5 day tour of Spiti from <a href="http://www.wide-aware.com/community/Article74.htm" title="Manali">Manali</a> :: Adventures in India :: Informative articles, reviews, travelogues, itineraries and tour ideas

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Dec 04, 2008

Himalaya: 5 day tour of Spiti from Manali

Just sharing a quick email I had dashed off to a friend who wanted to visit Spiti so that I can simply share it with more friends who are interested (yeah Satya... you inspired this).
This is how I see the tour:

Manali to Losar across the Hampta Pass and Kunzum pass: Expect a dramatic change of scenery fromm green to desert across the Hampta Pass, a dusty, but visually stunning ride along the Chandra river toward its origin (you'll be going there tomorrow) on your right just before Batal, you should be able to see the tail of the Bara Shigri glacier (far above). This is the second biggest glacier in India (and perhaps the world - I'm bad with statistics). On the top of the Kunzum Pass is a recently revamped, but ancient in terms of tradition temple to the Palden lhamo (Kali). The road detours from the main "highway" to go around the temple here. It is believed that she protects travellers. Views from here are worth taking a breather from the long drive for. You have the Chandra Bhaga range (popular among climbers) in clear sight. You continue on toward Losar (with those stunning mountains I was speaking of on your left)

Losar - Chandratal - Losar: This is a day best begun early to afford the most time at the lake. Retrace your route to the base of the Kunzum pass and follow an extremely narrow dirt track to the Chandratal lake. There is a story about this lake you should be able to read on my site. Spend some time doing nothing. Your life is now changed for ever ;) After this whenever you hear the word Chandratal, your mind is going to be right here on the shore of the lake for the rest of your life. I'm not exaggerating. Try and make moves to return by 2pm, to reach Kibber in daylight and to be able to enjoy the charm of this place as well.

Kibber - Ki monastery - Kaza - Guiling (Pin Valley): Ki monastery is one of the 5 main monasteries of this region. It looks rather like a stack of boxes in an untidy store house (you'll see what I mean when you see it) It's a monastery worht visiting for its dingy atmosphere and friendly lamas. Time doesn't have passed much here, except in the areas renovated by the archaeological survey of India. Do visit their kitchens for a cup of butter tea (be warned - it tastes more like soup than tea). Kaza is the headquarters of Spiti and the most boring place in the entire valley. Some amazing chowmein for lunch can be found here, supplies can be purchased, etc, but not much to hold a person's interest unless you are looking for facilities like hospital, school, etc. set in a really uninspiring manner. You might want to visit the market if you want to pick up some fossils. Pin Valley is a branch off the main Spiti Valley, and Guiling is its main town. Khungri Gompa, the only gompa in this valley from the Nyingmapa sect of Tibetan Buddhism is to be found here. Phuchen Lamas are tantric lamas from this place. I've got another article about them on the site too. Other things of interest might be those gaited ponies I told you about (even if you don't ride, you'll see people travelling on them in any case). Lot of stuff happening in this day.

Guiling - Dhankar - Lhalung - Tabo: Dhankar is a monastery on a cliff. It has an interesting story too, but I'll leave it for when we meet (too much typing). The new monastery is nice and all that, but the fun is in the old monastery which you can explore. It is about a km walk from the new one on the road. Lhalung is a tiny little thing when compared with these great monasteries of the valley, but I like it best of all. A three room monastery that has been in contant use for 1000 years, it has huge statues on the walls of its tiny prayer hall, that are kind of overwhelming when you walk in. If a lama called Tenzin is still there, you might want to visit his room for some refreshments and he also has fossils to sell sometimes. He might request for donations (this monastery is not protected by the archaeoligical survey of India - and renovations get expensive). Tabo is the Ajanta of this part of the Himalaya. An ancient campus of temples and halls, it was a huge centre of learning. You can stay in monastery provided rooms (looking at the deserted campus from a long forgotten time in the moonlight). Do attend the morning prayers for a feel of what they are like. They can get a bit boring though - about an hour (but are always followed by hot tea for all)

Tabo - Manali - Bhuntar: Do attend the morning prayers. The valley will feel like a home as you return along the route. The green of the Kullu valley comes like a visual shock after all these days of green-deprivation. You can halt in Manali for a bit and then go to Bhuntar for the night. Do eat in Chopsticks (mutton chowmein) or Mayur (all sorts of Indian food) - Incredible food.