Planning a trip to Spiti Valley along the Hindustan-Tibet Highways has been my best decision ever in the whole year of 2023. The visit to the magical valley was such a bliss that I’d never mind visiting it again, using a motorcycle this time. After visiting the entire Kinnaur Valley, now it was time to finally enter the best part of the entire trip.
Previous Day in Chitkul
As you have read my previous experiences in Kalpa, Chitkul, now was the time to move ahead to take the circular trip of the valley. It was around 6 PM when we were in Chitkul and we heard the news that the road between Shimla to Reckong Peo has been blocked due to landslides and it won’t reopen for atleast a week. This happened just a day after we crossed the same route.
Road blocks in Kinnaur Valley
Though we were not going through the same route again, the thing was all the essentials should come through that route and if it’s blocked then even the fuel wouldn’t reach here and the buses would not move. Added to that, there was a tower issue in Chitkul and the whole day we were left without a single point of network.
Chitkul – Reckong Peo Journey
Our next plan was to reach Reckong Peo and then to Tabo, from which we actually start exploring Spiti Valley. The first bus was at 6:30 AM and the driver was unsure of the departure and to our bad luck it was Sunday as well. We slept in the same tension and in the morning woke up sharp at 5:30, got ourselves ready and prayed for the bus to leave.
Sangla Valley
To our surprise the bus started and we were all set for our next leg of the journey. The sun was just rising, the temperature was very low and the views before the sunrise were magnificent. We reached Sangla and halted for around 15 mins. The views around Sangla were truly tremendous. The apple gardens were filled with ripe apples and trucks were moving around to carry them.
I clicked some very beautiful photos and the bus started the journey. The driver was very friendly and told me that he would stop at the Reckong Peo entrance and we would catch the bus to Kaza. This was crucial because this was the last bus to Kaza and if I couldn’t reach on time, then we had to halt another day in Reckong Peo itself and catch the next morning bus.
Journey Through Hindustan-Tibet Highways
The bus reached Reckong Peo entrance on time and we tried to ask for a lift for all trucks, so we could experience a new type of journey but we weren’t lucky for that. After waiting for a few minutes, the expected bus Rampur – Kaza came and we boarded to take one of the most beautiful journeys of my life.
So this is the Hindustan-Tibet Highway, which was officially built by the British in a very difficult terrain, for reaching Tibet from Shimla. We covered the Shimla-Reckong Peo during our trip to Kalpa a few days back and now we were going ahead on the next leg of our journey. This extends up to Shipki-La Pass which officially is the Indo-China border, which is completely maintained by the Border Roads Organization.
Beauty of this Journey
Trust me this is the most beautiful road journey I have ever taken till date. The visuals around were actually stunning and the roads were like butter smooth without any damages and our bus was cruising at a very good speed. Needless to say, HRTC has the finest drivers in the world, who take us safely on such terrible roads even in terrible weather conditions sometimes.
Cold Deserts, Rivers and Half-Tunneling
The special part of the Himalayas is that the roads are usually constructed parallel to the rivers and the pretty Sutlej river was flowing at a swift speed on our right. The road surface was shining on dark blue tar with yellow markings on both the sides. On the left were huge mountains which were drilled with a method of half-tunneling. The color of the mountains was extremely unique which appeared as orange shining with the sunlight and the river reflected the same.
I had never seen such landscapes before and I actually never imagined such kinds of landscapes even exist in India. These are called Cold Deserts which are usually dried before the winters and covered with thick snowfall during winters. I was just thinking it looks so fabulous before winters, then imagine the beauty once the snowfall starts.
I actually started to love the journey and for my bad luck the bus was almost full, though I requested the conductor to give me the front seat, he denied and I occupied the last seat, clicking pictures and shooting videos like a kid from the window and the rear glass. I was loving every single second, every single landscape and it was just looking like a wow. I just made up my mind that, no matter what happens, a bike trip on this road is something which I’d never miss in my life.
There was peace everywhere and hardly any vehicles were moving as the road behind was closed. Rarely we crossed some HRTC buses and trucks to Reckong Peo. Every turn would bring out a surprise and it looked tremendous. After some time, we reached Spillo and had a small tea break, where other HRTC mates joined us as well.
Shipki La Pass – The Indo-China Border
After the break, the same road continued and the landscapes as usual were getting much more beautiful. After crossing Pooh and Dabling bridge, we reached a junction which diverts to Shipki La pass. I wish we had a chance to visit Shipki La Pass, but civilians are not allowed to visit the border. There is a bridge called the Ropa Valley Link bridge, where there is a huge hairpin turn around the whole river and the views from the bridge are absolutely phenomenal.
After Khab, this is the place where Spiti River and Sutlej rivers actually meet and flows as Sutlej River itself. This was a lovely view point and the main attraction of Spiti Valley. This is popularly called Khab Sangam Bridge.
Ka Loops – The Twin of Gata Loops
The best part of this journey actually starts from here which I was eagerly waiting for. Welcome to Ka Loops on the Hindustan-Tibet Highway, popularly called as the Twin of Gata Loops. The butter smooth roads, vast area of cold desert and the snow capped mountains was looking like absolute heaven. It was like I was actually on the planet Mars. There were more than 12 hair pin turns and we were gaining altitude very rapidly. The views after every turn were so breathtaking.
Though it appears extremely beautiful, the risk in driving here is the highest as well. A small mistake, you and your vehicle must be completely forgotten. The sky was clear blue with a good amount of sunshine and the orange mountains were glowing like anything. The roads are good here in recent days, but it was terrible a few years ago, which would make driving very risky. Hats Off to BRO for their hard work.
Nako – The Gem of Spiti Valley
We finally reached Nako, one of the most beautiful villages just before Spiti Valley. We had our lunch break here and bio break as well. Nako is famous for mud houses, monasteries and beautiful landscapes. Actually we had planned to visit this village for a day, but due to the roadblocks, we thought of reaching Spiti as soon as possible.
Reo Purgyil – The Highest Peak of Himachal Pradesh
The best part of Nako is one can have a clear view of Reo Purgyil, the Highest Point of Himachal Pradesh. One can have the best view of this peak only from Nako in the entire Himachal Pradesh. At the height of 6816m,(22356 ft) making it one of the highest of India, only 4 teams have reached the summit as per wikipedia making it one of the toughest and the remotest of the world.
After crossing Nako, we continued through Maling Nala, one of the deadliest stretches ever with narrow roads, mountains on one side and a deep ravine on the other side. There is a holy tradition in the mountains that the dangerous turns and the accident points usually have a temple where everyone usually stops and offers their prayers for their safety on these journeys. Maling Nala is one such point.
Moonlands – The Beauty of Spiti
Once you reach here you start losing the altitude and there are loops again. I liked one such spot which actually looks literally like a moonland with a huge number of hairpin turns, which you’ll better understand in the picture itself. Now you have the pretty Spiti river flowing parallel to the road increasing the beauty of these landscapes.
Welcome to the Spiti Valley
There you reach Sumdo, officially entering the Spiti valley and this point actually starts from a bridge. Bridges are one of the most beautiful creations in the mountains. Ripped with Prayer Flags flying around with a pretty water body flowing down, it is nearly a very beautiful site. Another interesting thing about this place is, you are just 18 kms away from the China border, where there is a village named Kaurik which can be reached from Sumdo. It is very close to the border and in the whole journey from Reckong Peo, you usually see the milestones pointing the distance to Kaurik itself.
Another important tourist attraction of Spiti, the Gue Mommy can be reached after taking a diversion from Sumdo. A 500 year-old mummy with its teeth intact. Located in the village of Gue, it is said to be the mummy of a Buddhist monk named Sangha Tenzin, and is one of the most astonishing things you will ever see.
Network Connectivity in Spiti Valley
The day we were traveling here was the same day where the India-England World Cup Match was going on. Once we crossed Hurling we started to watch the match live on our mobile online and we were able to watch every ball without much lag. This actually shows the network getting better and better in Spiti and Kinnaur Valley. For the people who are worried about the network, don’t worry unless and until there’s a tower issue, you are well connected as there are towers in almost every village.
Conclusion
We had got up very early and due to the journey we were actually tired and badly wanted to reach Tabo as soon as possible. The journey ahead was plain and simple, tall and tall mountains all around, beautiful villages with little greenery in between with stunning Spiti River flowing swift and slow. We finally reached Tabo and planned to stay there for 2 days. I’ll continue our journey in Tabo in the coming blog.
Great work
Thank you Varun