Special Thanks

No, I am not suffering from Spiti mania. But I would not be doing justice to this wonderful trip I made if I fail to acknowledge a few things, which made it all the more exciting. I can go to the point of saying that these were a bunch, which helped make this journey happen.

1) The Book: Quite literally, this one was the source. Its so comprehensively written and so easy to understand that I could visualize places and roads just by reading stuff from it.
“Ready Reckoner for Baspa Kinnaur Spiti and Lahaul Valleys: Motorist and Trekkers Guide with Map” by Nest & Wings is according to me a must have if one plans a trip to these places.

Sandy and I used to spend hours going through the map and details about places we had to visit the next day, every evening. Especially the map. It’s a neat road map of Himachal with distances, altitudes and treks marked. Again, a must have for the trip.

2) The BRO / HPPWD: Commendable, unmatched and at some places almost impossible. That is the story of the roads we traveled on. Border Roads Organization should have been featured on ‘Megastructures’ long back. Though having a road here is a national necessity owing to the fact that this place is strikingly close to parts of china, but still one cannot help but applaud the work that these guys do. The road is impeccable, its one of the best-maintained roads in the country in a remote rural setting. After branching off from the legendary ‘Hindustan Tibet marg’, we went to ride on the state highway 30. HPPWD is not far behind, they have done a great job despite of the fact that they are not ‘BRO’.
Thanks to both the organizations, it was such a pleasure riding a two-wheeler at + 10000 ft for 7 days.


3) The Pulsars: I have heard “real bikers ride the Enfield”. May be I am not a real biker but I love my Pulsar. And frankly I can’t ride an Enfield, the last time I tried; I almost killed myself, that too in front of a bunch of girls. I think Pulsars are much better suited for this kind of a trip. Although they are low on power compared to the big 350 cc beast, the handling and superb maneuverability makes up for that loss. I was very clear that if I was doing this trip, it had to be a self-drive one, not like all those pseudo enthusiasts who sleep in the comforts of a cab till they reach a destination and take their cameras out. Bikes added an almost adventurous ingredient to the process. And, by God, did the Pulsars behave?? Oh, yeah!! They very well did, 1600 kms, 2 high passes, almost 100 kms of very bad to no roads and no punctures. Not even a small hiccup. And to top all that, I just spent a paltry sum of Rs 1300 on fuel. Pulsars Rock.

4) The Drawers: Yes, you read it right. Special thanks also go to the ‘old fashioned’ rather medieval men’s underwear. For?? For saving us all those painful hours on the hard motorbike seat. We did not realize the importance of this almost forgotten accessory until our butts were so sore from that little elastic which the ‘modern’ versions have, that we could not even walk properly. For 3 days riding the bike over bouncy roads made us make frequent stops ‘to adjust’ that elastic much like the manner Sachin Tendulkar does while batting. The problem was, even in Spiti, where the life style of people conspicuously reminds one of medieval ages, finding the old fashioned drawers was a pain (though much more bearable than the one we were already experiencing). So in Kaza we finally found them, in a dark hole-in-the-wall kind of a shop. It was funny wearing them, but the comfort was oh so satisfying. Rest of the trip was just a song,
Highly recommended for all bikers.


Ciao

Journey through Himalayas

"I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list"

The Journey:‘The circuit’ as it is called amongst the initiated, links Shimla and Manali through one of the most treacherously beautiful landscapes. Stretching from Apple orchards in Shimla hills to barren mountains in Spiti. Crossing well washed river valleys and two high mountain passes. The journey initiated at Shimla, went into Kinnaur, traversed the length of Spiti Valley and culminated in Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh.

The Bikers: Two friends of over 8 years now, shared a room for every day they spent in UG hostel at the HPKV in Palampur. Have been partners in crime, partners in good deeds and partners at the TT Table in the hostel. Gelling well and complementing each other on this demanding trip came easy.

Sandy:


Don’t mess with him if you think he has made his mind up. The guy won’t mince words if he has to call you a ‘A@#hole’. Very determined, street smart and blessed with a hyperactive metabolism, he is a bundle of energy. Like always, let me take up the leader position while riding. He says he rides faster if he is ahead, but I know, he understands that I hate to follow. He could have chosen any profession he pleased but chose to be a banker so that he could be where he belongs.

Sharad:


Won’t say much about myself (people who would read this, know me already). This journey was my very old dream, found a cohort in sandy and took off. One of the most satisfying experiences of my life. ‘Been there done that’.

The Machines:

Pulsars, a machine countless love and many more ride. Fell in love with this the moment I saw the prototype, somewhere in late 1990s. Bajaj redefined motor biking in India, the day it was launched in 2001.
150 Classic: 8 years old, but still packs a punch. Have been with me all these years and have traveled half the country with me. From Palampur to Pune to Delhi. Around 60000 kms and still with the original spark plug, awesome piece of engineering. Has never ditched me and knows my habit of saying “Don’t ditch me bro”, when I am scared of a puncture.
180 DTSFi: Sandy’s new beast. The power packed variant. Packs all the newey gizmos that my bike lacks. Have used it quite a lot in recent times, on all my trips to Palampur. Gives me confused times on my bike after I ride it, because to the gear shift patterns. We used this one every time we were using a single bike for an excursion, for the sheer power and handling it provides.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

Day 1, 12th June 2009: Shimla – Sarahan

"Ride easy, Ride long"

I reached Shimla at 1 PM from Delhi and Sandy reached half an hour before me from Palampur. We were on time. Met Dholta, who was supposed to be our 3rd companion on the trip, but dude had some urgent stuff to settle at Delhi and thus he bowed out. After having lunch and discussing the plan for the day, we started from Shimla at 3:30 PM.
The weather was great and the greenery around and cool breeze from the hills, charged us up. Reached Narkanda and it started raining heavily. Shit !! I thought, the plans would have to be changed first day onwards. Not to be... after 3 rounds of tea at the local sweet shop, the rain subsided and we started towards Rampur, a good 66 kms from there. Its was very cold and we did not have the required clothing, decided will stop for the night in Rampur. As soon as we reached Kumarsain, downwards from Narkanda, the weather changed and we were again in our t-shirts. Reached Rampur at 7 PM. The road is the best you can get in HP.

The road from Shimla to Rampur

It was still sunny so continued towards Sarahan, reached there at around 08:30 PM after another round of tea, this time at Jeori.
Checked the Bhimakali temple guesthouse, it was full. So checked into Bushahar Guest house right outside the Temple, It was 350 for the night. Nice cozy place. We were the only ones staying. Had dinner, retired for the night after a hot bath.

At the Bhimakali temple


Bhimakali temple - Sarahan

Day 2, 13th June 2009: Sarahan – Sangla – Kalpa

"The map is not the territory"

Only after getting up and going out of my room did I realize how beautiful this place was. It was already dark when we came. It was sunny and we were on the top of a hill, with the beautiful Bhimakali temple at the centre of this setting. Went to the temple and could not help but be surprised at the great architecture of the place. Had breakfast in the canteen and started for Sangla.
The road was in good shape and had these huge rock cut outcrops that scare you sometime.

Road to Kinnaur

And unlike the Kullu valley, which is flat, this valley of the river Sutlej is very deep and we came across nauseatingly deep gorges on our way. About 10 kms of the road is in bad shape because of the Baspa 2 project, from Wangtu till Karchham. Went to Powari first to fill up and then came back and started for Sangla. The view was mesmerizing.

Sangla Valley

We made up our mind that we would stay the night at Sangla rather than going to Kalpa, so beautiful was the place. After booking a room at the HPKV’s MAREC (Mountain Agriculture Research and Extension Center) at Sangla we continued to Chitkul, the last Village of India here, before the china border.

MAREC

The views were some of the best of this trip with running streams of water, lush green alpine surroundings and snow covered mountains.

Chitkul village

Spent about and hour and half at chitkul, went to the local deity’s temple and roamed around a bit. Saw the famous ‘Hindustan ka Akhri Dhaba’ which was sadly closed and came back.


The small downpour made weather much more beautiful, retired for the night at the newly built guest house. We were the only ones staying.

Our Rest house at MAREC

Day 3, 14th June 2009: Sangla – Tabo

"Maggi, Kazigs and Chandigarh"

After a good night’s sleep and resting the tired body I wake up to these enchanting views from my window. I and sandy discussed as to why people shoot movies in foreign locales, these scenes were as good as any.

The view from my window - Sangla

Had a quick breakfast, clicked some pics and started for Peo, our first stop. Peo was important because we had to search for a memory card for our camera. We ended up having just a 256MB card in our camera by mistake. Which meant just 70 pics before we had to find a computer to transfer pics? That was a screw up and we didn’t know whom to blame. Reached Peo and realized its Sunday. Still some guys there helped us to a shop and we got our hands on a 1 GB card (thank god). Started for Pooh, agreed upon as major stop on our way for lunch. But decided will stop for each and every good photo opp. The road is as good as any despite some landslide damages here and there. Crossed major villages of Akpa, Moorang and Spillo. Spillo had a International Police check post, got our bikes entered in the records.


Inner line starts here and foreign national are required to travel with a permit. We were already hungry when we reached Pooh, but since the village is a 4 kms detour from the NH, we decided to continue.


By now the scenery had dramatically changed from lush green to barren rocks.
Had lunch of Maggi at a small village of Dubling which had a dhaba.

Maggi masala

Continued to Khab, it had a small Bailey Bridge which runs above the confluence of Spiti river and Sutlej, which comes to India from Pare chhu lake in Tibet. After Khab the road amazed us, the loopy ‘Kazigs’ were amazing.


We gained about 5000 ft of altitude in just 20 kms. Felt a heavy breath for the first time, even after walking a few paces. We were now continuously riding on top of the mountains, everything seemed dwarfed and we could look into the eyes of high mountain summits next to us. It had a surreal feel to it. Visited the Nako Lake which is just a Kilometer of detour from the NH, the lake and the meadow though not very beautiful is still not worth a miss. In typical himachali fashion the village had a restaurant catering to Israeli visitors.

Nako village

Continued towards Sumdo and then to Tabo. Crossed the Notorious Malling Nullah on the way, which thankfully was behaving ok. Passed the Orchard rich village of Chango and reached Sumdo. Sumdo marks the end of NH 22, the Hindustan Tibet Marg, and also of district Kinnaur. The village also has a Police check post for passing vehicles, being a border area. NH continues to Kaurik, 17 kms from here. We started towards Tabo, entering Spiti Valley on SH 30, and following river Spiti from now on.
The first village in Spiti, Hurling scared me. The tea at a shop there was awful, seemed to have been made by anything but cow’s milk. Sandy jokingly asked the shop owner if it was Yak’s milk, but the guy insisted its Cow’s and I kept praying that the tea after this one in Spiti is bearable and also that people of the region don’t feed their cows with Tibetan delicacies.
Reached the darkish town of Tabo at 7 PM after passing orchard village of Lari. Tabo was dark because it was the second day of no electricity there. The caretaker at the HPPWD rest house, where we stayed, was so cool about it. Took a walk through the Tabo village and monastery, now closed, clicked some pictures, played some cricket with the Lama kids playing on the Helipad and retired for the day early. Still we were the only occupants of this rest house.

What?? Chandigarh


Tabo Village


Cricket with the little monks

Day 4, 15th June 2009: Tabo – Dhankar – Kaza

"When in doubt, ask the Lama"

Early in the morning after breakfast of Aalu Parathas, we went to see the 1100 year old Tabo Monastery. The famous monastery and cultural center of the medieval times, an important post of Indo- Tibetan trade ties in the past and host to a vast treasure of some of the Buddhism’s most famous, most revered and least understood art and manuscript collection. Tabo always made me curious. The mud structures made some 1100 years ago under the supervision of ‘The great translator’ Rin Chen Tzangpo, are intact, very less to no rains in this area have made sure the structures are not damaged. There are 7 temples in all in the complex and not all are open to visitors. We saw the Temple of Enlightened Gods and Boddhisatva Maitreya temple as well as the main assembly hall. Old structure and poor lighting made it a bit intimidating experience. The temples has beautiful murals and idols, some of them 1500 years old. After this enriching experience we left Tabo for Dhankar, Batteries of our phones and camera drained.



The 1100 years old Monastery complex

Dhankar is set on a hillock away from the main Tabo – Kaza highway. The approach to the village is beautiful, one can see the Dhankar fort and monastery complex from each corner and the anticipation makes the experience more fulfilling. Had to walk to the fort after parking our bikes and the thin air and low oxygen made it excruciating. The fort is very old, Dhankar used to be the capital of old Spiti kingdom. Also had a small Chapel with a Maitreya idol, took some pics here and continued to Lahlung, as suggested by the caretaker at Tabo rest house.

Dhankar fort and village

The road to Lahlung from Dhankar is not for the weak hearted. There is a link road from the main highway as well but we thought of doing some daredevilry. It’s a unmetteled road, as close to a Mule path as it could get. Splattered with stones and just for a single file. On each corner I could gaze into a 1000 + feet deep gorge below. Somehow we joined the link road and reached Lahlung. It’s a small village of just 110 souls, though one of the biggest villages in Spiti area wise. The village features a small Buddhist temple made in the same night as Tabo. We moved around and as we were asking for directions, the Headmaster of the local school (yes there is a school there) asked us in. The guy was from Kangra and it was his 6th year here, obviously he had no other time pass that day but to offer us black tea and chat up. The school is till 8th class and has 12 students. According to the teachers, the village folks are rich owing to the fact that they have a bumper pea crop every year. After saying our thanks and goodbye to the school staff we moved back on the same road towards Kaza.

Road to Lahlung from Dhankar


Lahlung Chapel


Lahlung Village

We joined the main State highway at Lingti and continued to Kaza. Reached there by lunch time. After parking ourselves in the plush Circuit House, we moved to see Kibber village and Kye monastery, not very far from Kaza. Kibber is the highest village in the world at 14000 ft. A fairly large village with 227 residents, a small market and a senior secondary school. Roamed around the village and the surrounding meadows a bit and continued downhill to Kye Monastery, Kye is a wonderful monument, perched upon a hillock, it served more of a fortress for Spiti than a center of Socio-religious importance. We clicked some amazing pics here since the whole greater Spiti valley is visible from its roof. The Lama there gave us a great guided tour of the monastery and answered many of my questions about Buddhism and its sects.

Gateway into Kaza




Kibber village


From the Kye Monastery rooftop


Lama at kye

We came back to Kaza early and since there was no electricity, Sandy had to use his SBI links to get into the bank so that we could charge our camera battery and also phones (they still would not be in use for 2 more days though). Roamed around the modest market and went back to the circuit house. While having dinner, lights came on, happy times, had first hot shower in 2 days and slept peacefully.

Day 5, 16th June 2009: Kaza – Chandratal lake via Kunzam pass

"Never trust the mountains"

Started early from Kaza, after a round in the market for food provisions and stuff we could need while camping in the Chandratal meadows. The roads towards Kunzam was good, we could see the Kye monastery from the road till a good while. The snowy mountains were coming nearer and nearer.

Riding towards Losar


Road to Losar

We decided to buy some woolens from Losar, last village in Spiti from this side and our stop for lunch. Reached Losar at around 12 mid day and by now had seen snow on the road atleast twice. We thought we would freeze at Kunzam, its over 600 m taller than Rohtang. Bought a woolen muffler each from Losar and had lunch of Rajma rice. Got our bikes entered in the police checkpost registered for the 3rd time in the trip. Bought some more stuff for the night and continued.



From Losar to Kunzam Pass

The road from here on is unmettled, but okay to ride, Kunzam about 19 km from Losar was reached in less than an hour. It was bright and sunny at the top, very less snow and beautiful. The part of the itinerary we were so scared off, was done with effortless comfort.



Temple at the summit

Everything seemed to fall in place, we took the customary round of the Kunzam Devi temple on the summit on our bikes and then continued downhill towards the road that branches off to Chandratal. After coming down a few Kilometers I saw the road branching off, we hit it. Though not a smooth ride, it was ok, till things started to get bad, there was a landslide on the way and hence we had to park our bikes and continue on foot. 10 meters of landslide screwed us for 8 long kilometers. We walked and walked, the weather by now had taken an unexpected turn for the worse. I could see some snow flakes on my black colored warmer.

Sign of a bad weather

By the time we reached Chandratal, the light snow shower had turned into a full-fledged blizzard. We found it extremely hard to install our tent in the on going snowstorm. Somehow we managed it and by that time everything including our bags were fully wet. We realized that we could not survive the night here in this snowstorm and extreme cold with just a tent and 2 thin sleeping bags. After about an hour or so when it became dark outside and the snow still continued in full flow, we started regretting the decision to continue on foot to this place. We were trapped, we surely could not survive here nor can we go back, the bikes were 8 kms away. Visibility outside was negligible. By the time I almost lost hope and was praying for a miracle that seemed very improbable, we heard someone whistling outside. Luckily this time we were not the only ones staying here. It was a guy from the DMAS (Directorate of Mountaineering & Allied Sports) in Manali, who were taking a trek to Baralacha, we found that they had camped right next to us. We were saved. The guy helped us with our tent and we had piping hot coffee in their mess tent. The guys were so reassuring they made us almost forget the fact that if it was not for them, we could have just frozen by morning. They guided us to, surprise surprise, a makeshift dhaba that comes up in Chandratal every June till September. The Dhaba wala was very friendly and very helpful, we sat in his tent for couple of hours, shared stories of mountains and legends of the lake, over tea, Old Monk and chips. The guys there helped us with mattresses and blankets and we could not stop thanking them. Very important lessons learnt “Never trust the mountain weather” and “In the mountains, money doesn’t matter, people do”.

Snowfall continues