After an amazing ride on Day 1 where we kind of got a glimpse of what to expect in the next few days with regards to weather and accommodation, we were set to start our ride on Day 2. It had rained all night in Kumarsain.
A good 8+ hours of sleep meant we were totally fresh and the fatigue due to lack of sleep the previous night was all gone. From our breakfast conversation with the locals, we got to know that it snowed at Narkanda. Luckily for us, we did not stay at Narkanda and Kumarsain being at a much lower altitude, it just rained.
Around 9 am, the sun was out and it seemed like a perfect day for riding. The view from our room was simply mesmerizing.
Rain was forecast for Kinnaur district in most of the towns on the route we were supposed to ride on and therefore we decided to keep our rain gears easily accessible. Our intended destination for the night was Sangla and we were continuously tracking the weather thanks to 4G internet connectivity! A maximum temperature of 0 and a minimum temperature of -6 with snowfall prediction meant that we also had to keep our winter clothing handy.
The gypsy made our lives much easier because we loaded all our luggage in it and had to just ride. No hassles of tying any kind of luggage! A huge relief indeed. Around 10:30 am, we started our ride towards Rampur. The roads were a treat to ride on and we managed to cruise comfortably.
 |
| First stop for pictures thanks to the gorgeous backdrop |
 |
| Look at the roads and the mountains in the background! |
It was a descent all through till Luhri, which is just 1000 meters above sea level compared to Narkanda which is at 2700 metres. After riding for about 20 km, we had the river Satluj on our left in full flow to give us company. Little did we know that Satluj will not leave our side all the way till Karchham!
 |
| Approaching Rampur |
 | ||
You can see the Satluj River below
|
We halted at Rampur, a beautiful over-populated town, for lunch when we met two more people making their way to Spiti Valley on motorcycles- Sumit and Gopal, natives of Lahaul and Manali respectively. As we started talking, Gopal mentioned that Ghanshyam was his mountaineering course instructor and he only stopped because he saw his teacher in the middle of the road! Luckily for us, we were now 6 of us. The more, the merrier is absolutely true when you are riding in the mountains in winter! Fortunately, there was no rain trouble till here and the weather was superb.
 |
| From L-R: Ghanshyam, Sumit, myself, Abishek and Gopal |
Our next halt was supposed to be the Maa Bhimkali Temple, dedicated to Goddess Bhimkali who was worshipped by the erstwhile rulers of Rampur. It was going to be a 16 km detour off the main highway from Jeori to Sarahan and fortunately for us, the road that was in good shape was closed for maintenance work. That meant we had to take a complete steep off-road track with just enough space for a car to pass through.
The ride was beginning to get more exciting because of the stunning valley view that this road offered. After about 10 km, this track merged with the actual road and the last 6 km was a breeze. We spent some time at the temple and enjoyed the peace there. A welcome add-on was the view of snow-clad mountains in the background.
 | ||||
The off-road climb to the temple from the main highway
|
 |
| Roads beyond Sarahan, before we entered Kinnaur |
As we were descending, we could see dark clouds and realized that it would definitely rain as we enter Kinnaur. And it did! We were prepared for it, so that was not so much of a problem. However, the further we proceeded, the cooler it was getting. The wind chill just added to the cold. But boy oh boy, Kinnaur was breathtaking! Gorgeous is the word.
Kinnaur Valley is well-known for its adventurous roads, apple trees, small hamlets and beautiful meadows surrounded by dense trees. And each of it was true!
 | ||
That's the gateway to Kinnaur!
|
Shimla, Narkanda and some parts of Kinnaur being easily accessible from Delhi and Chandigarh, one encounters a lot of tourists and traffic till Sarahan. Beyond Sarahan, the traffic eases out and you will hardly see any vehicles. After about 10 km of entering Kinnaur, it started raining pretty heavily. We took a brief halt and put on all our rain and winter gear to brave the weather and roads that lay ahead, secretly wishing that the rain stopped!
 |
| Just praying for the rain to go away! It was absolutely freezing |
Somehow we managed to reach a small village named Tapri by 5 pm. All of us were extremely hungry and ate to our heart's fill. Sangla was just about 30 km from here that meant just over an hour of ride time.
Just a few kilometers ahead Tapri, at Karchham, there is a major 1000 MW hydroelectric dam project by Jaypee group. Here we bid goodbye to river Satluj and said hi to river Baspa. The confluence of these rivers is beautiful because Baspa river is strikingly green in color and Satluj is muddy-brown.
At Karchham, there are two roads- one goes towards Spiti (Hindustan-Tibet Highway) and the other goes towards Sangla. Sangla, the biggest village in Sangla Valley, is about 18 km from this diversion. And Chitkul, the last Indian village before the Indo-Tibetan border, is another 25 km ahead of Sangla.
After the Karcham dam diversion, the road becomes extremely narrow and is broken at most places. However, it is pretty manageable unless you look down on your right, which is scary! We had ridden on well-laid tarmac all the way till Karchham, so we had no complaints whatsoever despite the poor road conditions. There was always a possibility of landslides in such weather.
 |
| The tiny winding roads that go to Sangla and Chitkul |
 |
| Getting darker and darker as we get closer to Sangla |
This road to Sangla has been featured by Discovery Channel as one of the deadliest roads in the world. And no prizes for guessing why! Add to it we were traveling in the winter season. You have to be very very alert because each turn is a steep hairpin bend and the state road-transport buses also ply on these roads. There is no scope for error. It is a very risky affair but that is what adds to the fun and adventure. And when you have the Kinner Kailash mountain ranges in front, that too snow-clad, there is no other sight that you need!
Finally, at about 7 pm, we safely made it to Sangla and saw a lot of vehicles covered in snow. The road was slippery too and there was a high probability of snowfall at night. Since it was already dark, we decided to proceed to Chitkul the next day, praying that the roads will clear out even if it snows a lot!
 |
| Experiencing snowfall is a bliss and turns you into a kid! |
 |
| Nicely warming ourselves up |
Looking back, it was one fantastic experience with gorgeous views of the Himalayas and the Satluj and Baspa rivers. Stay tuned as we try making our way to the last inhabited Indian village and proceed to ride on the Hindustan-Tibet road on day 3!
Route: Kumarsain - Rampur - Sarahan - Wangtoo - Tapri - Chooling - Karchham - Sangla
Lahaul Spiti is look like the heaven of earth which is hinges in our imagine and we believe that the god is exist in divine heaven. https://www.spititravels.com/lucknow-to-lahaul-spiti-packages If anybody will visit Lahaul Spiti then he/she will release words from their minds like wow,awesome and beautiful which feel that we all have reached in heaven.According to pranoc healing this is the place which is best for meditation.
ReplyDelete