There are some Road trips which manifests you to breathtaking views everywhere you look. A road trip to Spiti valley is one of those.

Well, for some, travelling solo is the ultimate contentment but for others, travelling with a group takes the preference. I went to Spiti (by Road) with a bunch of 12 friends so as to make it a budget trip (since the cost of travel and accomodation would be well shared among all). It costed us 10-12k INR per head for a 9 day trip (Delhi to Delhi) with all the luxury(almost) accomodations. We hit the roads in 1st week of June,2017.

Day 1 : Delhi to Narkanda ( via Shimla) ( Approximate time of travel : 12-14 hours)

We stared from from Delhi at around 9 PM in volvo bus to Shimla > Reached Shimla in the morning .We had our traveller vehicle ( which can accomodate 14 people) booked for the next 8 days. Bybassing the main shimla city center, we directly stared our fun ride from Shimla to Narkanda and reached there in next 4 hours , along with a little tea and gossip break in between. I remember, it was a bright sunny morning but the breeze was chilly.

Day 2 : Narkanda 

Narkanda, also called as Narkand by the locals there, is only 65 kms from Shimla but the ascend in height is good ( 500 metres more than Shimla). Due to its good height, Narkanda receives a good amout of snowfall in Winters as compared to Shimla. We stayed at Narkanda for the 2nd day. Most of my friends visited Hatu Peak and Hatu Temple for a short trek but I, rather, prefered to Visit apple Orchids nearby ( owned by a friend) to spend some peaceful and relaxing time , learning about how to grow apples and other fruits, from the care taker/ gardener  there. As the sun was about to set and dusk was approaching, the temperature started to decrease. We went to a nearby Cafe to chill for some time, strolled along the small central market and then finally headed back to our respective rooms late at night.

Day 3 : Narkanda to Kalpa ( Approximate time of travel : 6-7 hours)

Of all the places in mountains I have been to, this place – kalpa, is one of the most scenic places. It is a very small and peaceful town in Kinnaur District. It is generally very cold there, even in June and has an amazing view of good great Himalayan Range. While taking an evening stroll with freinds to a local market there, I witnessed some breathtaking views of Sunset, still  very fresh in my mind. There is very less population in Kalpa, so if you want some peaceful time, kalpa is not very far.

Day 4 :Kalpa to Kaza ( Approximate time of travel : 6-7 hours)

While going from Kalpa to Kaza, I witnessed the real beauty of Spiti Valley. If you have been to leh by Road, you will identify some similar landscapes here too – Big naked mountains with very less green cover over them. During winters, these moutains are fully covered with snow. From Shimla to Kinnaur, now we have reached Lahul and Spiti District.  While on our way from Kalpa to Kaza, we also went to Nako. Nako is a very small settlement of people in a specific area. Nako is mainly famous for Nako monastery and Nako Lake. Although both the places were a little dissapointing for me but altogether nako village was quite Scenic. So i preffed to chill and relax at a green farm I found nearby. From Nako we went striaght to Kaza.

Day 5 : Kaza 

Kaza is a big town and has a lot of sight seeing to do. It has many hostels for backpackers and luxury hotels(don’t expect 3 stars) also. Kaza is generally freezing since it is placed between very huge mountains, and situated along the spiti river. We witnessed a sky full of stars during the night. At that time, we went out on the pitch dark roads, took our laser lights and played some trippy games. By the grace of Bonfire and old monk , we survived the night.

The next day some peopele went to the world’s highest post office situated in Hikkim. Yes, world’s highest post office is in India. I had no interest, so I rather visited Komic Village. It was one hell (sarcastically) of a place. So Quite and peaceful that you won’t want to utter even a single word from your mouth. Although, oxygen was a little less there but manageable. There is this small eating place there which serves maggi, momos, tea, and chinese dishes. I wish i could have stayed there for a night. And yes, it was extremely windy there. We took our fris-bee, but coudn’t play due to strong winds.

Day 6 : Kaza to Chandrataal ( Approximate time of travel : 6-7 hours)

Now, this road from Kaza to Chandrataal via Kunzum pass gives you a bumpy ride. After reaching chandrataal, there is no option other than staying in tents. There are pre-installed swiss tents just 1 km prior to Chandrataal, which costs you your around 1500 INR inclusive of dinner and breakfast , Or you can also camp on your own with due permission. We booked a swiss camp and started our trek to chandrataal.

When we reached the Lake, it was very beautiful but a little crowded. So we planned to walk a little ahead, along the boundaries of the lake to reach a destination with no people aroud. It was very windy there so coudn’t spend more time ( 1.5 hour). Personally, I liked Pangong Lake (Leh) more than Chandratal somehow. Then we came back to our tents.

In the night, we saw the milky way galaxy – the reason I went all the way from Delhi to Chandrataal. Temperature was below freezing point with winds at good speed , so most of the people were inside their tents, and only a few enthusiastic who wanted to witness and capture the mighty Milky way in their cameras were out for the night.

Day 7 : Chandrataal to Old Manali ( Approximate time of travel : 8 hours)

Now, we started our journey back towards Delhi but through a different route (via Manali). That’s the best part of Spiti trip that you get to see a lot of places. During summers, you can reach Spiti via Shimla/Narkanda and come back via Manali(which is comparatively shorter route). But during winters, when Rohtang pass is closed due to heavy snowfall , only option to reach/come back from Chandrtaal is via Shimla/Narkanda only.

People became very excited when they saw a lot of snow at Rohtang pass, but as I have already seen a lot, so not such excitement for me. The only sad or irritating part at rohtang was the traffic jam. The traffic jam usually starts from rohtang pass and continues till manali. So after crossing rohtang pass, we started our journey on foot and reached Old Manali. Old manali is still better than Manali in terms of less population of tourists and uphill accomodations. Plus old manali has some really cool river side cafes where you can drink booze along with enjoying Live music. The most popular cafe in Old manali is 1947, till date. We booked our hotel which was up above a hill and can be reached after 10-15 mins of trekking. Surrounded by forest and with a beautiful view of snow covered mountains from the balcony and lawn, it was so relaxing .We had some real good fun there by playing games and narrating horror stories late night. That’s the advantage of travelling in a group.

Day 8 : Old Manali and back to Delhi

During day, we spent some time exploring cafes nearby and left for Delhi by catching the late night bus.