside the bridge. Do try the seabuckthorn juice there.
We spent a couple of hours here, then toured the chicham village and left for Losar. Losar is a place where tourists usually stay at night after a long journey. The guest houses here are decent enough. We reached Losar at 4pm. Had we known that chandratal base camp is only 2 hours from here, we would have gone directly there. Our driver told us that chandratal from here is approx 4 hours, so we believed him and stopped at Losar for night stay. Its a place just to relax. There is one temple uphill if anyone wants to go. Else just enjoy the view and rest. Do look at the night sky. If the sky is clear, milky way is visible will loads of starts.
Day 6: Today we woke up late and left for Chandratal at 11am. There is no mobile connectivity 7kms after Losar till Gramphu. I think that this is the reason our driver didn’t tell us that Chandratal is just 2hs away! Anyway we stopped at Kunzum pass on the way. It has a temple of Mata Kunzum. Our driver told us that it is mandatory to stop at this place or else there will be problems in the journey. Its a beautiful pass. The view is so nice and weather was really good. Snow peaks look very near from here.
After visiting the temple we left for Chandratal base camp. There are no roads after Losar till Chandratal and up ahead that side. It was total offroading. If you want to burn fat without any exercise, do travel from Losar to Chandratal to Gramphu!
There are few water crossings on the way to base camp. Be careful while driving through those. Our taxi’s rearside brakes broke off while passing through that crossing. We somehow reached Chandratal basecamp driving slowly. We reached there by 1pm. As we had almost zero prior bookings, so we stayed wherever our driver took us. Thankfully the stays he suggested were all good and reasonable. He had friends everywhere!
After putting our luggage in the tents, we ate something and decided to go to chandratal. Since our cab was not in a condition to go, we had to hire a mini truck to drop us off till the chandratal parking and to bring us back later. That ride was the bumpiest! We sat at the back so we were rolling half of the time due to the offroading. There are no roads in these areas. Its totally offroading.
From the parking we had to walk 10-15 mins till the lake. It was beautiful beautiful up there. All green and white and blue!
Although there were clouds so we couldn’t see clear reflections in the lake, but the locals said that reflections are best in the morning when sky is clear and not so windy. Heavy winds start in the afternoon usually. We walked by the side of the lake for a while and enjoyed the view. It was drizzling a little bit.
Later the sky was clear and sunrays hugged us. We sat by the lake side for 2-3 hours and soaked in that beauty.
Didn’t feel like leaving that place, but one of us was not feeling well so we had to leave and return to the basecamp. After returning, 2 of us explored the hills and river on backside of the camps. It was wow up there.
It was so windy that we couldn’t stay for more than 15 mins on the hill. We came down and went to the riverside. Everything there felt so surreal. My inner peace was in tuning with the outer peace.
Before sunset we returned to the camps. The food at the camp was surprisingly good. They even agreed to prepare jain food. Later at night after 10:30pm when all the lights were out, the sky looked heavenly. Milky way was so clear here. Stars stars and so many stars. We gazed at it for sometime and later went to sleep.
Day 7: We woke up early in the morning and left chandrtal at 7:15am. After an hour we reached Batal where the famous chacha chachi dhaba is there. We had our breakfast there. Buses to Manali, Kaza stop at Batal. Nearest bus stop to Chandratal is Batal.
From there via chatru, gramphu we reached koksar where we got the network connection back. Our driver had lunch there. Then we left for Manali, crossed atal tunnel in between.
Reached manali at 3pm. Meanwhile our driver got the car repaired, we had our lunch in cafe 1947. Its a beautiful cafe by the riverside. Later we reached our hotel. Our hotel was a few minutes walking distance from the mall road. We got freshened up and went to the riverside and sat there till sunset. Then we explored the mall road, shopped, hopped cafes, enjoyed live music and called it a day.
Day 8: We left Manali at 6:30am. We had to buy fruits because there are a lot of varities of fruits in Kullu Manali. So we stopped somewhere befor Kullu and bought a lot of fruits to be taken back home. We reached Chandigarh at 3:45 pm after few stops. We zomatoed our food on railway station and finally left Chandigarh at 6pm.
This marks the end of another fun filled trip. Hope you plan soon and enjoy 🙂
For holiday packages to Himachal and other domestic/ international destinations, please email goaroundtours@gmail.com or call +919024115731.
Julley.
GoAround Tours and Travels 