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Help me plan a 10N/11D trip to Kinnaur & Spiti & adjacent areas in May.
From which location are you traveling?
You can reach Spiti via two ways, From Shimla > Kinnaur > Kaza (Spiti Valley) Or Via Mandi > Manali > Kaza (Tougher/Broken Route) .
And do you plan to complete the circuit go from one route and come from another or just reach spiti the easier way and come back from the same route? As this factor will decide upon certain locations and time duration.
Refer to map below, This also includes all major locations to see. Especially Chitkul, Chandra Taal Lake (Overnight Stay at camp is quite an adventure) and Chicham Bridge which is Asia's or maybe word's highest suspension bridge.
You can reach Spiti via two ways, From Shimla > Kinnaur > Kaza (Spiti Valley) Or Via Mandi > Manali > Kaza (Tougher/Broken Route) .
And do you plan to complete the circuit go from one route and come from another or just reach spiti the easier way and come back from the same route? As this factor will decide upon certain locations and time duration.
Refer to map below, This also includes all major locations to see. Especially Chitkul, Chandra Taal Lake (Overnight Stay at camp is quite an adventure) and Chicham Bridge which is Asia's or maybe word's highest suspension bridge.
Not really sure about car operators, I took my own car for completing the circuit and exploring.
I will have to check for home stays and hotels where I stayed during my 7 days trip and let you know soon.
I will have to check for home stays and hotels where I stayed during my 7 days trip and let you know soon.
So, Me and a friend just wanted to complete the circuit and see places on the way although the shortest route was through Manali to Kaza but it was also a tougher route and might have been difficult to enjoy the circuit as you would get stressed before you can reach your destination due to bad roads and god forbids if car breaks down it can ruin your trip and also since kaza is at a height, Acclimatization would be an issue. Keeping in mind all these, we decided to take the Shimla route which I would advise you too and reach Kaza on the 3rd day.
Our itinerary:-
Day 1: Started from Delhi and reach Shimla, It Should not take a lot of time and if you reach by evening, you can spend the night at Shimla taking a good hotel and spend the evening/night on Mall Road, activities or just exploring the local market which we did.
Drive Duration: 6-7 Hours
Hotel : Hotel Surya (Mall Road) : We stayed here overnight, Good hotel, approx 3k a night. We chose this because of the Parking and accessible Mall Road.
Day 2: Started at 7 AM from Shimla to Reckong Peo (Kinnaur), As we reached there early, We decided to also visit Chitkul Which is on a separate route from there, a bit of a dangerous climb but worth it. Spent some time there and came down back to Reckong Peo as sun sat down and tried finding a hotel on outer areas only but couldn't find a decent one so we visited a Homestay (a few km inside) we checked online and it was an amazing experience with the host (an aged extremely kind person who loves talking to travelers) and great food and parking inside gated areas.
Drive Duration: 8-9 Hours (Including Chitkul to and fro)
Hotel: The Alpine Nest Homestay (Approx 2.5k/Night)
Day 3: Again started early morning for Kaza and visited Nako, Tabo, Pin Valley on the way but do keep in mind to get a tank full from here as the next fuel pump is in Kaza (The highest Fuel Station in the World). We thought we could make it as we had 3/4th of the tank but the climb you have here just made it difficult and we reached Kaza almost at an empty tank. Though we were lucky enough to get fuel there but sometimes it's not available as there is no fuel nearby even for hundreds of km before or after.
Drive Duration: 8-10 Hours (As we stopped at a few places and visited nearby areas)
Hotel: Blue Mountain Hotel & Cafe (Very good hotel and ambience) 3-4k/Night) Hotel was little expensive, felt like a 4* hospitality with very good dining and clean and modern rooms. We chose this as we went through few homestays but there was no electricity, No network coverage plus in a ghost town so we chose this as it's located in main area and had a crowd and fine dining. We were tired to find a good deal and just wanted a good stay.
Day 4: Probably the biggest mistake we made was assuming we could reach manali by night, so we didn't inform anyone at home and started our journey towards the tougher roads with no network coverage whatsoever and nothing but barren land for hours and km's of distance and absolutely terrible roads and water crossings. since we took a small hatchback (Grand i10) we were just cruising at 20-35 Km at max so we don't damage the underbody and headed towards Kunzum Pass (I would advise to visit Chicham bridge first as we skipped it). It was great experience on this road though, very thrilling and adventurous with nobody in sight for hours and managed to reach Chandra Taal lake which itself is bit difficult to reach due to road conditions and big river crossings but it took us entire day and by the time we reached it was almost evening with hours of roads still ahead till Manali.
So, As there were few camps setup there, We decided to stay there only for the night even though there was NO NETWORK COVERAGE and we could not convey a message to our homes but was more difficult to cross whats coming ahead at night and hence we stayed at camp there. Temperature went -7 in July at night. They had food being prepared with the management of those tents and they served which was inclusive and if you paid extra you could get other stuff as well like tea and maggie but obviously at a premium. We Also visited Chandtrataal lake which is 1km drive up from camp site and then 1 km trek from parking, it was beautiful but very chilly.
Drive Duration: 10-12 Hours (Don't exactly remember but probably this much)
Day 5: Early morning, the temperature was in (-) negative and frozen ice over our car but we knew we had to leave early and cover maximum tough terrains within the day time to reach manali so we did not eat or even wash our face or brush our teeth but just left. Stopped a few km's after where there is famous Chacha Chachi Dhaba in batal, Had a wonderful breakfast and meeting experience with owner who are very kind and fun loving couple. Then headed straight for Manali which is going to by again a very long and tough ride due to roads, passing through riverbeds and slopes and no networking. So we were not in touch with our family for 2 days and they had being worrying. We got network when we reached Solang Valley near Atal Tunnel. And after travelling at 10-20 Km speed for over 100 km, we finally got decent road and network but it took us over 15 hours that day of running through barren land and tough terrain and many people with stuck on the way for various reasons, Tried helping a few but few people were lost cause as one person who parked his bullet and went near the river for some reason, lost his key in it. Finally made it to Manali by evening/night and was able to check into a decent hotel and spend the night just exploring Manali for a bit before going to sleep early.
Drive Duration: 15+ Hours
Hotel: Forgot the hotel name, Couldn't find but there are many good options with parking.
Day 6: Left straight back to Delhi.
At all the hotels we stayed at, We found good and hygienic food, Veg was available at all places. If you want to complete the circuit, you can plan accordingly and if want a smooth experience with good views then I would suggest going to Kaza Via Shimla and return back from same route. The roads ahead are a bit challenging but it has its own adventure. Excuse me if there is any mistake, grammatical or otherwise, Just shared my experience and plan we had. You can add extra days to explore surroundings and get better rest but we wanted to cover within 7 Days due to other planned things ahead.
Hope you found it useful and let me know if you have any questions.
Edit: Forgot to mention the budget. Total budget including Fuel, Food, Hotels, Misc. Emergency Fund Margin etc was INR 24,000 - 27,000 per person.
Our itinerary:-
Day 1: Started from Delhi and reach Shimla, It Should not take a lot of time and if you reach by evening, you can spend the night at Shimla taking a good hotel and spend the evening/night on Mall Road, activities or just exploring the local market which we did.
Drive Duration: 6-7 Hours
Hotel : Hotel Surya (Mall Road) : We stayed here overnight, Good hotel, approx 3k a night. We chose this because of the Parking and accessible Mall Road.
Day 2: Started at 7 AM from Shimla to Reckong Peo (Kinnaur), As we reached there early, We decided to also visit Chitkul Which is on a separate route from there, a bit of a dangerous climb but worth it. Spent some time there and came down back to Reckong Peo as sun sat down and tried finding a hotel on outer areas only but couldn't find a decent one so we visited a Homestay (a few km inside) we checked online and it was an amazing experience with the host (an aged extremely kind person who loves talking to travelers) and great food and parking inside gated areas.
Drive Duration: 8-9 Hours (Including Chitkul to and fro)
Hotel: The Alpine Nest Homestay (Approx 2.5k/Night)
Day 3: Again started early morning for Kaza and visited Nako, Tabo, Pin Valley on the way but do keep in mind to get a tank full from here as the next fuel pump is in Kaza (The highest Fuel Station in the World). We thought we could make it as we had 3/4th of the tank but the climb you have here just made it difficult and we reached Kaza almost at an empty tank. Though we were lucky enough to get fuel there but sometimes it's not available as there is no fuel nearby even for hundreds of km before or after.
Drive Duration: 8-10 Hours (As we stopped at a few places and visited nearby areas)
Hotel: Blue Mountain Hotel & Cafe (Very good hotel and ambience) 3-4k/Night) Hotel was little expensive, felt like a 4* hospitality with very good dining and clean and modern rooms. We chose this as we went through few homestays but there was no electricity, No network coverage plus in a ghost town so we chose this as it's located in main area and had a crowd and fine dining. We were tired to find a good deal and just wanted a good stay.
Day 4: Probably the biggest mistake we made was assuming we could reach manali by night, so we didn't inform anyone at home and started our journey towards the tougher roads with no network coverage whatsoever and nothing but barren land for hours and km's of distance and absolutely terrible roads and water crossings. since we took a small hatchback (Grand i10) we were just cruising at 20-35 Km at max so we don't damage the underbody and headed towards Kunzum Pass (I would advise to visit Chicham bridge first as we skipped it). It was great experience on this road though, very thrilling and adventurous with nobody in sight for hours and managed to reach Chandra Taal lake which itself is bit difficult to reach due to road conditions and big river crossings but it took us entire day and by the time we reached it was almost evening with hours of roads still ahead till Manali.
So, As there were few camps setup there, We decided to stay there only for the night even though there was NO NETWORK COVERAGE and we could not convey a message to our homes but was more difficult to cross whats coming ahead at night and hence we stayed at camp there. Temperature went -7 in July at night. They had food being prepared with the management of those tents and they served which was inclusive and if you paid extra you could get other stuff as well like tea and maggie but obviously at a premium. We Also visited Chandtrataal lake which is 1km drive up from camp site and then 1 km trek from parking, it was beautiful but very chilly.
Drive Duration: 10-12 Hours (Don't exactly remember but probably this much)
Day 5: Early morning, the temperature was in (-) negative and frozen ice over our car but we knew we had to leave early and cover maximum tough terrains within the day time to reach manali so we did not eat or even wash our face or brush our teeth but just left. Stopped a few km's after where there is famous Chacha Chachi Dhaba in batal, Had a wonderful breakfast and meeting experience with owner who are very kind and fun loving couple. Then headed straight for Manali which is going to by again a very long and tough ride due to roads, passing through riverbeds and slopes and no networking. So we were not in touch with our family for 2 days and they had being worrying. We got network when we reached Solang Valley near Atal Tunnel. And after travelling at 10-20 Km speed for over 100 km, we finally got decent road and network but it took us over 15 hours that day of running through barren land and tough terrain and many people with stuck on the way for various reasons, Tried helping a few but few people were lost cause as one person who parked his bullet and went near the river for some reason, lost his key in it. Finally made it to Manali by evening/night and was able to check into a decent hotel and spend the night just exploring Manali for a bit before going to sleep early.
Drive Duration: 15+ Hours
Hotel: Forgot the hotel name, Couldn't find but there are many good options with parking.
Day 6: Left straight back to Delhi.
At all the hotels we stayed at, We found good and hygienic food, Veg was available at all places. If you want to complete the circuit, you can plan accordingly and if want a smooth experience with good views then I would suggest going to Kaza Via Shimla and return back from same route. The roads ahead are a bit challenging but it has its own adventure. Excuse me if there is any mistake, grammatical or otherwise, Just shared my experience and plan we had. You can add extra days to explore surroundings and get better rest but we wanted to cover within 7 Days due to other planned things ahead.
Hope you found it useful and let me know if you have any questions.
Edit: Forgot to mention the budget. Total budget including Fuel, Food, Hotels, Misc. Emergency Fund Margin etc was INR 24,000 - 27,000 per person.
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It does gets cold at Kaza and Chandrataal Lake from evening onwards till morning. I think we went either in June or July 2022.
The network is bit shady from Reckong Peo onwards till Kaza and a bit at Chitkul but after 5-10 Km from Kaza towards Manali, We had zero network even though we carried all sims, Airtel, jio, voda, MTNL(BSNL outside Delhi) until we reached close to Atal tunnel, a few km before that don't exactly know the name. But that stretch is over 150 km long and you can barely travel at more than 10-25 km speed unless you want to risk the car so it takes lot of time and as I mentioned we stayed at Chandrataal lake so we had no network for 2 days since we left Kaza and reached Atal tunnel.
One more piece of advise I would like to add, Don't estimate the travel time based on what google map shows. It's almost 2x to 3x of time of it shows.