ཨོཾ་མ་ཎི་པདྨེ་ཧཱུྃ (Om Mani Padme Hum) is a popular Buddhist mantra - you can transform your impure body, speech, and mind into the pure body, speech and mind of a Buddha. This is the most widely recognized inscription you will find across Spiti Valley - in monasteries, walls, shops, and souvenirs. Spiti is a mountainous desert place with fascinating valleys, snow-capped peaks, lakes, beautifully-crafted monasteries, ample spots for stargazing and very few human populations. Though popular, it continues to remain under-explored compared to other tourist places in India.
My belief in calling of places and destiny was further strengthened as I embarked on this trip. After 4 months of planning and cancelling trips to Shillong, Goa, Bangalore, Wayanad, and Thailand - an opportunity to travel to Spiti Valley was a welcome surprise. Call it my desperation or longing to travel, but the mind was simply not ready to let go off this chance despite soaring flight prices to Delhi. Trip was planned with tour operator 'The Travellers Shed', who specializes in tours to Spiti Valley. It was a 6N/7D trip with all major inclusions like breakfast, dinner, accommodation, and travel to and from Delhi at affordable rates.
Trip started on Sunday morning with our tour captain, Roshni, joining us at Shimla. After a light breakfast, we headed off on a long journey of 200+kms to Chitkul. On our way, we had short stopovers at Kinnaur, and a random waterfall. As we reached Sangla Valley market in evening, the sight of majestic Himalayan range with snow-capped peaks greeted our eyes. Somewhere amidst all the shops, there was a funny board which read 'Last wine shop of India' - indeed it was the last opportunity for most to buy booze. We had an overnight camping in Chitkul, which had better than expected facilities in form of space, blankets, and hot water. Beating negative temperature at Chitkul, we somehow managed to have a proper Indian dinner, thanks to a bonfire organized by our tour operator. There was an ice-breaker, self-introductory session wherein I got to know co-travellers like Sangeetha who too lived in Kodihalli Banaglore, Ritik who worked at Big Pitcher Old Airport Road, Dharik who has been into WFH for ~12 years, Archi & Roshni who too have done Skydiving earlier. Surprisingly, we even had a honeymoon couple between us (Shubham & Shubhangi).
Following morning after a heavy breakfast and photoshoots, we headed off to explore Chitkul valley filled with steep slopes. It was a beautiful, calm, and serene place - perfect for photoshoots, with snow-capped mountains in backdrop. Sitting by the river with gushing fresh water flowing felt like an ideal spot to write but thanks to my leaking gel pen, it was not meant to be. On our way to Tabo, we halted at Khab Bridge for lunch. This was a place where I felt that as travellers and humans, we need to be adaptable and flexible to available situation. In places like these, you are unlikely to find multiple cuisine options, so be ready to savour staple food items like rice, dal, curry. This is both healthy and cost-effective. Having reached Tabo, we quickly freshened up to feed our hungry stomach at Maitreya Regency. It was a cute restaurant with local seating design and delicious food. Next, it was time for some stargazing at the Helipad. It felt peaceful to sit under the roof of stars, under pitch darkness and equally excited to explore various constellations through iPhone. A small group of us met early morning next day, for a small hike up to the Tabo Cave. Although the cave was not exciting enough, but the view was surely worth the morning hike and effort. We then enjoyed a small laugh over a cup of tea at Cafe Kyot Le. Before leaving for Kaza, we visited Tabo Monastery, believed to be one of the holiest ones around. Only 5-6 can enter the main area at a time to experience the beautifully crafted paintings on the walls. At its entrance, it even had a Lord Ganesha statute. Surrounding the main monastery were the resting place of various monks with beautiful engravings on each one of them.
Enroute Kaza, we visited Dhankar Monastery, built around 1000 years ago with archaeologists officially terming it as endangered. Zig zag path towards the monastery was a fun ride to have with beautiful structures in background. This monastery also has a room which was earlier used by His Holiness 14th Dalai Lama and a meditation centre. Major attraction of this place are the picturesque views of the valley and mountains from the clifftop. We had a heavy lunch here by indulging in items like momos, thupka, fried rice and others. Evening ride to Kaza had some breathtaking views of mountains - raw and carefully crafted. Our den for next 3 nights was going to be a property owned by tour operator with promises of fulfilling all our needs. Kaza market was at a walking distance with cafes, clothing shops, fruits, and drinks in abundance. It was a memorable night as we indulged in a small celebration for our anniversary couple filled with love stories from all around.
Day 4 started with a visit to Chicham Bridge (Asia's highest) with panoramic views all around. One can easily spend a couple of hours, simply taking photos all around. We stopped at Kibber, a small town with sublime mountain ranges in backdrop. It was more of another photoshoot location. Next, we visited Kee Monastery, built at an altitude of 4100+ meters above sea level. Although the sloppy path to the monastery and viewpoint can be difficult but trust me, the experience inside the monastery along with the views of the entire landscape and gusty winds, will surely make it a memorable moment. One can indulge in quiet, peaceful conversations with monks who are ever-available to answer any questions. Post a tricky climb, one can indulge in some tasty food at Noryang Hotel & Restaurant (next to Kee Monastery). In the evening, we had another bonfire at a mud house with drinks as we danced to the tunes of some nasty numbers.
Day 5 was perhaps the most memorable day for most of us around - with mesmerizing Langza, to mouth-watering lunch at Komic, and Hikkim (world's highest post office). Langza Village is one of the remotest villages in India with a huge Buddha statue. We were lucky enough to experience snowflakes and a drizzle. Ginger lemon tea at this place is highly recommended, to suit both your cold hands and throat. Lunch at Komic, World's Highest Restaurant, hands down lived up to its expectations. Pancake, white sauce pasta and hot chocolate are must-have dishes out here. You can obviously indulge in other mountain special items to fill your stomach like thenthuk, siddhu, thupka. With a childish and innocent urge, we hurried to send beautiful postcards and messages to our loved ones from Hikkim. By the end of day, I had caught cold and fever but fortunately, my friends around helped me with everything - medicines, fruits, and food.
Visit to Chandratal was supposed to be the highlight of our trip. Camping at around -10°C, freezing temperature, and stargazing - it was like a match made in heaven. As luck would have it, there was a landslide enroute Manali and hence we had to cancel our visit to Chandratal. Luckily, we did not have to take a U-turn like traveller companies. For obvious reasons, everyone was disappointed to have come this close but still miss out on this lifetime opportunity. However, equally appreciative was the effort from our tour operator to have a backup plan for a trip to Kalpa and an overnight stay where many indulged in an enchanting stargazing. A weird thing at Gue Mummy visit was to see our clocks switching to Beijing time instead of IST owing to proximity to China border.
Trip ended with a long but scenic-filled journey to Shimla. By now, we 12 had become friends, sharing stories, playing games, and laughing out aloud pulling each other's leg. Thanks to Vivek & Sonam for having us over in Delhi on both occasion and Aditi didi for a delicious lunch + Yuvaan.
Ayush - you were my man throughout the trip, just a call/message away from helping.
Thus far, I have always longed for foreign trips to Europe, South America, Pacific Islands but this trip to Spiti has had a big impact on my thinking. I now long for more trips within India, explore more of the extremes. Please suggest more places to explore in India and I will be ever-grateful to you.
Pic courtesy - everyone from 10th June Spiti trip..
