Introduction
The trip to Spiti Valley has been my best decision ever in my life. The natural beauty of Himalayas, the adventurous roads, the beautiful authentic culture of Himachal Pradesh, the remote areas and what not. This is completely a Paisa Vasool trip with lifetime memories and extraordinary tourist spots.
Connectivity Issue in Spiti Valley
The major problem which arises when tourists wish to travel to Spiti Valley is the remote location. The flight and rail connectivity is extremely poor. The nearest airports are Shimla and Kullu, which are very small airports having flights only from Alliance Air to Delhi and nearby cities. Also the rail connectivity is to Shimla with toy trains running from Kalka(Chandigarh).
Connectivity with HRTC and private vehicles
So the only option left would be on the road and even luxurious buses operate only till Reckong Peo and then only normal HRTC buses are the option. The only option left is via your own/rental vehicles or HRTC buses, which are even limited and their service is extremely amazing but in very difficult conditions like weather issues or roadblocks they’re helpless.
Spiti Valley, Detailed Travel Guide
So, for someone who is planning to visit Spiti Valley, this is the first travel guide assuming you are traveling on your own in rental vehicles or your own vehicles.
Day 0 : Reach Shimla
The best plan to start Spiti Valley is from Shimla. One can reach Shimla from Chandigarh after departing at night and start your journey on the same day or take a day or two off in Shimla and then proceed ahead. The distance is 111 kms on the road. Rental vehicles are available easily in Shimla or even Chandigarh as well.
Day 1 : Journey on Hindustan-Tibet Highway (Shimla-Kalpa)
I recommend starting as early as possible by around 5-6 AM, even 4AM from Shimla as you need a lot of time due to road diversions and traffic ahead. You can have good breaks in between to enjoy the scenic viewpoints on the way. Take the Rampur Road from Shimla and travel via Narkanda and reach Reckong Peo. The total distance is around 216 kms which takes 8-9 hours.
Enter the Reckong Peo city, after a diversion from Hindustan -Tibet Highway and proceed ahead to Kalpa which takes hardly 15-20 mins. Try to reach as early as possible and enjoy the beautiful sunset in Kalpa. There are many hotels available in Kalpa(My experience in Kalpa and Kalpa Detailed Travel Guide).
Day 2 : Explore Kalpa and surrounding places
Stay at Kalpa and explore the surrounding places. Wake up early and try to view the sunrise from the Mountains and Kinnaur Kailash. Staying in Kalpa or even Reckong Peo is a good option. It’s not recommended to travel to Chitkul on the same day as the journey takes too much time and you might be in trouble driving on difficult roads at night.
Day 3 : Travel to Chitkul
Once again start as early as possible in the morning as the journey takes pretty long. Though the distance is less, 63 kms, the narrow and challenging roads make the journey longer. Also you can spend the whole day in Chitkul and go ahead to your next destination. Come down to Reckong Peo, then take the diversion to Shimla and after some time there’s a bridge named Karchham Bridge, where the diversion takes you to Sangla, Chitkul.
You can spend the whole day in Chitkul and enjoy the beauty of the Himalayas. There’s nothing much to explore in Chitkul, so one day is enough. There are a few hotels and homestays available(My Experience in Chitkul and Detailed Chitkul Guide)
Day 4 : Explore Sangla Valley-Hindustan Tibet Highway, travel to Nako
You can start your journey at your own pace after going around Chitkul in blissful morning. Once you’re done, take the same road till Karchham and then take the right diversion heading to Reckong Peo and continue on the highway to Kaza.
On the way you can have a stop at Sangla Valley and enjoy the beauty all around. The distance between Chitkul to Nako is 147 kms and you can reach it by evening. (Read my Experience on this Journey here)
Bonus Tip
You can extend your trip by staying for a day in Sangla and then continuing the same journey the next day.
Day 5: Explore Nako, travel to Tabo
Nako is another lovely village in Spiti Valley. The mud houses, lake and the monastery make it very beautiful. The village is pretty small and doesn’t take much time to cover. One can experience staying at mud houses and have a great experience.(Nako Travel Guide)
One can depart to Tabo by afternoon and reach Tabo by afternoon/evening. Tabo is another lovely village on the way to Kaza with Tabo Monastery, Spiti River and Caves. (My Experience in Tabo and Detailed Travel Guide to Tabo)
Bonus Tip
One can visit Gue Mommy on the way to Tabo from Nako. The village name is called Gue Village.
Day 6: Explore Tabo and visit Dhankar, Pin Valley
After staying at Tabo, you can roam around Tabo in the morning and then pack your bags to explore further. Take the road to Kaza, but before that visit Dhankar Monastery on the way to Kaza at just 32 kms. There is a small diversion to be taken from the highway and you can visit this beautiful monastery.
After Dhankar, one can continue towards Mudd Village to explore the Pin Valley National Park which is 50kms and also enjoy the lovely views around this remote village. Come down to the highway and head towards Kaza. There’s a bridge where the diversion takes you to Mud village and continues ahead.
As the roads are not in great condition, this day might be stressful and time consuming. If possible, reach Kaza by night which is 48 kms ahead, or even staying at Mudd and then heading towards Kaza in morning also would be a good choice.
Bonus Tip
You can also stay at Dhankar Monastery and experience the local culture with the Monks. But this takes another day or to skip Mudd, plan accordingly.
Day 7 : Roaming around in Kaza – Chicham Bridge, Key Monastery, Kibber
Welcome to Kaza – The HQ of Spiti Valley. This is the largest town in this area. You should start your journey early from Mudd if you stay there and reach Kaza. There are 2 areas of sightseeing in Kaza and this is the first day. (My Experience in Kaza and Detailed Kaza Travel Guide)
Continue towards Manali road and before the bridge catch the diversion towards Kee and visit the lovely Kee Monastery. Then continue ahead on the same road to Chicham and reach the Highest Bridge of Asia – Chicham Bridge. One can also visit Kibber village and enjoy the scenic beauty all around. All these places are nearby, around 15-20 kms from Kaza, so it shouldn’t take much time to travel.
You can stay in Kee Monastery if monks allow you to stay or return back to Kaza and stay there.
Day 8 : Roaming around Kaza – Hikkim, Langza, Komic
Once you’re in Kaza or if you come back from Kee Monastery, the diversion to all these places is just outside Kaza on Manali road and again it’s around 15-10 kms from Kaza, so won’t take longer time. You’ll first reach Langza, a beautiful Buddha Statue, then Hikkim, the Highest Post Office of the World and Komic, Highest Village of the World Connected by motorable road.
If you start early, you can be back to Kaza easily by afternoon and spend time in Kaza at the Monastery and Himalayan Cafe.
Bonus Tip
One can stay even at Komic, which is a very remote village and at a very high altitude, with too cold weather round the year.
Day 9 : Back to Manali
You need a complete day to reach Manali by the Manali-Kaza Highway. The distance is around 210 kms but the road is terrible and hence takes too much time. You can spend time in Kunzum Pass and also visit Chandratal Lake from a diversion from Batal. Also before Manali you pass through Atal Tunnel as well. (Read My Experience here)
Bonus Tips
One can extend their stay in Kaza for another day and enjoy the beauty of the town.
Also one can stay in the camps at Chandratal Lake, which is truly a lifetime experience for someone who loves stargazing.
This was the short 9-12 days plan to visit the entire Kinnaur and Spiti Valley. There are many more remote villages to visit all around, but these are the must visit and the popular places. Also here are some things to keep in mind before you plan this trip
Things to Keep in Mind
- Kaza-Manali road is open only for 5-6 months in a year from April, May to November, plan accordingly. Even Chandratal Lake is also open in the same season.
- If you skip the Manali-Kaza road, you need 2 days to come back to Shimla on the same way via Reckong Peo, hence taking another day extra than planned.
- One can extend their stays at any specific village if they need, which extend the trip duration
- Road to Chitkul and even the Shimla Reckong Peo is subject to weather conditions. Please check the road conditions beforehand
- Its recommended to start journey from Shimla side as you gain altitude gradually and don’t fall in the danger of falling sick due to AMS
- Also I am pointing out to start early as no vehicles usually travel after evening and hence to make complete use of the day start early.
- Whole Spiti and Kinnaur Valley is covered with a good network, that shouldn’t be a problem anywhere.
The individual guide to all the places are mentioned in the same site in some other blogs. I have mentioned the links, please check it out for more information.
Conclusion
This was a brief guide on planning your trip to Spiti Valley. This was specific to the ones who have their own vehicles or rental vehicles. The detailed guide to Budget Travel to Spiti Valley with HRTC will be coming very soon. Please stay tuned. Also this information is based on my trip to Spiti in October 2023. Comment below if you have any questions or queries, also if there are any modifications to be done.
