Tour De Spiti

On the following day, we ride from Manali to Jibhi via Kullu. After a refreshing breakfast, we ride to a small hamlet in the Tirthan valley. The village of Jibhi is on the outskirts of the great Himalayan National park and just 8 kms before the Jalori pass. The ride on this day is along the banks of river Beas for most part and once we enter the tartan valley, the natural splendour of the place is just amazing. Jibhi is surrounded by thick Deodhar and pin firsts and many hiking trails lead into the forest for us to explore if you are up for it. 

Day 3 ride from Jibhi to Sarahan would bring us closer to our first Mountain pass of the tour, jalori pass. Settled in the lower ranges of the Himalayas, Jalori pass (10800ft) is one of the lesser-travelled passes but an important connection between the Kullu and Sainj valleys. The winding roads of the pass are the first major riding challenge as the road is not metaled, but carved out of mountains. Further on from Jalori we explore the town of Rampur and enter the  Kinnaur valley, one of the places often titled amongst the most dangerous roads in the world. We halt overnight at Sarahan, which is a small village famous for Bhimakali temple, dedicated to Goddess Bhīma Devi.

Later after breakfast at Sarahan, we initiate the 85 km ride to Sangla in the Baspa valley. Baspa valley is the final valley in India, which connects its border with Tibet. The Baspa river flows in the Sangla Valley which is rich in apple orchards, apricot, Wall-nut, Cedar trees, and glacial streams with trout. The road offers pleasant views with a valley of flowers running parallel to a stream for a good part of the road. The most vital achievement of this region worth being lauded is that this area boasts of growing the world’s best quality potatoes. Though only 85kms, the journey consumes time, as the roads near the border aren’t metaled.

The 5th day of our tour has a planned ride from Chitkul to Kalpa. We would be continuing the same road that brought us to Chitkul till Karchham from where we take a right on to the NH22 and climb beyond Reckong Peo, the district headquarters for Kinnaur. Reckong Peo is also the place where we get the inner line permits for the Spiti Valley. Our overnight stay is in Kalpa village, which has a history of ancient temples and majestic view of Kinner Kailash Peak.

With completing our half journey, we begin our travel the next day with a descend from Kalpa village. The condition of the road gets better as we head along to our next stop, which is Nako village. The Village has an 11th-century Monastery and a small lake. Nako overlooks the Reo Purgyal, which has an elevation of 6,816 meters (22,362 ft) and is the highest mountain in Himachal Pradesh. The village is now near the Nako Lake formed by the slopes of the mountains of Reo Purgyal, compared to the opposite bank across the Nako river where it was located earlier and then shifted because of tectonic shift at the site.

The road connecting Nako to Kaza is one of the pleasing roads we will come across in Spiti Valley. A journey of 112kms is broken by a halt to visit Tabo Monastery, a monastery that is claimed to be one of the holiest in the world by HH the Dalai Lama. The monastery celebrated its millennium anniversary in 1996 and is a must visit. After spending some time at the monastery we would head towards the town of Kaza, which is the headquarter of the Spiti valley.

The 8th day of the tour is reserved to enjoy the magnificence of Kaza. We would visit the Key Gompa and Kibber gompa along with a visit to the major tourist attractions in and around Kaza, Tangyud Monastery. Kibber village is settled at an elevation of 4205 Meters. above sea level, Gette Village at an altitude of 4270 Meters above sea level and Langza village famous for the presence of marine fossils are also places that we can explore. Also, as Kaza has cyber cafes, its a good place to reconnect with friends and families and to share the stories.

Day 9 is yet another adventurous day that would take us through our second high altitude pass, Kunzum pass located at an altitude of 15060ft and is on to the Chander Taal or the moon lake, situated at a height of 14100ft, where we would camp near the lake. The ride from Kaza to Chandertal is rough and tough as the road is mostly broken and the terrain tough. The distance of 65 km would take about 4-5 hrs

Staring after breakfast we take the road from Baatal to Gramphu from where we ascend the Rohtang and ride beyond the pass into the lush green habitat of Kullu valley. Today’s the last day of our tour and by the evening we Reach Manali and have a Farewell dinner and share our thoughts about our adventures.