Spiti Valley: 9 Things to Know Before You Go.

By Shivya Nath.

Ladakh's lesser-known neighbor, the cold mountain desert of Spiti, is for travellers who dare to drift from the tourist trails. Spiti's postcard villages remain remotely tucked away in the lap of the mighty, barren Himalayas of Himachal Pradesh, and it is here that you can hike along Snow Leopard and Himalayan Wolf habitats, visit monasteries dating back over a 1000 years, sample a fascinating culture and cuisine different from the rest of India, and meet the kindest of people who live the harshest of lives. This is a world within a world, as Rudyard Kipling once described it. 

Spiti Valley: An Unforgettable Trip!

By Divya Rai.

Editor's Note: Divya travelled with India Untravelled to Spiti Valley, Himachal Pradesh in June 2013, and shares her experience here.

The first thought that strikes you about Spiti is that it is not for the average tourist. The land of surrealism promises amazing adventures -- but only for those who have an adventurous streak in them. After all, “the traveler sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see.”

If you wish to go to Spiti, you must begin by carrying no images and expectations -- this will let you come back with a backpack full of your own set of unforgettable experiences. And what a great seto f experiences it is: the terrain, the views, the weather and the food leave a lasting impact on the sternest of souls! 

Ours was a 6-day trip starting from Manali and we had been wisely advised by India Untravelled to travel solo (i.e. without bringing along people we already knew). This helped us bond with a new set of people who shared our hobbies and interests. In all fairness, taking friends along might even kill it for you.

Our group of 9 people was bound to Spiti from Manali and back to Manali again. Initially, I was very apprehensive about travelling to a land of no-cellphone-connectivity and rugged terrain. Little was I to know that, during the journey, these two factors would be the most important reasons for making my trip worthwhile. 

We started from Manali on 22nd June. We were up even before the sun was, since starting early helps in dealing with the unpredictable factors that come bundled with a terrain like Spiti’s. It was an amazing, tiring yet fulfilling 12 hours journey to Kaza. We had taken Diamox [a medicine for altitude sickness] and acclimatisation wasn’t much of a problem. A few of us who were still feeling uneasy were better the next day when we reached Tabo, which is it a lower altitude than Kaza. There was also an option for a trek to the Dhanker lake, which all of us took and completed successfully -- despite various levels of fitness, or lack of it.

The most interesting parts of the trip were the home-stays in two villages -- Demul and Komik. One needs to be welcoming to the idea of living and experiencing rural-life for a day or two without comparing it to the one we lead in our cities. Or, even if you do, you need to question “why is it so” instead of being condescending about it. 

Try and live the experience with all your senses: the sight, sounds, smells, temperature at various times in a day, at various places. Or the cool breeze and harsh sun against your skin at the same time. Not being camera-obsessed helps too -- in not missing the experience of observing it with your naked eyes. 

To go from Demul to Komik, we undertook a Yak safari. Those of us who didn’t want to ride the yaks had the option of riding horses. It was a trek of 14 kms. Throughout the course of the journey, after every mountain or two, a landscape totally different from the previous one would unfold itself like the work of a magician. But then, is there a defter magician than Mother Nature herself?

All the while, it is imperative that you stay aware of your body’s ability to acclimatise and not ignore any subtle hints it might be trying to convey to you. Trekking, safari, cycling etc. must only be undertaken if you feel absolutely comfortable -- breathlessness or any other kind of discomfort must not be ignored.

A few of us chose to cycle from Langza to Kaza, which is 17 kms on a rocky landscape, albeit with a proper road. Since it is completely downhill, you really zip through the entire route and the 17 kms flash by sooner than you know.

We also enjoyed Spitian cuisine -- something you must try when you are there. The foodie in you will feel blessed. Give the local liquor a shot too! 

Of all the monasteries we visited, Kyee monastery was (and is) my favourite -- possibly because of the quaint way it is perched on a mountain slope.

Kaza also happened to be the last stop on our Spiti trip. (You will see a remarkable increase in the level of ease with the thin air when you are back to Kaza from the entire trip, as compared to the first day.)

I plan to visit Spiti again soon since one trip is too short to familiarise oneself with this artwork of the Almighty. In the year 2014, the honourable Dalai Lama is slated to visit -- that would be an excellent time to go!

Author Bio: Divya is an entrepreneur with a passion for travelling and is, in her words, "currently footloose and fancy-free". Find more of her travel writings on her blog.

For more ideas on offbeat and responsible destinations in India, visit www.indiauntravelled.com or join India Untravelled on Facebook and Twitter. To contribute guest posts / photo essays to this blog, please see our contribution guidelines and send your story ideas to blog@indiauntravelled.com.

Surreal Spiti.

By Mansee Shah.

Mansee travelled to Spiti on a trip organized by India Untravelled in June 2012, and is back to take us on a virtual journey around Spiti.

I travelled to Spiti in June 2012. I had not even heard of the place before I came across this site  http://indiauntravelled.com/trips.html, fell in love with a snap posted on it, and decided that I wanted to visit there. I checked with a few friends if they wanted to join, but unfortunately they could not, due to work / social engagements and the works. Anyways, the enchanting photograph was still in my mind and I decided to travel solo. Joined a trip organised by India Untravelled and had one of the most awesome experiences ever!

The beauty of Spiti lay in the diversity of the place – hard rocky terrain, gushing water, snow capped moutains, greenery (though in bits and pieces– otherwise it is rocky terrain) and the beautiful monasteries…all of it just awesome  Surrounded by the Himalayas, you will find yourself seeing the varied beauty of the mountains while doing ordinary things like sipping tea, having lunch or just plain gazing.

Tying prayer flags in Spiti.

Interacting with the locals was so engaging – they are so hard working and yet so simple. I especially fell in love with our guide – Tsering, and this cute couple in a Dhaba.

The cutest couple at Chandra dhaba.

Some of the must visit places in Spiti are:

• Kaza, a vibrant town which has a petrol pump at highest altitude levels.
• Tabo, the most charming place in Spiti – be it the charming people, the 1000 year old Tabo monastery, the caves, the souvenir shops, everything is just heart tugging.
• Dhankar, whose monastery is precariously perched on the mountains, and Dhankar lake.
• Trip from Demul to Komic — if you are fit, its a moderate 4-5 hours trek. If you are unfit (like me  ), then opt for a yak.
• Komic, a charming village and homestay, also do send some postcards from the highest post office in Asia at Hikkim (close to Komic village)

Hiking back from Dhankar Lake.

Locking horns mountain goat.

The secret lives of the lamas (monks) of Spiti!

We missed out on Pin Valley and Chaandrataal lake due to landslides but pictures show they are extremely beautiful locations so definitely “must dos” if in Lahaul - Spiti Valley.

The best and the worst part about the trip was the journey. Worst because the road from Manali to Kaza is quite rocky and is not for the faint hearted who are used to travelling smooth. But if you do manage it, I can promise its the most awesome journey ever. You will always be worried about dozing off because you dont want to miss a single moment of natural exquisite beauty. Cannot describe it in words. Especially loved the Kumzum pass   There are some moments when the entire body is smiling and you feel just happiness and quiet joy within. I experienced that there 

Enchanting times.

Go experience that you!

Author Bio: When she is not slumming it out at work, the author enjoys the good things in life - yummy food, appealing books, interesting movies, vivacious conversations, and of late, she has started to enjoy exploring various locations as well.  She writes sporadically at http://mansee-pov.blogspot.in/  and http://manseelikes.wordpress.com/ and tweets @ManseeT.

For more stories off the beaten path in India, visit www.indiauntravelled.com or join India Untravelled on Facebook and Twitter. To contribute guest posts / photo essays to this blog, please send your story ideas to shivya@indiauntravelled.com. 

Lahaul & Spiti: The Wilderness Beckons.

By Ashwin Sharma.

Ashwin takes us on a virtual trip to one of the most magnificent places in India - the high Himalayas of Spiti & Lahaul. Get in touch with us to organize a trip for you to this cold mountain desert.

Lahaul & Spiti are two separate places, but collectively form a district capable of mesmerizing anyone. Lahaul & Spiti is a valley which can leave you bewitched; the beauty of this place will make you pinch yourself to believe it’s no dream. It’s a pristine and primeval place, with a charm and charisma that even the heavens might refuse to offer.

Spiti in winter.

The district of Lahaul-Spiti lie in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The valley is adjacent to the Tibetan border and therefore resembles Tibet in more than many ways. Both words, Lahaul and Spiti, come from the Tibetan language. Lahaul means ‘southern country’, while Spiti means ‘middle country’, and these names perfectly define their location.

Lahaul, still untouched by mass tourism, gives a feel of time coming to a standstill. Situated on the Indo-Tibetan border along the Manali-Leh route, the region unveils its treasure of monasteries and countless number of streams and rivers. Spiti, famously known as "Little Tibet", is surrounded by mountains and glaciers, and abounds in monasteries, houses perched on mountain tops, and free flowing crystal clear rivers and streams. The valley is cut-off from other parts of the country in winter, and is practically accessible only in summer.

Buddhism in Spiti.

Places to visit in Lahaul & Spiti:

Rohtang Pass: Rohtang literally means pile of dead bodies, and is not a very high pass at 3900m. It is the first pass at the beginning of Lahaul-Spiti, and sets the tone for what's to come.

Key Monastery: Key monastery holds a powerful sway over the buddhist population in the state, and is one of the favourites of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Kunzum Pass: The main access point to the Spiti valley from Lahaul, which is separated from Spiti by the Kunzum range.

Kaza: Kaza is where the administrative headquarters of Spiti are located. The town has a measly population.

Spiti River.

Kibber: It’s a small village but a blue water lake named Tso Moriri is not very far from it, so it is a place to stay for adventurists going on Tso Moriri trek.

Keylong: Keylong is the district headquarter of Lahaul & Spiti. This town is the commercial center of Lahaul & Spiti, and the only town in district where you have access to urban amenities.

Sarchu: It is a town about 100kms from Keylong. Most of the tourists traveling to Leh stay in Sarchu, though most of the accommodations are tented ones. Sarchu is at an altitude of 4300m, and because of the height many people feel the symptoms of altitude sickness.

Sarchu.

Dhankar Monastery: This monastery is around 20 kms from Kaza, in the eastern part of Spiti. The village has a fort perched on top of a hill. The monastery is old and important.

Chandrataal: This is where the Chandra river originates. It’s a beautiful lake and is near to Kunzum Pass. Chandrataal is frequented by tourists during summer, and it’s as picturesque as a lake can be.

Suraj Taal: This beautiful lake lies near the very famous Bara-lacha La. It is at a height of around 5000 m . River Bhaga originates from this place. This lake is perfect for camping, away from all the crowds, in god’s own territory.

Author Bio: Ashwin Sharma is a travel blogger, currently working with Cheapoair.com. 

To plan & book a trip to Lahaul - Spiti, email us at shivya@indiauntravelled.com.

For more stories off the beaten path in India, visit www.indiauntravelled.com or join India Untravelled on Facebook and Twitter. To contribute guest posts / photo essays to this blog, please send your story ideas to shivya@indiauntravelled.com. 

Tabo: An Alternative Guide.

By Aditi Rao.

Aditi travelled on an India Untravelled trip to the high Himalayas of Spiti, and is back to take us on a virtual journey along Tabo monastery, which dates back over a 1000 years.

If the monastery at Tabo is a checkmark on your to-do list, listen to the guides, and go there at 9 AM, when the gods are ready to meet the tourists.

If you want to catch the gods when they are more at ease, ignore your guide, and go there at sunset. The temples will be locked, sure, but the gods are around, relaxing after a long day of meeting with pilgrims and tourists. They have time to chat.

The monastery at Tabo, minus the people

It doesn’t matter if this is your first day in Tabo; you can’t not find the gorgeous mud structures. There is no way not to notice the piles of engraved rocks — no way not to know that this spot, with its broken wall and open gate, is sacred.

Once inside, close your eyes. Listen to the river gurgling in the distance, the birds who know to keep their chatter to a respectful volume. Open your eyes, and watch the mud temples and walls against the crystal sky. Watch the sky tracing the outlines of the larger mud walls, the mountains in the distance. Breathe in the prayers of a millennium.

Carvings around one of the temple doors in the monastery.

That might be the most important thing — breathe deeply. You will need that air later.

If you are there to ask the gods for favors, I won’t promise that they will answer. They are off duty (would you pick up a client’s call at midnight?). But if you are there for conversation, there to listen to the secrets they have been keeping for a thousand years, there for friendship rather than for favors, I’m willing to bet you will not be disappointed.

The main stupa in Tabo.

The locals tell me that one must walk clockwise through this monastery. I trust them on that — you probably should too. All the same, the first time I went in, no one had told me yet to move clockwise, and so I didn’t. I moved from structure to structure, as they called out to me, beckoned me over. I ran my hands over the engravings on the doors, and I sat down to write outside the temple of the mother goddess. I had my back to her, and I wondered briefly how she felt about that, but ultimately, she didn’t seem to care. She knew I meant no disrespect. I was there for love, for friendship, and I think she understood that. I think that meant more to her than did the direction in which I walked or faced.

A family from Shimla comes up every summer to cultivate these fields of green peas in Tabo.

As you walk out, stop by the shops. The shopkeepers, who have been just as busy with tourists all day as the gods have been, have time to talk in the evening. Let them tell you about what brought them to this town — or what leads them away from this town every winter and brings them back every spring. Let them tell you about another god and where you can meet him, April to October, for a week at a time (it doesn’t matter if you don’t want to meet him — it’s good to know anyway). Let one of them invite you home for tea or sell you a scarf for your mother. Let them explain to you the flags that tourists will buy. Let them give you the stories that cannot be bought.

Walk to the river. Get lost. Let a farmer tell you which way to go, allow you a shortcut through her fields. Let yourself get more lost in those fields when she disappears before you’ve found your way. Accept the slosh of your shoes wading through just-irrigated fields. Stretch your arms into a T, learn to balance on the narrow raised ledges crisscrossing through the fields. Find your way through the barbed wire, back at the mud structures.

Green relief against the desert's starkness.

Go into the monastery one more time. If you’re lucky, it is now dark enough for the stars. If you’re really lucky, there is no moon, and the stars have free reign of this particular night. Walk through the monastery again, this time by starlight. Walk silently — the gods are probably asleep, and so is most of the town.

Relish being awake and alive amongst resting gods. It may be the closest you ever come to godness.

Birds against a crystal sky.

Author Bio: The author is a writer, educator, and dreamer. She currently works in New Delhi, blogs at http://aditirao.net, and lives everywhere she can.

For more stories off the beaten path in India, visit www.indiauntravelled.com or join India Untravelled on Facebook and Twitter. To contribute guest posts / photo essays to this blog, please send your story ideas to shivya@indiauntravelled.com. 

Spiti: Ladakh's lesser known cousin.

By Shivya.

As I walk along the green fields of Pin, I smile in delight at the pink, purple and yellow flowers in bloom; I haven’t seen greenery for the last 3 days in the mountain desert terrain of Spiti. I carefully walk the fragile bridge across the Spiti River, to the village of Gulling, where I hope to hitch-hike my way back to Kaza, Spiti’s capital, instead of waiting for a bus the next morning.

 I have never hitch-hiked in India before; it would be a parent’s worst nightmare for their 23-year-old daughter in the northern cities of India. But 2 weeks in Spiti have convinced me that there isn’t a safer alternative to travel the region. The mountain people welcome you with big hearts, space or no space, and it’s a great way to meet fellow mountain travelers.

As I reach Gulling, I’m greeted by a gorgeous view of green slopes topped by snow-capped peaks, some of which have melted into swift waterfalls. The aroma of freshly cooked breakfast draws me in to a little dhaba. I chat with the cook as he beats some eggs, and ask him if any cars will be heading to Kaza soon. Immediately, he calls out to an elderly gentleman, who in turn, summons some boys to find me a ride; by the time my breakfast is done, the entire village is scrambling around to find a way to get me to Kaza.

 The cook invites me to take refuge in the shade of his dhaba for the few or many hours before a car passes by their humble village, but I insist on taking my restless self to walk the single road of the village under the trees. As I stroll along, every passer-by has a smile to give and help to offer. A young man tries to initiate a conversation in English. I oblige, and gradually break into Hindi, to which he seems surprised. Immediately, he insists that I join him for tea, and as I run out of excuses, I follow him into a shed by the roadside. He calls a boy and tells him to make us his best tea, and as the boy heads out, I look at the tattered, isolated surroundings of the shed. Over the next hour, I hear everything about this man and his family, his entrepreneurial spirit, and his move to Pin from Manali. It’s only in Spiti, I think to myself, that my eyes didn’t subconsciously dart around for escape routes.

I find a ride just after noon, and as we drive through the precarious mountain roads, with the majestic Himalayas watching over us, I feel glad, yet again, that Spiti has salvaged the notion of atithi devo bhava for me; all the world has heard of Indian hospitality, but living in the cities made it seem like a hoax.

 Traveling to & in the Spiti Valley:

I am charmed by the landscape in some of the highest villages in the Himalayas; the sky seems to get bluer as I go higher, and surprisingly, the mountain slopes get greener. Typically, these mountain villages have a population of merely 50-100 people in a dozen or less households, and are 5-10 hour hikes away from Kaza, Spiti’s administrative headquarters and a good base to explore the region. Perhaps it is this unique geography that hasn’t allowed the peculiarities of urban India to seep into its hospitable culture.

Recommended: The villages of Langhza, Komic and Kungri.

 I am convinced that life couldn’t be easy in these villages during the winter months, when temperatures dip below -30 degree Celsius on average, practically cutting off the valley from the rest of India. The locals must hoard food and wood during the summer to be able to survive the extreme conditions. Despite their hardships, the spirit of the locals is heartening. They derive much of their conviction from the teachings of Tibetan Buddhism, some of the oldest monasteries of which are perched precariously on hills in the valley and associated with fascinating folklore & legends.

Recommended: The monasteries of Key, Dhankar and Tabo.

 Spiti’s location on the leeward side of the Himalayas has deprived it of much rainfall, but the Spiti River and the Dhankar Lake can charm any traveler.

Summer (May-October) is the best time to visit Spiti, either via the 20-hour paved road from Shimla or the 10-hour dirt road from Manali. While the journey is not for the faint-hearted, it is certainly one of the most spectacular routes I’ve ever traveled.

It is upon every independent traveler to protect and conserve Spiti’s fragile ecology. 

Travel can also be organized via India Untravelled; our partners in Spiti ensure that all trips into the trans-Himalayas are carbon neutral. Volunteering options are also available.