Winter Ride to Spiti Valley - Day 3

The second day of our ride truly gave us an overview of the road and weather conditions that lay ahead. We were still in Kinnaur and were supposed to ride on the Hindustan-Tibet road on Day 3, with Nako as the intended destination. It was snowing in Sangla while we were having dinner and guessed it would have snowed even more in Chitkul, the last Indian village before Tibet, situated 25 km from Sangla.

The view that we woke up to!

We woke up around 7 am in the morning to a view that was absolutely gorgeous! Our vehicles were all frozen and there was a good amount of snow and black ice lying around the vehicles. We had to wait for the sun to come out so that some of the snow could melt and we could start riding. Finally, around 9.30 am, we started our ride to Rakchham and Chitkul.  

A blissful sight! 

The crew!

4-5 km into the ride, the entire Sangla valley was visible and it was absolute bliss. Chitkul does remain closed for the most part of winters because the road is unrideable. Snow and black ice on the road kept on increasing as we kept moving forward. Somehow, after a couple of extremely risky patches with no traction and a couple of falls, we were advised not to continue. However, we decided to take our chances and move forward. Seeing our stubbornness, Murli and Ghanshyam also came behind us :P

Sangla valley

Just before Rakchham where we initially thought we had no chance of going ahead

The first time the bike fell! What a crazy moment

We made it to Rakchham and it was magical. We also got a view of the back side of Kinner Kailash from here (the front side is visible from Kalpa) and were just dreaming about how incomparable the view from Chitkul would be if we made it till there. One thing that we noticed at Sangla as well as in Rakchham is that almost everything is shut in winters and you hardly see anyone on the road. If at all you do see anyone on the road, they will be either be a villager or a soldier! :D

You can see 4 peaks here. The third one from the left is Kinner Kailash

The road was becoming increasingly treacherous and uphill with heaps of snow on either side. It was taking us 10-15 minutes to cover one kilometer. And the risk of us getting stuck was continuously increasing. Even if we went forward, there was this fear of how we would return with such a steep descent. Our motorcycles got stuck in a few places and Murli and Ghanshyam were kind enough to help us out at each juncture. We were just about 6-7 km before Chitkul when we started seeing lots and lots of snow on the road and our motorcycles were simply not able to take the steep ascent and descent. That is when we decided to turn back!

No caption needed!

This descent scared the shit out of me!

Look at that heap of snow

The adventure that we had craved for when we started our ride was served to us on a silver spoon and we felt extremely fortunate to have ridden our machines till this point, even though the odds were heavily stacked against us ever since we left Rakchham. The combination of valleys and glaciers and the beautiful Baspa river make you feel as if you are in heaven. Driving from Sangla to Chitkul (well, almost!) was hands down one of the most adventurous routes I have ever ridden on. 

The beautiful valley and the evergreen Baspa river

Exiting Rakchham while returning back

We came back to Sangla well past noon and made a quick short trek to Kamru Fort, which is a 1000-year old fort and considered the oldest in Himachal Pradesh. 

Kamru Fort on the left

View from the top of Kamru fort

The ride to Karchham was on the same route that we had taken the previous day and here we were greeted by the Satluj river once again. Sangla and Chitkul are off the main highway and the return journey today felt exciting. The weather was clear, there was no sign of rain and the roads were dry. That was a huge relief!

Evergreen Baspa

The roads till Kalpa Turn were somewhat bad because it was under construction but beyond that all the way till Powari and Ribba, they were in very good shape- proper tarmac. We stopped for lunch at Ribba at around 3.30 pm. Unfortunately, due to some personal emergency, Ghanshyam had to reach Chandigarh urgently. That meant we were just 4 of us now- Sumit, Gopal, Abishek, and I. We wished them a safe journey, loaded all our luggage on the bikes and resumed our ride at around 4.30 pm. 

We again had the Satluj for company :) 

Finally on the Hindustan Tibet road

Literally, hats off to BRO!!!

Beauty in pink in the middle of nowhere

The roads went from superb to good to bad to worse by the time we reached Spillow. Mountain blasting was in process for road widening and we were just waiting for the roads to open up somewhere between Spillow and Pooh. That's when we realized people were stuck here since 1.30 pm!! There was no way we could make it to Nako for the night because roads opened for vehicular traffic only at 5.45 pm. The nearest town, Pooh was about 15 km away and all of us thought it would be sensible to stop at Pooh to avoid riding in the dark.  Finally, around 6:30 pm, we checked into a hotel and decided to head to Kaza the next day!

Another thing that literally blew our mind away was the fact that we had 4G connectivity, thanks to Jio, all the way till Chitkul!

Mountain blasting in process around Spillow

"You are riding on the world's most treacherous road"

A memorable ride day finally came to an end! Whatever happens, happens for the greater good :) And we had no regrets because this was by far the most exciting and testing day ever since I started riding a motorcycle! :) Alls well that ends well. 

Stay tuned to find out what Day 4 had in store for us. Coming soon....


Route: Sangla - Rakchham - Chitkul - Sangla - Kamru Fort - Karchham - Ribba - Spillow - Pooh

Winter Ride to Spiti Valley - Day 2

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

Drool, drool and drool!

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

Maa Bhimkali Temple

Inside the temple

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!

One more at 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!

After a hard day’s ride, you definitely wish for a comfortable stay, good food and a cozy blanket to weather the biting cold. Which we were fortunate to receive. And what better way to end your day than sitting in front of a heater to warm yourself up! 

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

Winter Ride to Spiti Valley - Day 1

3 March 2018. The day I was eagerly waiting for. I landed in Chandigarh at 7 am after taking an early morning flight from New Delhi. Thanks to the 11 pm flight I took from Pune to New Delhi the previous day, I was left with no option but to spend the night at the airport lounge and had to manage with just a couple of hours of sleep! Luckily, Abishek had reached Chandigarh a day prior and checked into a hotel in Zirakpur on the Shimla highway itself so we were saved the hassle of entering the main city.

Abishek had thoroughly checked both our motorcycles- a Royal Enfield Classic 500 and a Classic 350 the previous evening. Since we were embarking on a ride to Spiti, naturally we expected the machines to be in top-notch condition, which they indeed were! Duly serviced and aptly customized for touring, each motorcycle came with a raised handlebar, off-road tyres, gel seats, USB charger and a luggage carrier. Just FYI, we had booked our motorcycles through Garrari Junkees, who are hands down the best out there! So next time any of you needs a motorcycle in Chandigarh, you know where to go! (You can thank me later :P)

From a maintenance perspective, we carried the entire toolkit and every spare part (including spare saddlebags) that you can think of- tubes, cables, levers etc. Obviously, if something went wrong, we had to help ourselves and hence, we did not want to take any chances whatsoever. 

I reached the hotel, took a quick shower, geared up and put all my luggage into the tail bag so we could directly start riding once we were done with breakfast. If I recollect correctly, it was at about 9.30-10 am that we started our ride after fueling up. The planned destination for the night was Narkanda, approximately 65 km beyond Shimla. A couple of Abishek’s friends, Murli and Ghanshyam, natives of Manali were supposed to join us at Shimla so we decided to head there straight for lunch without wasting much time.

First halt for tea enroute Shimla

The road all the way to Shimla, barring a few under-construction patches, is well laid out. The weather improved tremendously as we proceeded and it started getting cold beyond Kasauli. With mountains and hamlets all around, the view was breathtaking and the cool breeze indeed was giving a different high!

Entering Himachal Pradesh from Punjab

With a few halts in between for tea and pictures, we made it to Shimla in good time- around 3 hours and the temperature was somewhere around 8-10 degrees. Yes, it was cold out there but this was just the beginning and nothing compared to what lay ahead in store for us. It also started getting dark so we took out our rain gears. From here, we were 4 of us on 2 motorcycles and 1 gypsy. It is always great to meet new people whilst on the road, more so when you share a common passion. 

Once the mountains start, you are treated to views like these continuously

Look at those houses there on the right!

Lovely winding mountain roads

After spending about an hour or two in Shimla, we started our journey towards Narkanda. We were supposed to ride through Kufri and Theog, where the possibility of fresh snowfall was considerably high. However, apart from some chilly drizzle, we managed to get out of these towns safely. 

One of Ghanshyam's friend, a native of Theog, had invited us to his house for some amazing chai and snacks. And of course, it was hard to resist the offer when we saw the house. Look at some of the pictures here-

Abishek just posing outside Ghanshyam's friends house in Theog

Inside the house. Nicely warmed up!

That was how the approach road to the house was

View from the house

We made it to Narkanda by about 6.30-7 pm. Unfortunately, there was just 1 good hotel that was open but had only a single room available. It was almost dark and we had no option but to ride further and search for accommodation. 

This is the beautiful tiny town of Narkanda and there you can see the highway

One on the road!

Murli and Ghanshyam went ahead and after about 20 km, found a fantastic place 1 km off the highway overlooking the mountains in a small town called Kumarsain. Unfortunately, however, Abishek and I took a brief halt for tea about 10 km before Kumarsain to enjoy the lovely rain and weather and eventually ended up riding almost 9 km beyond the hotel simply because we couldn't spot the hotel on the main highway. It was pitch dark and luckily both of us had full network connectivity so we turned back. Finally, at about 8 pm, we parked our motorcycles and unpacked all our luggage. Good quality rain gears and footwear ensured that we weren't drenched! 

Some lovely dinner and conversations followed and since I already wanted to catch up on sleep, I fell flat at about 11 pm. 

Looking back, it was an eventful day indeed because we rode further than we initially planned and experienced rains when the surrounding air temperature was about 7-8 degrees. But this was just the beginning. And mind you it rained all night pretty heavily. Probably snowed too, who knows! ;-)

All set for some rain and snow!!

Route- Chandigarh - Kasauli- Shimla- Kufri- Theog- Narkanda- Kumarsain

To know more about what the next day had in store for us, keep watching this space!

Balls of Steel and an Iron Butt - Prelude to a Winter ride to Spiti Valley

Ever since I rode to Ladakh in July 2017, people kept on asking me what is it that draws me there year after year. Kashmir has (and probably always will be) been the place I always turn to, to revitalize and rediscover myself. Then someone asked if I had been to Spiti Valley. In all fairness, till November 2017, all I knew about Spiti Valley was that it is as picturesque as Ladakh is, if not more. Pretty naïve I know!

The more I started reading about this region, the more I came to terms with the magnificence of this region. From its snow-capped mountains and beautiful monasteries perched over a barren landscape to pristine lakes and some of the world's highest villages tucked in the lap of the Himalayas, Spiti Valley seemed breathtaking from pictures. Add the rare wildlife, culture, and cuisine and you quickly realize Spiti Valley has something for everyone. 

The adventure-seeker in me since then desperately wanted to bike my way till Spiti to explore the beauty of this Trans-Himalayan region, called as "a world within a world" and embrace the wilderness at altitudes of up to 4500 meters above sea level. 

I guess my heart got the better of my mind and a winter motorcycle expedition to Spiti Valley was not only planned, it was definitely happening when a fellow Versys rider from Bangalore, Abishek Venkatesh, pitched the idea of a winter ride. Flights to Chandigarh were booked, motorcycles were finalized and a 10 day plan (8 day ride + 2 buffer days) was made in no time! If everything went right, this was going to be a once in a lifetime journey (I know I say this often, but I cannot help it if every ride becomes a once in a lifetime journey! :P)

Crazy excitement as I land in Chandigarh!

A lot of people make you believe that this region is inaccessible in the winters but if you are iron-hearted and have the will to face the bone-chilling cold, this is the best time to visit. There is hardly anyone around and you have the entire region to yourself. It is the perfect time to see the life in Spiti as it has existed for several centuries- when life comes to a complete standstill as temperatures plummet to -25 degrees Celcius. Spiti valley is primarily thought of as a summer destination that offers incredible vistas but winters are beyond mesmerizing - it is a sea of white as far as your eyes can behold! 

Getting to Spiti Valley in Winter 

The entire Spiti region, bordered by Tibet in the east, Ladakh to the north, Kinnaur to the south-east and Lahaul valley and Kullu to the south, is a cold desert mountain valley situated at an altitude of around 4000-5000 meters above sea level. 

Travel from Manali isn’t possible in the winters because Rohtang La and Kunzum La, two high altitude mountain passes close around mid-October and only open by mid-May on account of heavy snowfall. The only possible way to reach Spiti is by road from Shimla via NH-505 crossing Kinnaur. 

The road from Shimla to Kaza is kept open throughout the year and is shut (anywhere from a few hours to a couple of days) only in case of heavy snowfall between Tabo and Kaza.

What you MUST carry

1. Sunglasses - a must to protect you from the reflection of the snow, the sun’s glare is unusually high in Spiti
2. Sunscreen – It is advisable to apply sunscreen generously because the sun’s rays are sharp (I never used them though!)
3. Flask- Water in bottles is bound to freeze; hence, carrying warm water in a flask is advisable. It is extremely important to stay hydrated by drinking lots of water at regular intervals
4. Energy bars – Protein bars, dry fruits and dark chocolates are highly recommended to maintain energy levels
5. Winter clothing – You will DIE if you do not carry appropriate clothes. The thumb rule is to dress in layers- typically two layers of thermal inners, two layers of shirts/t-shirts and your riding jacket with a thermal liner to be worn above all this. It is also recommended to carry a raincoat
6. Footwear – Woolen socks and good waterproof shoes that can withstand sub-zero temperatures 

Itinerary

Although we knew things can always go wrong in the winters and no planning can help, we chalked out an itinerary. The originally planned itinerary had to be improvised during the ride owing to weather and road conditions, so the route that you see below is the one we took while on the ride. Though we initially planned to return via Narkanda itself, we returned via Jalori Top (more about that later ;-) ) It is best to think practically and live on a day to day basis, but this what we followed:

Day 1 – Chandigarh – Narkanda – Kumarsain (200 km)
Day 2 – Kumarsain – Rampur – Sarahan - Sangla (175 km)
Day 3- Sangla – Rakchham – Chitkul – Pooh (160 km)
Day 4- Pooh – Khab – Nako – Tabo – Gue – Dhankar – Kaza (210 km)
Day 5- Kaza – Key – Kibber – Hikkim – Komic – Langza – Tabo (140 km)
Day 6- Tabo – Spillow – Kalpa – Reckong Peo (200 km)
Day 7- Reckong Peo – Jalori Pass – Jibhi (220 km)
Day 8- Jibhi – Kullu- Mandi – Bilaspur – Kirtpur Sahib – Chandigarh (270 km)

Now that I am back safe, I must admit that Spiti Valley indeed is special- a perfect and gracious blend of Indian and Tibetan culture. Want to find out why?

Stay tuned as I walk you through each day of our ride, starting from Chandigarh, complete with the smallest details and tell you how Spiti valley managed to occupy a permanent place in my heart!