Numerous times agone, my father happed to stay in Lahaul- &-Spiti. He told me stories about its raw and relaxing nature (and therefore helping me in this Spiti Valley diary).
It was from him that I knew how disconnected this place can feel. Time has changed however. Diurnal morning motorcars now connect spiti valley packages to its neighbours. Private buses and hacks also, at times, are relatively visible.
But that does n’t mean that a road trip to Spiti Valley is any less audacious now. Compared to Ladakh, this place is still veritably harsh and desolate.
It takes a certain quantum of madness to drive on these relaxing, mesmerizing geographies. And to plan a solo bike trip to Spiti vale, you need to be further than just frenetic.
I remember when I was planning my diary, I was a little spooked too. But to hell with it, I still decided to go ahead!
Spiti Valley
Spiti tour package is accessible by road throughout the time and requires you to travel nearly distance of 700 to 900 km, depending on what all places you want to visit on the way and what route you firstly took. I traveled from Shimla to Kaza to Manali.
You can also complete the trip the other way round – by starting from Manali, and following the ethnical circuit, until you reach Shimla.
But I would tête-à-tête advise you to start from Shimla. And that's for a couple of reasons …
Still, it would be easy for you to adapt to high altitude, If you start from Shimla. This way you wo n’t need to gain a permit to cross Rohtang Pass, which you else do if you're doing Manali-Kaza-Shimla or Manali-Kaza-Manali. Carrying the permit means spending the redundant plutocrat and killing a day in the DC’s office, in Manali.
Before you leave for the Spiti Valley bike trip, don't forget to check if Kunzum Pass is open.
Though the route will still remain open from Shimla, but only until Losar. After a many kilometres from Losar (if Kunzum Pass is unrestricted) you'll have to turn around and repeat your Spiti Valley tour package diary – Losar to Shimla to Delhi (as shown in the chart below). Check about the status of Kunzum Pass on Himachal Tourism website.
Now, before I bandy the diary, I want to tell you that this can be the cheapest Spiti Valley stint if you'll follow all my suggestions and camp throughout the trip, as suggested in the blog below.
For your information, I spent only 5000 Rupees to do the entire trip from Delhi to Spiti Valley, including food, energy and accommodation cost.
But if you decided to chamber, be prepared for the adventure. This place, as I said over, is veritably negative ( see these Spiti Valley filmland to get the idea) and a budget camping trip makes it indeed more so.
Delhi to Spiti Valley Road Trip Diary
Day 1 Delhi to Chandigarh
Day 1 of my Spiti Valley diary started a little early, at 4 in the morning, and I formerly plant myself driving on a perfect trace doing over 100 km per hour. I reached Delhi to Chandigarh (about 250Kms) in lower than four hours.
Day 2 Chandigarh to Arphu
Day 2 of my Spiti Valley diary took me from Chandratal to a city called Arphu. It takes about one and a partial hour to drive from Chandigarh to Shimla (if you end up being lucky and plant no business on the way).
Day 3 Arphu to Sangla
Day 3 Started with a light shower. Kinnaur can give you a mizzle at times, so don't forget to bring a rain cover for your luggage and for yourself. Spiti Valley is comparatively dry.
Day 4 Sangla to Chitkul
You feel the difference when you enter Sangla vale ( see these Chitkul Pictures to get an idea). Snow- limited mountains, impeccably beautified with ancient Tibetan armature – courting back its foundation to the 19th century.
Day 5 Chitkul To Nako
Day 5 of my Spiti Valley bike trip diary took me from Chitkul to the beautiful Nako Valley.
Day 6 Nako To Key
Kaza is about 5 km from the city of Kaza. To me, the idea of staying in a small city, which is far less touristy and is close to a 13th-century friary ( perched on a mountain top) sounded more charming. Though I was disappointed, for I didn't get the authorization to stay in the friary, or camp anywhere outside it, the city of Key, to my satisfaction, had quite a many open spaces for camping.
Day 7 Key To Losar
Kaza is the quarter headquarters of Spiti vale and has the only petrol pump in the area – for about a 200-km compass, in either direction – so going to Kaza was ineluctable. Day 7 brought me back to Kaza (From Key), which takes about 15 twinkles. With my petrol tank full again, I soon plant myself enjoying the mammoth and vainglorious peaks of Spiti Valley, towards Losar. Kaza to Losar was a 3-4 hour lift.
Day 8 Losar To Chandratal
As you trip from Losar to Manali, you start moving down from Spiti Valley and enter in Lahaul Valley. Brace yourself for the ascent to Kunzum La and for another occasion of World’s Worst Roads (which lasts until you reach Gramphu and combine with the business of Leh-Manali). Navigator will sometimes come and go then.
Day 9 Chandratal to Manali
Return the same way that took you to Chandratal until you come back to the diversion and take the trace that goes to Batal.
Make sure you fill your stomach at one of the dhabas in Batal because the coming city might be a little far. Though it’s only 18 km down since you ’ll be driving at only about 10kms/ hour – thanks to a poor road. This 50 km stretch, from Batal to Gramphoo, will eat up good 4-5 hours of your daylight.
After Gramphoo, comes Rohtang Pass, overcrowded by excursionists looking for places to visit near Manali. Rohtang Pass is always girdled by thick fog with rain being a certain possibility on the top, so make sure you cover up with mackintoshes and plastic bags. This is no Spiti Valley. Rain is now a common story then.
After Rohtang stop, there are numerous places to eat and rest for a while. A little further ahead lies the beautiful Solang Valley, with better camping spaces. But I decided to take a room in Manali, for I had done enough boarding on the way.
From Manali, you can also plan another intriguing bike trip to SachPass.However, then’s the Sach Pass diary I followed during my trip in August 2019, If you ’re interested. Though I did it from Delhi to Sach Pass to Manali, you can repeat the entire trip the other way round, ie Manali to Sach Pass to Delhi.
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