A very few places on earth can mark so dramatic a change in landscape. To one side, the lush green head of the Kullu Valley; to the other, an awesome vista of bare, chocolate-colored mountains, hanging glaciers and snowfields that shine in the dazzlingly crisp light, with just flecks of flora deep in the valley to soften the stark image.
Lahaul Spiti has snow fed glaciers and barren mountains. Keylong is the headquarter of Lahaul-Spiti and oasis of green fields.The capital, Keylong, is an easy stop and you can detour to mountain villages and medieval monasteries that remain blissfully untouched by mass tourism.
The two valleys at Lahaul and Spiti have a tenous link over the Kunzam Pass ( 4,520 metres ).
Here is an exclusive travel itinerary along with some exceptionally beautiful photographs shared by our fellow traveler Supratim Pan who visited Lahaul and Spiti Valley recently.
In August I along with my six friends travelled to Lahaul and Spiti Valley to enjoy the mesmerizing beauty of mountains. Me along with this group visited to Ladakh in 2012 and this was our second adventurous trip to the Himalayas.
Here is a brief description of the trip
Day 1 (Friday) – Journey started from Kolkata
We have started our journey from Howrah by Kalka Mail (departure time 7:40 p.m)
Day 2 (Saturday) – in train
In train
Day 3 (Sunday) - Sarahan
- Reached Chandigarh at the early morning (around 4:00 a.m)
- Started our journey by Travera (already booked from Kolkata). This was the only car with us for the whole trip
- Checked in a hotel at Kalka for 2 hours to freshen up and started journey for Sarahan
- Reached Sarahan in the evening via Shimla. Stayed at the guest house inside the very famous Bhima Kali Temple
Day 4 (Monday) - Sangla
- Visit Bhima Kali Temple, Shrikhand View (Palace)
- Bird Sanctuary and Zoo were not visited by us
- Started journey to Sangla
- On the way visited Baspa Dam and had lunch at Narkanda
- Reached Sangla in the evening and stayed at Monal Residency
- Visited Sangla Monastery
Day 5 (Tuesday) - Kalpa
- Started journey for Chitkul. Had breakfast over there
- Went to Kalpa via Reckong Peoh. Had lunch at Reckong Peoh
- Reached Kalpa in the evening and stayed at Hotel Kinnar Villa. We could not see the Kinnaur-Kailash peaks due to cloud :(
Day 6 (Wednesday) - Tabo
- Started journey for Tabo. Had breakfast at Reckong Peoh.
- Visited Nako Lake on the way. Had lunch at Nako
- Reached Tabo in the evening and stayed at Keysang Guest House
Day 7 (Thursday) - Kaza
- Started journey for Kaza
- Visited Dhankar Monastery on the way
- Went to Pin Valley, one of the most beautiful places of our trip.
- Reached Kaza in the afternoon and stayed at Mandalla Guest House
Day 8 (Friday) - Lossar
- Visited Keh Monastery and Kibber Village (last village at China border)
- Came back to Kaza and had lunch over there
- Started journey to Lossar. Reached Lossar in the late evening and stayed at IPS Guest house, booked from DC Office of Kaza
- It was an awesome experience, stayed in the lap of mountains
Day 9 (Saturday) - Chandratal
- Started journey for Chandratal
- Reached Chandratal via Kunzum Pass.
- Had to trek for half an hour to reach Chandratal. The altitude was 14,500ft. Road was little up and down. This was the most fascinating place of our trip
- Went to Manali, reached in the late evening and stayed over there
Day 10 (Sunday) - Chandigarh
- Started journey for Chandigarh
- Reached Chandigarh via Kullu in late night and stayed over there
- Release the car (Travera) at Chandigarh
Day 11 (Monday) – Back to Kolkata
- Booked a car for Delhi
- Started in the morning and took evening flight for Kolkata
Road Condition
- Road condition was not so good
- Up to Tabo road was O.K but after that it was almost horrible. Actually there was almost no road.
- Had to cross some dangerous “Nala” (e.g. – Maling Nala) on the way
- But we could not feel the pain due to the overwhelming scenic beauty
Weather
- Weather was not so good
- Most of the time it was cloudy but we have not experienced heavy rain
- Due to the cloudy weather our photos were not so good and most importantly we could not see the Kailash peak at Kalpa :(
Accommodation
- All the guest houses were standard and up to the mark
- Monal Residency was the best among the lot
Food
- All kind of food (Rice, Roti, Chicken, Egg, Vegetables) with good taste were available everywhere
- We have not tried the local foods to keep our stomach O.K :p
Expenses
- As we could arrange all economic guest houses at each place (except Chandigarh) our per head cost for this trip was approx. 20K including air fare and train fare :)
Thank You Supratim Pan for sharing this excellent travel story with us ! :)
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